NASHVILLE, Tenn.-Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. has decided not to sell its Firestone Building Products Co. subsidiary, which makes and markets rubber roofing systems for commercial applications. BFS had put the unit up for sale in February, saying it wanted to use the proceeds to pay down its $2.5 billion debt-most of it owed to parent Bridgestone Corp.
BFS probably didn't get an adequate offer for the roofing business, said Harry Millis, an analyst with Fundamental Research Inc.
Firestone Building Products has achieved record sales and earnings for the past two years and has been increasing its share of the U.S. rubber roofing market to 37 percent, the No. 2 position.
GSA plans federal tire conference
WASHINGTON-The General Services Administration has tentatively scheduled its next Federal Tire Conference for Sparks, Nev., in the first half of November.
The conference's main purpose, according to GSA Federal Tire Program Manager Kenneth L. Collings Jr., is to educate federal fleet buyers on the high quality of retreaded tires and the mandate from Congress to buy them.
One highlight, Mr. Collings said, will be a tour of the Purcell Tire & Rubber Co. retread plant in Sparks. Another will be a ``ride-and-drive'' road test at the Nevada Automotive Test Center, in which attendees will get to compare the rides of two cars and two light trucks, identical except for the tires: new P-metric radials on one; retreads on the other.
``We want the fleet buyers to tell us which is which; I guarantee they won't be able to,'' Mr. Collings said.
Myers' earnings fall as sales rise
AKRON-The rising costs of raw materials depressed second-quarter net income at Myers Industries Inc., giving the parent company of Myers Tire Supply and Patch Rubber Co. its first quarterly earnings decline since 1991.
For the three months ended June 30, net income fell 15.3 percent, compared with the 1994 quarter, to $4.35 million, despite a 10.4-percent jump in sales to $75.6 million.
First-half earnings slipped 6 percent to $8.12 million as sales rose 11.7 percent to $143.1 million.
CGT field sales reps computerize
AKRON-Continental General Tire has linked its field sales force to the company computer network by providing them lap-top units.
The new equipment will enable sales reps to access virtually any part of CGT's computer system-including data on pricing, invoices, shipments and product availability-enabling them to assist dealers with any question they might have, the company said.
Hayes' sales rise but earnings don't
ROMULUS, Mich.-Second-quarter earnings for Hayes Wheels International Inc. were unchanged from the 1994 period, as reduced profit margins offset a 21-percent increase in sales.
Net income for the three months ended July 31 held steady at $7.2 million, while sales leaped to $151.4 million. For the six months, earnings rose 2.6 percent to $15.5 million on a 20.6-percent surge in sales to $311.2 million.