Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/148910
Your turn beter term, when I presented a paper on the subject at the Tire Society in Akron, Ohio, titled "Manufacturing and Remanufacturing Radial Tires." In today's difcult economic times for the mainstream American as well as for trucking frms (and airlines), tire remanufacturing should be brought to the forefront and vigorously applied, in order to provide afordability to this large segment of tire users. Jacques Bajer, Founder Tire Systems Engineering Inc. Grosse Pointe, Mich. Bajer is a fequent contributor to MTD. For more than 55 years, Bajer, a mechanical engineer by trade, has championed the cause of tire structural integrity. His work with Ford Motor Co., beginning in 1955, led to the creation of a tire uniformity grading machine. He is possibly best known for radializing the domestic automotive industry. Bajer opened his own consulting company in 1970s. You can fnd his articles online at www.moderntiredealer.com.-Ed. Jacques Bajer Question of the month: We asked our National Advisory Council (NAC) members: Apollo Tyres recently made a bid to acquire Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. What is your opinion on the proposed purchase? Will this afect the way you do business? Here are some of their responses: 1. I hope Apollo Tyres understands the American tire market and sees the current trends of downward momentum. Cooper has some great products but will experience challenging sales in the next six months. With the heavy debt for the acquisition, it may be difcult to meet fnancial obligations due to slow sales. A year from now we might know if this was a brilliant move or a disaster. 2. We do not expect a change until sometime next year. Te changes that we fear the most are those having to do with business culture. Will the new leadership embrace and understand the relationships and the key market drivers? 3. If Apollo Tyres does acquire Cooper Tire, I feel Cooper will bring Apollo tires to the U.S. and produce fewer private brand tires. 4. I don't think it will have any real efect, except for possibly the Roadmaster plant in China. Te Chinese consider the Indians their major competitors, and that could afect production in the plant. Tey already have had several work stoppages, as I understand! 5. Too early to tell. Te impact is at least two years away. Te fact that they are not in the same markets internationally lessens the chance of any short-term impact. 6. Tis is a wrong deal. Cooper Tire has very good products and market position. Te management needs to run the operations beter. Cooper should have OE presence in the U.S. Apollo does not have the money to buy Cooper, borrowing $2.1 billion of the $2.5 billion price. Apollo stock in India is down 40%. Tere are no synergies between the two companies. Te deal needs to be rejected. 7. I believe Cooper had some real traction going to market as an American company prior to this acquisition. Tere's still a demand/market for American products and Cooper could satisfy this niche. For the immediate future, though, I would not anticipate any real changes with Cooper Tire. 8. I think they are crazy to make the ofer. 9. I am bothered by the fact that another American company has sold out to foreign interests, frst and foremost. I am not surprised, however, since the company has hired many people new to the industry who don't seem to have the same values of those who built the company and were the reason why it was able to grow and prosper for so many successful years. When you have nothing but bean counters and yes men, sooner or later the lack of core values takes over and a company becomes lax in doing what's best for its customers long term. Tey sold out the long-term factor! 10. We are no longer a Cooper dealer, but it's a shame that American tire companies, except for Goodyear, are no longer owned and run by Americans. ■ More NAC comments on the industry: It would be great if all of us would get a litle smarter when it comes to our business plans. Instead of fnding ways to give things away, we need to fnd ways to charge for the services and products we provide our customers. We hide from the fact that our margins continue to shrink while our overhead continues to rise. We atack the problem in every meeting with supervisors and managers, but in our society, thankfully, the customer decides on the playing feld. Our problems stem from the players who continue to think that giving things away will somehow generate a proft, and it just doesn't work that way. Charley Gowland, Manager/Owner Chabill's Tire Service LLC Morgan City, La. Manufacturers have caused chaos. Te tire manufacturers are producing so many SKUs that they cannot have a good fll rate. Who is steering the ship? Jef Cohen, Co-owner Traction Wholesale Center Bensalem, Pa. Join Modern Tire Dealer's National Advisory Council Each month, Modern Tire Dealer is guided and infuenced by a select group of readers — members of our National Advisory Council. Tese members' opinions are the heart of the monthly Your Marketplace column, compiled by industry analysts Nick Mitchell and John Healy. If you'd like to join this prestigious group, please let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Contact Editor Bob Ulrich at Bob.Ulrich@bobit.com or call (330) 899-2200, ext. 11. 92 MTD August 2013