Ube Industries Ltd. recorded increased sales and profit for the first six months (April-Sept.) of fiscal 2015. Sales were up 5 percent year-on-year to 323.3 billion yen ($2.62 billion), operating income was up 230 percent to 20.5 billion yen ($166.4 million), and ordinary income was up 303 percent to 19.7 billion yen ($159.9 million). Profit attributable to owners of parent...
Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for new buildings at its Nagano Toyooka Plant (Nagano Prefecture) as the company consolidates its Nagano production facilities with the aim of strengthening its hoses and couplings business. Construction is set for completion in November 2016, after which equipment will be moved from the current Nagano Takamori Plant to Toyooka. Consolidation...
Bridgestone Retail Operations LLC (BSRO), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bridgestone Corp., will acquire The Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack, one of America’s leading automotive aftermarket chains, in an all-cash transaction, purchasing all outstanding shares at approximately $835 million in aggregate equity value. Bridgestone’s biggest acquisition to date was the $2.6 billion purchase in 1988 of The Firestone...
Japan’s domestic automobile production dropped in September according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (JAMA). The number of cars (4-wheelers) produced was approximately 830,000, down 3 percent over September 2014 and marking the 15th consecutive month that the figure had fallen year-on-year. The number of all vehicle types produced fell year-on-year. Passenger car production was just over 700,000 units, down 2...
Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. has developed a steering wheel with a warning function that vibrates to alert drivers. The steering wheel contains a vibrating unit with a small motor that rotates an off-center weight to vibrate the steering wheel grip and thus warn the driver. The steering wheel detects when the car is accidentally drifting out of its lane and...
Nihon Michelin Tire Co. Ltd. has announced that Paul Perriniaux, executive operating officer, will take over as president from Bernard Delmas, who will assume the title of chairman. Perriniaux joined Nihon Michelin in 1995 in truck and bus marketing. He was regional manager of Michelin Tyre PLC (U.K.) in 2001 and IT project manager at the France head office from...
