By Alex Kapadia

Bridgestone tyres are hoping to break the stranglehold of domestic tyre makers in India by expanding their network of centres across the country.

The Japanese tyres manufacturer will be offering high-end services, including nitrogen inflation and 3D wheel alignment.

At the moment, domestic tyre producers control 70% of the lucrative home market. Chennai-based MRF is the nation’s largest tyre company, followed by Apollo Tyres, JK Tyres and Ceat.

Bridgestone is the world’s largest tyre manufacturer and produces products at more than 100 plants in around two dozen nations around the world.

The company makes raw materials for tyres, as well as manufacturing the tyres themselves. Crucial raw materials produced by members of the Bridgestone Group include natural rubber, synthetic rubber, carbon black and steel cord.

Bridgestone plans to expand its “Super Select” brand showrooms to 200 around the country by 2011 from the current 140.

It is also expanding its manufacturing plant in Madhya Pradesh state.

Once customers have tried etyres they never want to go back to the traditional high street tyres chains.

Last week our tyres fitter in Birmingham went out to an etyres first-timer and this is what the delighted customer had to say in an email yesterday: “It’s not often that companies get praised by their customers for an efficient job but many thanks for such that.

“Phillip texted me to say he would arrive at 13:00 Friday afternoon and at 13:00 he arrived. I thanked him for being punctual and he carried on with replacing and fitting my new tyre.

“He was helpful and courteous and is a credit to you as one of your employees.

“In future I SHALL NOT be going to Kwik Fit for tyres and have told all my colleagues about etyres and the great service you provide.”

With etyres it’s a win-win situation for customers.

First our mobile fitting service saves you time and hassle and secondly, because our overheads are low we pass the savings on to you in the form of lower prices – up to 40% cheaper than the leading high street tyre depots.

Kerri, National Call Centre

There is cause to celebrate at Pirelli after the tyres manufacturer has been included in the Financial Times twice-yearly sustainability indices for the seventh consecutive year.

The business newspaper confirms that the Italian tyres company has once again secured its place in the FTSE4 Good index, which measures corporate performance in terms of respect for international standards of economic, social and environmental sustainability.

British independent research provider Eiris, working for the Financial Times, evaluated among other corporate characteristics sustainable supply chain management, ethical behaviour rules, means of prevention and management of risk, environmental impact management and relations with stakeholders.

The review did not admit new companies to the Automobiles and Parts segment of the indices, continuing to include Pirelli as the only Italian company included in that segment.

Pirelli Tyre North America designs, develops, manufactures and markets tyres for passenger vehicles in both the original equipment and replacement markets as well as markets and distributes tyres for motorcycles and motorsports.

FTSE4Good index measures the performance of companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

By Oliver Hall

A Welsh farmer who was the victim of a tyres dumping scam has been landed with a £20,000 removal bill.

Around 20,000 tyres were dumped on Marie Burt’s property after she was approached by con artists pretending to be in the recycling industry.

The gang charged garages a low price to take them off their hands, then stashed the tyres in the converted chicken barn at the farm in Towyn.

Police and Environment Agency (EA) officers say bogus businesses are taking advantage of a new EU directive stating tyres must be recycled not disposed of in landfill.

Gwlithyn and Mike Owen from Llandyrnog also fell victim to the same trick, and were left with 3,000 tyres and £3,000 out of pocket.

Luckily word had spread to them about the scam that had fleeced Marie Burt, who was stuck with 20,000 tyres on her land for a staggering two years, and they reported it to the Environment Agency last year.

But now the victims have lashed out, claiming they have been punished for other people’s crimes after reporting their suspicions to the EA.

Ms Burt said: “It’s been a constant worry. Every morning you wake up and it’s on your mind. How can you get rid of the tyres? You can’t just dump it or sell it on or burn it. The only way is the legal way and get a company in.”

Gwlithyn Owen said: “The Environment Agency didn’t help us, even though we helped them. It cost us £3,000 to get rid of all those tyres. It makes you feel as if you wouldn’t help them ever again. You’d rather deal with the problem yourself and just not bother letting them know.”

But the Environment Agency defended their standpoint claiming the taxpayer should not have to foot the bill.

As if the world wide recession wasn’t enough to contend with, the Chinese tyres industry is having to deal with the effects of the US governments decision to slap hefty tariffs on their imported tyres.

It must have been a hot topic of conversation for more than 6,000 visitors who attended the seventh CITEXPO 2009, which was held in Shanghai, China, earlier this month.

The turnout of exhibitors was strong and although the worldwide demand for tyres has declined since last year, the show must have been a success because 85 per cent of next year’s exhibition space has already been booked, according to the organisers.

Three hundred exhibitors displayed their wares at the show, including Cooper Tire & Rubber Co, Cemb and other firms.

Reliable International Exhibition Services Co. Ltd, the show’s organizers, report that 190 of those exhibitors have agreed to participate in CITEXPO 2010, which will be held Sept. 8-10, 2010, in Shanghai.

Around 2,100 of the 6,000-plus visitors to the exhibition were from outside of China, representing 83 countries in all.

The aim of the event is to deliver a high quality and effective trade platform for the worldwide tyre industry.

The exhibit profile of CITEXPO ranges from the material and machinery of producing a tyre to the variant types of tyre products and aftermarket services and equipments.

For foreign traders, it is a doorwy to the biggest market place in the world for Chinese tyre and related products.

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Denna Bowman

Continental AG ’s tyres operation is doing “extremely well”, according to financial analysts.

And there was more encouraging news for the division after the German company’s new chief executive appears to have put an end to notions that it would consider the sale of the Rubber Group, which includes the tyres business.

Elmar Degenhart recently told reporters that management board’s preference is to “keep our portfolio the way it is today.”

The media has been quick to report his remarks owing to the company’s previous position that it would consider the sale of the Rubber Group.

Degenhart’s intimations during an interview with the German automotive industry publication Automobilwoche follow a string of non-verbal cues that suggest differences of opinions with the company and at major shareholder Schaeffler group.

Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank analysts have reported that the company’s tyre operation is doing “extremely well.

Writing in an investor’s note, Deutsche Bank analysts reported that the tyre business’ 11 per cent (combined truck and passenger) operating margin in the first half of 2009 outperformed its rivals.

They concluded: “Even if the group enjoyed a small 45 million euro positive impact from raw material (compared with a small negative of 19 million euros at Pirelli and a bigger negative of 117 million euros at Michelin), they enjoyed a double digit operating profit margin despite a high 20 per cent volume decline.”

Looking forward, Deutsche Bank predicted that the tyre operations will benefit from a positive raw material effect of (200 million euros) and from a volume recovery. The analysts pointed out that tyre operations produce 48 per cent of Continental AG’s group revenues.

By Oliver Hall

Goodyear has tied up a four-year labour contract with US workers – which also prevents six plants from being closed.

The largest US tyres manufacturer confirmed that the contract was ratified by members of the United Steelworkers union at seven plants.

The agreement, which expires in July 2013 and covers 10,300 employees, addresses productivity, pay and “flexibility” issues.

The contract was approved by an overwhelming majority of the membership and a majority of the plants,” said Kevin Johnsen, USW contract coordinator during negotiations.

Goodyear posted a second-quarter loss of $221 million in July and has cut 5,500 positions since the beginning of the year.

The company sold 184.5 million tyres last year, and plans to cut production by as many as 25 million tyres in two years.

The United Steelworkers said the latest agreement calls for $600 million to be invested in the factories covered by the contract.

The six factories protected from closure during the life of the contract, the union said, are in Akron, Ohio; Buffalo, New York; Danville, Virginia; Fayetteville, North Carolina; Gadsden, Alabama; and Topeka, Kansas.

The factory not protected against closure is Union City, Tennessee. According to its website, Goodyear has a total of 23 plants in the US.

Word-of-mouth recommendations continue to play a key role in the on-going success of etyres, the UKs leading online tyres company.

While other tyre retailers are seeing sales fall and even closing some of their depots, etyres is strengthening its nationwide network and seeing double-digit growth as more customers go online to track down the best deals.

We have just had a great email from a customer in Hemel Hempstead who sums this up – here’s what he had to say: “Just a quick note to say - Brilliant Service!!”

“My son has used your service before and recommend that we use you. I hope your organisation enjoys the success it deserves as it is a very impressive service - please pass our thanks to the engineer that carried out the work. “Thanks and regards. C Bloomfield.”

Since we launched our nationwide mobile tyres fitting service in 1998 – we were the first online tyres company in the UK – thousands of satisfied customers have recommended us to their family, friends and colleagues.

They know that our service saves them time and hassle and our low-overheads mean we keep prices low too – up to 40% cheaper than the leading high street tyre depots.

Kelly, National Call Centre

A major new AA survey has revealed that teenage car ownership is higher than ever, but the next step is learning lessons in looking after their vehicle on a tight budget.

Tyres play a vital role in keeping the car safe, however, they can be expensive.

But teenagers can combine their search for new tyres with their highly developed skills when it comes to finding their way round the internet!

Just like CD’s and clothes, the best bargains can be found online, especially with etyres, the UKs leading online tyres company, where our prices are up to 40 per cent cheaper than at the traditional high street tyre depots.

And etyres operates a mobile fitting service, so the proud new car owners don’t have to worry taking time out of their day to get their new tyres fitted – we go to them, whether its at their home or work.

The AA/Populus survey amongst 21,173 AA members was carried out during August 2009 and it explored the experience of drivers in relation to their first car – how old respondents were when they got their first car, how much it cost, whether they paid for it or it was given to them, etc.

The striking result is that drivers have been getting their first car at a younger and younger age. Men tend to be in possession of their first set of wheels before women (age 17-19, men 47%, women 37% and age 20-25, men 32%, women 36%).

Compared with those now aged 65 and over, who were most likely to have taken to the road in their own car for the first time aged between 20 and 25, a majority of young people today become car owners while still in their teens.

Oliver Hall, Operations Team

By Denna Bowman

Kumho is raising its tyres prices in the US as a result of market pressures created by the recent increased tariff on Chinese consumer tyre imports.

The tyres company will increase prices up to 12% on selected products, according to a report in Modern Tyre Dealer magazine.

The effective dates of the increases will be as follows:

* Sept. 26, 2009, for limited patterns; and

* Oct. 1, 2009 for the remainder of the products.

“It is Kumho’s goal to minimize the impact of this imposed tariff on our customers and ultimately the consumer,” says CEO and President J.B. Kim.

“We will make every effort to maintain a consistent supply of Kumho products that deliver unparalleled value and performance to the important U.S. market.”

Cooper Tyre and Rubber is the only other manufacturer to announce a price increase following the decision by President Barack Obama to raise tariffs on Chinese-made passenger and light truck tyre imports.

The company has not announced when its increases — also up to 12% depending on the line — will go into effect.