Aad L Goudriaan has been appointed the new chief executive officer of Dutch emissions control equipment supplier Bosal, effective 1 April. He joins from DAF Trucks where he had been president. He has also performed managerial roles for DAF in logistics, manufacturing and sales since 1987.
China's tyre-makers are facing tougher – and growing – competition from major industry names, says Tire Review, as companies like Groupe Michelin, Bridgestone Corp and others are boosting their investment in China. According to the People’s Daily, “Booming domestic market made foreign companies more confident in their expansion in China, and will lead to more fierce competition,” said a manager from an unnamed Chinese tyre-maker located in Shandong province.
Ecological innovations will take pride of place at the European Tyre Recycling Association’s 17th European Conference on Tyre Recycling in Brussels on 17-19 March, 2010. The themed event will comprise a “Pyrolisys Forum” during the ETRA Assembly Meeting, including the presentation of research studies on tyre recycling materials and their employment on road sector and civil enginery, rubberised bitumen and asphalt, buildings and concrete, thermoplastics, thermal and acoustic insulation.
Founded in Pocklington over 40 years ago, Bond International now occupies a 140,000 square foot site on the town’s industrial estate and employs nearly 100 local people. In addition, the company operates distribution depots in Chepstow, Stevenage and Redditch, which together employ a further 90 people. And adding an international flavour to the operation are representative offices in both China and Singapore. Bond International reports that these two offices assist in the sourcing of brands that provide an alternative to the ‘premium manufacturer offer’. By researching new and competitively priced manufacturing facilities around the globe, Bond has been able to offer exclusive mid-range tyre brands. An example of this is Infinity.
Belgium steel cord manufacturer Bekaert states that capacity increases in China, India and Russia, and the planned integration of the tyre Bridgestone tyre cord plants (in Sardinia, Italy and in Huizhou, China) acquired earlier this year will lift the company’s total tyre cord capacity from its present level of 625,000 tons to an estimated 700,000 tons by the end of 2010. The bulk of this increase will occur in China, where capacity will rise from its current level of 350,000 tons to 400,000 tons.
The Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship will begin on Sunday 28 February at Little Silver near Exeter, when a host of GP stars and top British riders will contest the spoils.
Testing and manufacturing equipment made available following Yokohama Rubber’s decision to withdraw from the aircraft tyre from the aircraft business has been acquired by Dunlop Aircraft Tyres. The Birmingham based manufacturer has signed an agreement to purchase several pieces of radial and crossply tyre manufacturing equipment including an additional dynamometer. These products should enable Dunlop Aircraft Tyres to expand manufacturing capacity and enable the company to offer new products, such as radial main tyres for the Boeing 777.
Cooper Tire & Rubber has announced a quarterly dividend of 10.5 cents per share on common stock, payable March 31, 2010, to stockholders of record at the close of business March 2, 2010. This will mark the 152nd consecutive quarterly dividend paid by Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.
Last year Continental made the decision to begin importing industrial and earthmover tyres manufactured by joint venture partner Simex into the UK and Ireland. The range available in this sector has now been expanded through the launch of the Simex SE65, a product designed for the construction industry.
Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development manager Tohru Ubukata has declared himself “very confident” in the new MotoGP rear medium compound tyre supplied by the series’ tyre provider for testing at Sepang, Malaysia. The manufacturer also tried out a developmental specification hard front slick over the two day testing period – the results of which will go towards determining the future direction of Bridgestone’s tyre technology, according to the company.
Continental’s Industrial Tyres business unit has released its successor to the IC80 and ConRad HT tyres. Called the ContiRT20 Performance, the pneumatic radial is designed to move extremely heavy loads at speeds of up to 40 km/h (25 mph).
Pirelli has served as sole tyre supplier to the Superbike World Championship since 2004 and now the Italian marque has announced several performance awards it says will act as additional incentives for a “faster and more spectacular environment.” Three new types of awards have thus been added to the total prize pool: Pirelli “Best Lap”, Pirelli “Best Jump Forward”, and “Best Lap Winner 2010: Fastest Rider of the Year”.
When Tyres & Accessories last visited Van den Ban Autobanden in April 2008, the company’s new warehouse facility was arising from a 24.000 square metre greenfield site on outskirts of the Dutch town of Hellevoetsluis. Even then the scale of the project, intended to consolidate the wholesaler’s two storage facilities into a single location, was evident. A key component of the project remained under wraps at this time, however, and therefore a second visit to the completed warehouse was necessary. What T&A saw upon its return to Van den Ban in Hellevoetsluis early in 2010 was impressive, to say the least.
Extended OEM shutdowns and downturns in its core markets led US company Titan International to a $300 million sales fall-off in 2009, reports Tire Review. Titan posted 2009 sales of $727.6 million, as compared to $1,036.7 million in 2008. Net loss for the year was $24.6 million, compared to net income of $13.3 million in 2008.
SEMA has opened up spots on its Select Committees, and is now taking nominations, reports Tire Review. “Historically, nominations for Select Committee seats were only accepted from members of the individual council or committee,” SEMA said. “This year, the nominations process is open to all SEMA member company representatives, regardless of any council or committee affiliation.”
