Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/244093
News/views bites Toyo breaks ground Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. has broken ground on a $371 million project to expand capacity by 2.5 million tires annually at its Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing Inc. plant in White, Ga. W. Springfield adds location The Automotive Distribution Network's West Springfield Auto Parts has acquired Ansonia, Connecticut-based Service Auto Parts/ARP Warehouse. Omni is carbon neutral Omni United Pte. Ltd., parent company of Omni United USA Inc., announced it has been certified as a carbon neutral company for its flagship tire brand, Radar. Goodyear picks finance leaders Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s board of directors elected Scott Honnold as vice president, business development and Tom Kaczynski as vice president, treasurer and investor relations, effective Jan. 1, 2014. Yokohama expands test center Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. has expanded the Tire Test Center of Asia, its tire proving ground in Thailand. Additions include a 2.5-kilometer dry-test course and a 1.5-kilometer wet-test course. Federal-Mogul is honored The Federal-Mogul Corp.Vehicle Components Segment (VCS) was selected as 2013 Channel Partner of the Year by shareholders of the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance. Mitas to supply Claas Mitas a.s., the Czech Republicbased parent company of Mitas Tires North America Inc., will supply Continental and Mitas branded farm tires for combines and tractors manufactured by Claas KGaA mbH. Continental to expand TBR Continental AG plans to expand its truck and bus tire production facilities in Otrokovice, Czech Republic, to almost 1.5 million units annually. Discount Tire adds two stores Discount Tire has opened stores in Hanover Park, Ill., and Omaha, Neb. The company is part of ReinaltThomas Corp. and operates more than 875 stores in 28 states. 12 Kumho hires ToyoÕs Hagan Michelin recalls tires, opens plant Kumho Tire U.S.A. Inc. has hired John Hagan as national sales vice president. Prior to accepting the position, Hagan was senior director of sales operations at Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. He replaced Armand Allaire, who became vice president of marketing for Giti Tire USA Ltd. Hagan comes to Kumho with more than 20 years of John Hagan has experience in been hired to lead the industry, the national sales at Kumho. last four with Toyo. Michelin North America Inc. announced a safety recall of approximately 1.3 million of its Michelin LTX M/S commercial light truck tires. About 1.2 million of these tires were sold in the U.S. The tires are typically found on commercial light trucks, full-sized heavy duty vans, small RVs and some large pickup trucks. ATD acquires WTD in Canada American Tire Distributors Inc. (ATD) has acquired all outstanding common shares of Wholesale Tire Distributors Inc. (WTD) based in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. WTD operates two distribution centers in southern Ontario servicing approximately 2,300 customers. ATD entered the Canadian market in November 2012 by purchasing Triwest Trading Canada Ltd. dba TriCan Tire Distributors (TriCan). ATD acquired Regional Tire Distributors Inc. (RTD) in the Ontario and Atlantic regions in May 2013. ATD will continue to run its Canadian operation as a stand-alone business unit, based in Burlington, Ontario, with Mike Kustra serving as the president of the entity. Based in Huntersville, N.C., ATD is one of the largest independent suppliers of tires to the North American replacement tire market. It operates 129 distribution centers, including 21 in Canada, serving approximately 70,000 customers in the U.S. and Canada. The recall, which has been reported to the National Highway Traffc Safety Administration, is being issued because an increasing number of tires are experiencing tread loss and/or rapid air loss. Michelin says the U.S. customer returns for these conditions are currently 0.015% of the total population, or less than 200 tires. No returns for tires with these conditions have been reported outside the U.S. The recalled tires were manufactured between January 2010 and June 2012. Michelin also began producing earthmover tires in January 2014 for sale in mid-2014 at its new plant in Anderson, S.C. The new facility, known as US10, is Michelin's 19th plant in North America and ninth in South Carolina. It will produce large earthmover tires as high as 13 feet tall weighing as much as 5.5 tons for more than 1,300 mining operations around the world. In addition, the company's Michelin Earthmover division has certifed six additional Michelin Professional Earthmover Dealers and has added them to the Michelin Earthmover Performance Repairs program. They are: Boulevard Tire, Orlando, Fla.; Pomps Tire, Elk Grove Village, Ill.; TCi Tire Centers, Kilgore Texas; Purcell Tire, Salt Lake City; Inland Tire, Hayward Calif.; and Kal Tire, Hermosillo Mexico. MTD January 2014