24/6/09
Source: http://www.cantonrep.com/business/x737341759/Hendrickson-trailer-systems-plant-lays-off-74-employees
The Hendrickson International Trailer Suspension Systems plant here laid off more than 70 employees as the trucking industry continues to reflect the economy.
It’s the second set of layoffs for Hendrickson since late last year.
Human Services Director David Decker said the indefinite layoffs are “due to continued economic decline in the transportation industry.”
The plant makes suspension systems for the trailers of semi rigs. Decker said the number of trailers being built this year is down 70 percent, and the plant had to reduce its workforce by 26 percent.
He said when economic conditions improve, the plant will be a vital part of the industry, “We are in this for the long haul,” he said.
In a letter to the state Department of Job and Family Services, Decker said 45 members of Teamsters Local 92 and 29 salaried employees were laid off indefinitely Monday “due to weak economic conditions.
The latest set of layoffs leaves only about 39 Teamsters working at the plant, said Greg Van Dress, business agent for Local 92.
“They had to reduce their capacity because they were taking too much of a hit,” he said. “It’s like everything else. I just want the companies to hang on ... and get through the slow period.”
Decker’s letter said the latest separations are “expected to be permanent.”
The plant, at 2070 Industrial Pl. SE, laid off about 90 Teamsters and an unknown number of salaried workers in the second half of 2008. Those workers still are on indefinite layoff, Decker said. That move left the plant with about 109 union workers.
In 2004, Hendrickson received city and state help to expand and purchase new equipment. City Council gave the company a 75 percent, 10-year tax abatement on the expansion and new equipment, and Ohio gave a 55 percent, seven-year tax credit that required Hendrickson to maintain operations here for 14 more years.
23/6/09
Source: http://www.todaystrucking.com/news.cfm?intDocID=22002
Four divisions of Hendrickson -- Truck Suspension Systems, Trailer Suspension Systems, Auxiliary Axle Systems, and Bumper and Trim -- recently joined the U.S. EPA SmartWay program.
SmartWay is a collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the freight industry, designed to increase energy efficiency while significantly reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution.
Hendrickson plans to contribute to SmartWay’s goal to reduce 33 to 66 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and up to 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxide per year by 2012 by improving the environmental performance of our freight operations.
"We are excited to be a partner with SmartWay Transport and to continue in doing our part to achieve our collective goal of reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution," said Baine Adams, vice-president of global sales and marketing at Hendrickson.
Launched in February 2004, the SmartWay Transport Partnership aims to achieve fuel savings of up to 150 million barrels of fuel per year. SmartWay currently has over 1800 partners.
22/6/09
Source: http://www.logisticsmagazine.com.au/Article/Next-generation-braking-equipment/487427.aspx
Leading OE braking equipment manufacturer, Knorr Bremse, has had a big year with its new supply agreement giving customers greater options, a new purpose built OE production facility opened in Melbourne, and the release of the revolutionary new TEBS G2.
“With constant changes to technology and legislation, it is more important than ever to have greater direct contact with OE product manufacturers," says Knorr Bremse General Manager CV, Rodney Clark.
"2009 has been a period of change for our company and this change has seen greater personalised service, choice and flexibility delivered to our customers.
Along with tough financial pressures, Knorr Bremse says getting the right value from supply partners will also make a difference for trailer builders.
These impacts are driving Knorr to make genuine TEBS and ADR Approved Trailer Kits more accessible to trailer builders.
“Given the increasingly technical nature of braking systems, greater contact with the brake system manufacturer is essential," Clark says.
"By utilising the network of our chosen axle partner, SAF Holland, and our own engineering team, we have expanded our technical and sales flexibility and broadened our support capabilities to trailer builders and end users.”
“These changes have cut unnecessary links in the supply chain. We now provide hands on resources to trailer builders and fleets as an OE braking manufacturer that has stronger involvement.
"This approach makes us unique to our competitors, but ultimately we see this added choice and flexibility essential to improving our customer’s operational productivity and their bottom line,” he says.
In other exciting news, Knorr Bremse has launched the next generation in trailer stability products, the new G2 Trailer Electronic Braking System (TEBS).
Received with much interest from fleets and trailer builders, Knorr-Bremse TEBS G2 is the market leading stability solution.
The system is the worlds first to integrate multi-volt operation 8-32Vdc and dual load sensing functions into a compact modular package.
The unique Australia CV market, with its diverse vehicle mix, means that both 12V and 24V systems are prevalent.
Traditionally these dedicated voltage systems do not allow interchangeability without the need for auxiliary devises such as inverters.
TEBS G2 has no need for inverters or other auxiliary devises, ensuring fewer components need to be fitted. This not only reduces fitment times, it means the system’s reliability is increased.
TEBS G2 also offers lower power consumption than any alternative due to the multi-volt nature of the power supply, and lower resistance coils are utilized.
The system will automatically detect if it is being towed by an EBS prime mover or an ABS prime mover and adapt the correct internal load sensing function automatically.
“Competition is getting tougher, and commercial vehicles are expected to cover larger distances and meet tighter deadlines than ever before,” adds Clark.
“The financial cost to a fleet from an accident or rollover is extremely high, not to mention the potential cost to life and property. This is a cost that can be avoided by implementing stability systems like G2.”
Knorr-Bremse has concluded the exclusive distribution agreement with BPW Transpec for Knorr TEBS, effective from March 2009.
“It’s important to ensure trailer builders and fleets that have fitted the Knorr TEBS receive ongoing support and will be maintained at the highest level”, says Clark.
“Both BPW Transpec and Knorr-Bremse are committed to providing the support that is needed for all existing TEBS units installed.”
Knorr-Bremse looks forward to an exciting period of growth in which OE’s and end users will reap the greatest rewards.
Knorr Bremse is also pleased to announce a new OE Trailer Kit and TEBS kit production facility in Dandenong, Melbourne.
Opened in May 2009, this facility enhances the company’s offering in the key Victorian market, while still maintaining engineering in its Sydney Head Office.
Knorr Bremse has also expanded its OE engineering resources in the new facility. With a new trailer specialist to serve trailer builders, and an experienced OE Applications Engineer in electronic braking added to the existing team, the new Melbourne branch offers greater value.
22/6/09
Source: http://trailer-bodybuilders.com/trailer-output/decline-european-trailer-market/
The West European trailer market will experience a 37% decline during this downturn – worse than the 31% fall in 1992-93, according to consulting group CLEAR.
The ’92-93 demand fell by 37,000 trailers, while this year’s demand will fall by 77,000 trailers.
Back in 1993, the peak demand for trailers before the downturn was 120,000 units. This time, the market reached 208,000 in 2007 and is forecast to fall to 131,000 in 2009.
This is serious enough for the trailer manufacturers, the leading three of which are the German firms of Schmitz, Krone and Kögel, but is also horrendous for the more familiar names of the component manufacturers that supply them. Companies that are household names such as tyre makers Michelin, Continental, Bridgestone and Goodyear Dunlop; axle manufacturers BPW, SAF Holland, ArvinMeritor and Daimler AG; brake manufacturers Knorr, Haldex and Wabco. All these companies invested heavily in ’07-08 to boost output of components for the trailer market as it reached record levels of production, only to see demand collapse.
The problem for component suppliers is even worse than the figures above indicate. Since the expansion of the European Union in 2004 there has been a boom in demand for trailers in Eastern Europe, both for new trailers and used. A very large proportion of this demand was met by German manufacturers or German transport companies selling there used vehicles and buying new.
Before 1993, peak production of trailers was 126,000 per annum, but in 2007 production reached 292,000, which is forecast to fall to 157,000 in 2009, a fall of 46% or 135,000 trailers. The reason the fall in production is so much larger is that East European markets have collapsed as trailer finance dried up, killing export demand.
With the market for trailers having been strong for several years, many transport firms have lots of new equipment, which they can easily forgo renewing for a year or two. In addition, large stocks of finished vehicles built up, meaning there was no need for manufacturers to build more or order components. In many cases production was down by 80% at the start of 2009.
Gary Beecroft, managing director of CLEAR said “Our forecast is based on the second half of 2009 being better than the first in terms of trailer production, although demand is evenly split between the two halves. There are clear signs that we have reached the bottom of the downturn and hazier indications of an improvement in orders here and there.”
22/6/09
Source: http://trailer-bodybuilders.com/truck-trailer/saf-holland-restructuring-0622/
The final restructuring report for SAF-HOLLAND S.A. was approved by its lending banks, a consortium led by UniCredit and Dresdner Kleinwort.
The restructuring report was recently prepared by the accounting firm KPMG. The anticipated additional liquidity requirements beginning in November 2010 decreased from $41 million in the preliminary report to $22 million in the final version.
Based on the approval of the report, which also confirms the Group’s ability to successfully restructure, SAF-HOLLAND will now finalize a financing arrangement with the bank consortium. The current standstill agreement has been extended until the end of July to allow time for these discussions.
3/6/09
Source: http://www.arvinmeritor.com/media_room/
ArvinMeritor, Inc. (NYSE: ARM) today announced that on June 1, 2009, the company was notified by the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (“NYSE”) that, based upon modified listing standards adopted by the NYSE, it has regained compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standards.
As previously disclosed, the company was notified by the NYSE in March 2009 that it had fallen below the continued listing standard requiring the average market capitalization of a listed company to be not less than $75 million over a consecutive 30 trading-day period when, at the same time, total stockholders’ equity is less than $75 million.
The NYSE’s continued listing standard, as modified under a pilot program effective through Oct. 31, 2009, lowered the required threshold from $75 million to $50 million. Accordingly, the company is currently in compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing requirement that pertains to market capitalization and stockholders’ equity. The NYSE has stated that it anticipates a subsequent rule filing prior to Oct. 31, 2009 to make this change a permanent continued listing standard.
28/05/09
In spite of the negative market trend, SAF-HOLLAND S.A. is realizing initial positive effects from the cost reduction program. As a result, even in light of the decline in sales, it was possible in the first quarter of 2009 to maintain the gross margin at nearly the previous year's level and to achieve an adjusted operating result (EBIT) close to the profit threshold. In the process, the Company has solidified its market position.
Dr. Reiner Beutel, CEO of SAF-HOLLAND GROUP GmbH, explained, 'The demand for trucks and trailers continued to decline in the first quarter of 2009. Therefore, we are continuing our course of reducing capacity and costs as well as preserving liquidity. These measures will pay a double dividend when the market recovers. The commercial vehicles industry stands to be one of the first to benefit when the economy improves.'
Sales Decline Puts Pressure on Earnings In the first quarter, sales declined by almost half to EUR 112.1 million (previous year: EUR 219.3 million) as a result of globally weak demand. On an exchange rate-adjusted basis, sales decreased by 52%. The European business' contribution to total sales fell to 50.9% (previous year: 71.4%), driven by a particularly strong market downturn, due mainly to high inventories and under-utilized equipment at fleets, particularly for trailers. In North America, where SAF-HOLLAND generated 45.1% (previous year: 25.9%) of its sales, demand had already dropped significantly in 2007 and 2008. The remaining regions contributed 4.0% (previous year: 2.7%) of sales.
Cost savings for materials as well as personnel and non-personnel expenses cushioned the impact of the sales decline on earnings. The gross margin of 16.9% almost reached the previous year's value of 17.5%. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were EUR -0.5 million (previous year: 18.1 million), and the adjusted profit for the period totaled EUR -5.3 million (previous year: EUR 9.4 million). Adjusted earnings per share amounted to EUR -0.26 (previous year: EUR 0.50).
Powered Vehicle Systems Significantly Improves Results The Powered Vehicle Systems Business Unit benefited from the business of SAF-HOLLAND Verkehrstechnik GmbH, which was acquired in the fall of 2008, and a government contract in the USA. Sales increased by 50.8% to EUR 26.7 million (previous year: EUR 17.7 million); exchange rate-adjusted it increased by 35.6%. The adjusted gross margin rose to 20.6% (previous year: 13.1%). With these good results, the Business Unit is increasingly proving itself to be an important sales and earnings contributor for the Group. It now accounts for 23.8% (previous year: 8.1%) of total sales.
Trailer Systems Particularly Affected by the Decline in Sales The Group's previous growth engine is suffering from weak demand triggered by high inventories of new trailers and under-utilized equipment at fleets worldwide but especially in Europe. Only the sale of specialty trailers has remained stable. Sales for the Trailer Systems Business Unit totaled EUR 47.2 million (previous year: EUR 158.7 million) declining on an exchange rate-adjusted basis by 71.4%. The gross margin was -2.1% (previous year: 13.1%), reflecting lingering excess capacity despite the cost reductions implemented to date.
Aftermarket a Stabilizing Factor with Improved Margin The Aftermarket Business Unit is likewise affected by the market weakness, but to a lesser extent than the OEM business in the truck and trailer sector. In March, SAF-HOLLAND recorded slightly higher order entry. Business Unit sales declined to EUR 38.2 million (previous year: EUR 42.9 million), exchange rate-adjusted by 16.6%. The Business Unit improved its gross margin to 38.0% (previous year: 35.7%) due to cost reductions and a changed product mix.
Restructuring Plan During the period under review, SAF-HOLLAND benefited from the measures initiated in fall 2008 aimed at reducing costs and improving efficiency. The capacity adjustment encompasses not only staff reductions, but also reduced working hours. In addition, executives and the members of the Management Board are foregoing a portion of their salaries, the bonus for 2008 as well as vacation days. Furthermore, inventories were reduced further in the first quarter, which has had a positive effect on liquidity. Measures to stabilize the Group are continuing; a further EUR 43 million is to be saved during the current year, following the EUR 16 million in cost reductions already achieved in 2008. The goal is to continue to lower the profit threshold substantially. A preliminary expert opinion from the auditing firm KPMG from April 20, 2009, and Mai 25, 2009, confirmed the Group's ability to restructure. Based on the expert opinion, external financing should be secured during the current quarter.
Outlook for 2009: Initial Positive Signs Perceptible In view of the weak demand, which is also characterized by volatility and orders placed at short notice, business development still cannot be forecast with any certainty. Total sales are expected to be well below the previous year's level, accompanied by corresponding pressure on earnings. However, SAF-HOLLAND anticipates a slight recovery of orders in the US truck sector late in the year, the result of pull-forward effects arising from the introduction of new emissions regulations at the beginning of 2010. Initial positive signs of stabilization are perceptible in the US truck business as well as across the Group in the Aftermarket Business Unit. In the past, the replacement parts business has been an early indicator of the subsequent development of the truck and trailer market. Note: SAF-HOLLAND reports adjusted earnings figures since costs have accrued as a result of the business combination, the IPO and restructuring that are not directly attributable to the operating business. EBIT has been adjusted for the following effects: depreciation and amortization from the purchase price allocation as well as restructuring and integration costs.
