BEN Appoints Head of Welfare
BEN, the Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund has appointed Fiona Gorman to Head of Welfare effective 1 February, following the departure of its deputy director care services in December.
BEN, the Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund has appointed Fiona Gorman to Head of Welfare effective 1 February, following the departure of its deputy director care services in December.
Amtel-Vredestein N.V. has announced plans to issue credit linked notes (CLN) for 100 million Euros during the first quarter of 2006. The CLN issue will be used to finance the company’s retail expansion and to refinance debt. The term of the security will be four years with a two-year put option. The coupon will be paid twice yearly. According to the company, the issue lead manager is Alfa-Bank, Russia.
Yokohama’s Hangzhou Yokohama Tire Co. Ltd. Chinese subsidiary has secured ISO 14001 certification. The company achieved the standard in January, Yokohama reported. Established in December 2001 and financed by Yokohama Rubber (90 per cent) and YHI Holdings Pte, Ltd (10 per cent), Hangzhou Yokohama Tire manufactures and sells radial tyres for passenger cars.
Maxxis International’s Shanghai plant has been honoured by Shanghai General Motors for the sixth consecutive year. Named a Best Supplier for 2005, the company received the award at a ceremony in Shanghai. Of the nearly 200 suppliers eligible for this award, only six were chosen. Shanghai GM’s selection criteria included technology, quality, price, delivery, and service. Maxxis International said it “is proud to provide outstanding tyre products to Shanghai GM and expresses its gratitude for this recognition.”
Continental tyres has named the B3081 as the bendiest road in Britain. Continental commissioned research to find out which of Britain’s 6,300 classified roads sets the toughest task for car tyres. At a steady 30 mph, a one-mile stretch of the B3081 between Cann Common in Dorset and Tollard Royal in Wiltshire exerted lateral forces of a magnitude a car would experience on a racetrack like Brands Hatch.
Researchers tested a shortlist of 10 roads, as nominated by Auto Express readers, from across the UK. A standard Vauxhall Astra 1.4 with Continental ContiSportContact2 tyres was fitted with state of the art measuring equipment and an on-board computer to record forward speed and lateral acceleration.
The 2006 Fulda Challenge UK team is heading back to Britain after its best Arctic performance yet. Kate Balchin (26) and Martin Yardley (38) travelled to the breathtaking Yukon Territory at the end of January to take part in the annual extreme sports adventure. The UK team finished in fourth place, 30 points behind the winning team. Kate finished third overall in a field of world-class female athletes and was presented with a cheque for $1,000 (Canadian).
Belgium’s Liesbeth Buytart and Germany’s Martin Hollerbach were the top performing woman and man respectively and they received a cheque for $3,000 (Canadian) each. The final results meant that the German Lowa team won the 2006 Fulda Challenge after leading the event from start to finish. They were awarded a Klondike gold nugget each.
Pirellifilm is a unique new communication tool that intends to launch high quality short films through several media channels. The films will centre on stage and screen stars’ interpretations of the famous Pirelli claim – “Power is nothing without control” – in a different way each year. This extraordinary project, which has been in the planning for several years, is intended to support the Pirelli image and positioning and to maintain brand leadership.
Pirelli has chosen the Web as the main channel for these films. The Internet, with its endless possibilities, has evolved to become an entertainment channel and, in this case, also a movie theatre. As the long-term experience of the Calendar has shown, Pirelli has always been able to attract up-and-coming talents, to communicate in a more effective and original way, and to go beyond traditional advertising channels.
Sava is introducing a new range of summer tyres for cars and Multi Purpose Vehicles (MPVs). The Sava Perfecta range will be available in new popular sizes and is said to offer longevity, reliability and a competitive price tag. The main benefit of Sava Perfecta is greater mileage. Other benefits are shorter wet stopping distances, reduced risk of aquaplaning, better driver control and less noise.
Koos Nooi, Sava brand director Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “The Sava Perfecta fulfils the requirements of possibly the largest consumer segment of the European tyre market because it is designed to meet the needs of the rational and safety conscious driver who drives a compact car or MPV. We have tested this tyre against competition, which it has outperformed. Sava Perfecta has met all parameters we set for it.”
Further details of Apollo Tyres’ acquisition of Dunlop International (also known as Dunlop South Africa) have emerged. Firstly Dunlop Nigeria (estimated turnover of $65 million, £40 million) is not included in the sale. Apollo representatives gave no reason for this. Furthermore, the Indian company confirmed it would keep the troubled Dunlop Zimbabwe business.
“Dunlop is the only tyre manufacturer in Zimbabwe and it is a profitable operation,” Apollo spokesperson Kankana Das told Tyres & Accessories. However in light of inflation rates as high as 800 per cent any profitability must be difficult to maintain. “Any operation can be profitable as long it is able to pass on price increases to cover the cost push. The Zimbabwe operations have been able to do this,” Das added.
(Akron/Tire Review – Quincy Herald-Whig) Morry Taylor, who created a stir when he ran for president in 1996, is shaking things up again. This time, the president and CEO of Quincy-based Titan International took out a full-page ad 2 February in USA Today calling on Americans to demand common-sense solutions to some of the problems facing this country.
The top of the ad reads in bold print: “Americans are you stupid? I don’t think we are, but politicians, bureaucrats and the intelligent elite think so.” Taylor used the ad as a platform to express his views on a variety of issues he feels are being mishandled by the nation’s leadership.
Carlisle based owner-driver Keith Simpson has just replaced the original drive axle tyres on his Volvo FH12 tractor unit after an impressive 616,000 kilometres. The Michelin 295/80 R22.5 XDE2 tyres recorded this performance during the first life of the brand new tyres, followed by a regroove, which ensured an additional 20 per cent mileage. The regrooving also extended the tyres most fuel-efficient state, in line with Michelin’s Stop Thirsty Tyres Campaign.
The Ford Focus might be Britain’s most popular vehicle, but the smaller Fiesta is still one of Britain’s best-loved drives. And today is the small car’s not so small 30th birthday.
More than 3.2 million Fiestas – enough to stretch bumper to bumper from London to New York and back – have been sold in the UK since the first one rolled off the assembly line in 1976. The £1,856 entry-level model featured then state-of-the-art extras such as a folding rear seat, rubber floor mats and two-speed windscreen wipers. It was all a world away from the 2006 model, which offers motorists high-tech technology like voice recognition, satellite navigation, MP3 capability and Bluetooth capability.
(Akron/Tire Review) Toyo Tire USA Corp. has increased its support of National Auto Sport Association (NASA) road racing for 2006. The long-time NASA sponsor is involved is regional races and spec categories such as American Iron Racing, Honda Challenge and Spec Miata Challenge. For the 2006 season, Toyo will double the rewards to Toyo-spec class champions in each region, and the company is nearly doubling its “Toyo Bucks” rebate program for regional races with more than five starters in each class.”
(Akron/Tire Review) Ford Motor Co. has been ordered to pay a rollover accident victim $29 million. The case involved a 22-year-old Texas woman who was left partially paralyzed when a Firestone ATX on her 1999 Mazda Navajo failed and the vehicle rolled over.
EnTire Solutions, LLC has named Bianchi Public Relations, Inc as its public relations agency of record. The announcement was made by Richard Wolfe CEO of EnTire Solutions, and James A Bianchi, president of the public relations firm.
Bianchi Public Relations will provide strategic public relations counsel, media relations and promotional assistance to EnTire Solutions, which develops, markets and sells direct, driver-oriented tyre pressure monitoring (TPM) systems and related tools and services to vehicle manufacturers. The firm has been assisting EnTire Solutions on a project basis.
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