Dominant First Victory for Kumho
Yokohama to Boost Philippines Production
Cooper-Avon Renews Agreement with Castle Combe
Kumho Agrees Sale of Tyre Business
Entyrety: A New Approach to Training
Bridgestone Earns Supplier of the Year Award from General Motors
Federal Reports Record Quarterly Sales
Public Vote Dealership "First Stop" for Customer Care
Avon Sponsors Japfest
STS Stocks New Run Flat Tyre
Dunlop Signs BTCC Contract

Dominant First Victory for Kumho

David Mann has become the first driver to win a Kumho National Rally Championship round outright on Kumho tyres at the recent Roush Manx Rally. Second place went to last year's winner, Melvyn Evans, also running on Kumho tyres, a result which rewarded him with maximum points in both the National Tarmacadam and Get Connected Rally Championships, the event hosting the third round of both these series alongside the Kumho National Rally Championship.

The past few weeks have brought a string of successes for Kumho with a number of major rallies being won by competitors using its tyres. However, no victory is more significant than that of David Mann's says Kumho, his achievement further endorsing the ability of Kumho's range of tarmac competition tyres.

Yokohama to Boost Philippines Production

The Yokohama Rubber Co has announced that Yokohama Tire Philippines Inc will upgrade its facilities to boost production. By the end of the year annual capacity at the passenger tyre plant in Pampanga will have been increased from 2 million units to 2.5 million. The upgrade will cost around 2 billion Yen.

As part of the upgrade, Yokohama will step up production of 16 inch and larger high performance passenger car tyres and of recreational vehicle tyres, for which demand is growing internationally. At present the Philippines subsidiary makes 13-16 inch passenger tyres. However, by year end 16 inch and larger models and recreational vehicle tyres are expected to make up 30% of production.

Cooper-Avon Renews Agreement with Castle Combe

Copoer-Avon Tyres has announced that it has had its contract as the official tyre supplier to the Castle Combe Racing School renewed for the 2003 season, continuing a relationship that began 50 years ago with the building of the famous Avon bridge over the circuit. As the official tyre supplier, Cooper-Avon will provide tyres for the race school's fleet of high performance Subaru Impreza WRX's, Ford Focus Zetecs and, of course, its Formula Ford single-seater race cars.

Avon's Brand Manager David Carson said: "This is the perfect showcase for the talents of Avon tyres - lots of customers getting behind the wheel of a variety of interesting high performance cars in a challenging environment in which our cars shine".

Kumho Agrees Sale of Tyre Business

Kumho Industrial Co., Ltd. has announced that it has agreed to sell its tyre business unit for the sum of KRW 1.428 trillion (US$ 1.2 billion). The business will be acquired by a new joint venture company whose principal shareholder will be South Korea's military pension fund, the Military Mutual Aid Association (MMAA).

The new joint venture company is to be established during June with KRW 500 billion (US$ 410 million) of paid-up capital. The MMAA will own 50 per cent of the company with Kumho Industrial taking a 30 per cent stake. The remaining 20 per cent will be distributed between several smaller investors.

Entyrety: A New Approach to Training

Entyrety, Continental Tyres new technical partner, has announced that it is launching the first regionally-based, Institute of the Motor Industry-accredited modular training programme for the tyre industry. Entyrety will launch in June 2003 and will provide clients from across the motor industry with up-to-the-minute technical, practical and commercial training. Consisting of 11 distinct modules, the Entyrety programme was developed following feedback from surveys conducted in 2002 examining the needs of customers.

The modules are:

1. Understanding tyres - Passenger & Commercial vehicles
2. Optimum Fleet tyre usage
3. Optimising Fleet tyre service revenue
4. Tyre damage diagnosis
5. Car & Van tyre fitting
6. Commercial tyre fitting
7. Agricultural tyre fitting
8. Retail selling skills
9. Customer care & Telephone skills
10. Selling to other businesses
11. Roadside Breakdowns - Procedures & Safety Awareness

The Entyrety programme will be offered on a regional basis with mainland UK split into five separate regions: South-West and Central-West; South-East and East Central; Scotland; North-West; and North-East.

Steve Howat from Entyrety is looking forward to the launch of the training programme: "The kind of training that Entyrety will provide is long overdue. It is the first of its kind in the tyre industry, combining high quality, up-to-date instruction, greater client convenience, nationally recognised IMI accreditation and independent information. We feel this is a winning combination that will lead to improved levels of customer service and better business practice."

Bridgestone Earns Supplier of the Year Award from General Motors

Bridgestone Corporation has announced that it has received a Supplier of the Year award from General Motors Corporation for the eighth year in a row. This recognition is for products and service provided globally to General Motors in 2002 by Tokyo-based Bridgestone Corporation and its subsidiaries, including Nashville, Tennessee-based Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc., and Brussels-based Bridgestone Europe NV/SA, under the Bridgestone and Firestone brands.

Bridgestone Corporation executive vice president Keisuke Suzuki accepted the award on behalf of the Bridgestone Group at an April 12 ceremony at the Miracle Theatre in Miami, Florida. The GM Supplier of the Year award began as a global program in 1992. Selecting the award winners is a global team of executives from purchasing, engineering, manufacturing and logistics. The team bases its decisions on supplier performance in quality, service, technology and price. This year, General Motors honoured 70 suppliers for their excellence throughout 2002, among tens of thousands of GM suppliers worldwide.

The Bridgestone Group supplies Bridgestone- and Firestone- brand tyres to GM plants worldwide. In the United States, Bridgestone Americas supplies tyres to GM and also to the GM subsidiary Saturn Corporation and to the GM/Toyota joint venture, New United Motors Manufacturing, Inc. Bridgestone Europe supplies tyres to GM's European subsidiaries. Bridgestone Group companies in Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia, Turkey, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Kenya and South Africa also are GM suppliers.

Federal Reports Record Quarterly Sales

Federal Corporation, the Taiwanese tyre manufacturer, has reported its first quarter sales performance. Sales for the first quarter of 2003 increased 16.3% to US$26.4 million compared to sales of US$22.7 million for the first quarter of 2002. The company's overall sales in March also hit single month record high with sales of US$10.7 million compared to last year's US$8.6 million, of which the overseas sales took up seventy percent. These gains were attributed by the exceptional performance for overseas and domestic sales, both marking record highs in the company's sales history.

"We are pleased to report another record results, particularly given the very challenging environment in 2003," said Jamie Ma, President of Federal Corporation. "We are confident that Federal is very well-positioned to again deliver strong results. We will continue to introduce new products for the market and we have no doubt that year 2003 will be another year of growth for Federal."

Successful in its core business of UHP products manufacturing and marketing from Taiwan base, Federal also has, in its new manufacturing facility in the province of Jiang-Xi, China, commenced volume production of regular tyres marketed under the brand names of Hero and Maxon. With market demand on the rise over the years, Federal plans to make incremental investments to expand its production capacity to meet the booming demand in China and elsewhere.

Public Vote Dealership "First Stop" for Customer Care

Rugby based First Stop dealer TW Autocentre has won a customer care award voted for by the public. "I am particularly pleased that my staff has been acknowledged publicly for their excellent customer care," said Mike Furner, owner of TW Autocentre. "We all know that the customer is most important and focus on giving a professional, friendly service."

The presentation, at the Rugby Business Awards, was made to after-sales manager Nathalie Langham and workshop supervisor Kevin Clusker by England and Leicester rugby union captain Martin Johnson at a dinner held in Rugby Town Hall. To celebrate its 25th anniversary the Rugby dealership has organised monthly competitions; a contest to guess the teams' combined motor trade experience was a huge success.

Avon Sponsors Japfest

The popularity of high performance Japanese cars is on the rise and on May 17 Avon Tyres will sponsor Japfest 2003, the first major show dedicated entirely to enthusiasts. "There's been phenomenal growth in the Japanese tuning scene during the past five years or so and JapFest represents a keen expression of that rising interest", says Avon's Brand Marketing Manager David Carson. "It's a vibrant high-performance marketplace and therefore a natural event for Avon Tyres to be associated with".

Thousands of tuned and modified Japanese sports cars are expected to attend Japfest, being held just down the road from Avon's Melksham factory at the Castle Combe race circuit in Wiltshire. During Japfest Avon will be displaying their full range of high performance tyres including a couple of dedicated track day tyres.

STS Stocks New Run Flat Tyre

STS Tyres & Exhausts has announced that it is now stocking the Pirelli Eufori@ tyre, incorporating Run Flat technology at its 51 centres nation-wide. With Eufori, which is manufactured using Pirelli's Modular Integrated Robotised System (MIRS) tyre production technology, in the event of tyres losing pressure after a puncture, a pressure loss monitor linked to the ABS system or sensor inside the wheel rim alerts the driver to the problem in good time through a centralised processing unit. Even if this does occur the tyres can be driven on for up to 50 kilometres at zero pressure, at speeds of up to 80km/h.

Alan Denton STS Tyres & Exhausts' retail director believes that Run Flat is a concept that will revolutionise not only the way the car is used but also the way it is made. He says: "Eliminating the risk of punctures is at the top of the list of features that our consumers most want from their vehicles and is a huge safety benefit for motorists. "By introducing the Eufori@ into our centres we are sure that our customers will greatly benefit from this state-of-the-art tyre technology and will notice the unique performance benefits. I firmly believe that Run Flat will become the preferred choice for high performance tyres in the future and will offer the safety solution that so many of our customers are looking for from their tyres."

Dunlop Signs BTCC Contract

Dunlop has signed an exclusive four-year contract to supply tyres to the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) this season for the first time in six years. It will service teams from Fort Dunlop, Birmingham, the home of its global motorsport operation, where it currently manufacturers over 300,000 competition tyres each year.