Roger Everson, sales and marketing manager with Avon motorsport, the competition division of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe, has announced he will retire in March, after 27 years working for the company.
The latest application taken on as part of Cam Systems’ software and support service, the 20:20 Customer Charter, is to be launched in April. CAMWiki will be available to customers who have signed up for Cam’s 32 Bit Cameo implementation and will give access to existing and new product information, general news, benefit commentaries, user documentation and ”how-to” guides as well as “Flash Traffic” service updates and product sheet downloads.
Those with a hankering for milk products will be pleased to hear that the use of Michelin’s X One MaxiTrailer tyres has enabled Leeds based dairy company Arla Foods UK plc to increase the load capacity of its palletised milk deliveries by 50 per cent. Through the added stability the Michelin tyre provides the company’s first variable deck trailer, Arla Foods can now load 36 pallets on board as opposed to 24. The Gray & Adams variable deck trailer is being used by Arla Foods to support a major contract that requires milk to be delivered in palletised loads to a regional distribution centre, from where the retailer amalgamates it with other products prior to delivery to its stores. This process differs from most milk contracts where products are transported in roll cages that are wheeled directly from the trailer onto the shop floor.
The Tires, Wheels & Equipment Section of SEMA Show in Las Vegas is regarded as one of the major fixtures in the international tyre industry calendar. For years it has, as describes Tire Industry Association executive vice president Roy Littlefield, been “like coming home”, a place to catch up with old friends and colleagues, see valued customers face to face and learn the latest developments in the tyre industry. Yet Littlefield observes that, between the drastic downturn in the global economy and what he describes as “some complacency on the part of TIA and SEMA”, some within the industry may feel that the show might have lost its way.
The Swiss rim forging company Barracuda Racing Wheels makes the courageous observation that “it will probably remain a secret from men for all eternity as to why a woman will regularly drop everything and always pursue the latest shoe trends, regardless of the danger of thus ruining themselves financially.” And while many a male has pondered the seemingly unfathomable relationship between footwear and the fairer sex, few pretend to understand its importance. Barracuda, however, has boldly stepped forward and is attempting to harness the power of shoe desire for its own purposes.
German based online tyre retailer Delticom, owner of the mytyres.co.uk portal, has reported revenues of 311.3 million euros in the 2009 financial year, a year-on-year increase of 20.2 per cent. During the reporting period the company’s EBIT increased 78.8 per cent to 29.4 million euros, and Delticom notes that, in relation to revenues, this corresponds to an EBIT margin of 9.4 per cent – exceeding the forecast of 7 per cent. Consolidated net income for 2009 was 20.2 million euros or 1.71 per euro share, up 72.4 per cent from the previous year.
On April 1, new regulations covering the use of winter tyres will take effect in New Zealand. The new requirements included in the Land Transport: Tyres and Wheels Amendment Rule prohibit the mixing of winter tyres with other types of tyres on the same vehicle. This ban applies to passenger cars, 4x4s, vans, small buses and light commercial vehicles.
Bridgestone Americas has promoted Scott Damon to vice president of marketing for its Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions unit. Damon was director of strategic channels and products for Bridgestone Bandag.
In Thailand, Continental Tyres has concluded a contract with the local operations of logistics provider Kuehne + Nagel for the national distribution of its tyres. In the scope of the agreement, Kuehne + Nagel Thailand will support Continental Tyres’ original equipment and aftermarket dealer business in Thailand. The service to be performed for Continental Tyres Thailand includes receiving and unloading import containers, checking of manufacturing date, storage, in- & out-handling, picking & packing, inventory management and nationwide distribution to its dealers and end users. The operations are being implemented at Kuehne + Nagel’s shared facility in Theparak.
Techking Tires reports that two of its tyres have been approved for OEM fitment on Atlas Copco machinery in China. Its ETSM L5S tyre in size 12.00R24 has been approved for the Atlas Copco ST2D and in size 17.5R25 for the Atlas Copco ST3.5. Both vehicles are electric loaders intended for underground use in mining and construction work.
Titan Wheel Corporation, a subsidiary of Titan International, has been named as a top-performing supplier by Spartan Motors Chassis. Titan Wheel produces off-highway wheels and rims for Spartan Motors, who supplies defence contractor BAE Systems with Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) tactical vehicles. Spartan awarded the top-performing designation to the uppermost four per cent of its more than 300 suppliers. The Spartan award, comments Titan, commends exceptional performance criteria related to quality, delivery, customer support and competitiveness.
The last chapter in the extremely well documented scrappage scheme draws to an end today with car manufacturers calling last orders on Tuesday 30 March and the government releasing figures relating to the effects of scheme. Apparently the scheme, which offered around £2000 to motorists in exchange for them trading their car in for a new one, has helped some 400,000 customers to buy a new motor since it began.
The latest figures show that scrappage contributed to approximately one fifth of all new car registrations since the scheme started. Half (54%) of scrappage buyers surveyed had never bought a new car before and more than half (56%) of those surveyed said they would not have bought any vehicle at this time if the scrappage scheme had not been introduced.
Rimcity Wheels, purportedly the only authorised UK dealers for Giovanna wheels – as showcased on world famous tuning programme “pimp my ride,” is offering the new 2010 range of wheels from Giovanna, Gianelle and GFG. In addition, sales of what company reports was its biggest selling wheel of 2009 (the Giovanna Dalar) are said to be “still going strong.”
Some of Rimcity’s latest sales include custom painted Lamborgini Orange Range Rover Sport fitted with chrome 24-inch Giovanna Dalars (January 2010); a white Bentley GTC fitted with matte black Giovanna Dalar wheels (February 2010); and a Matte black Porsche Cayenne Turbo S fitted with Matte Black Gianelle Santorini with a polished lip in 24-inch (February 2010).
Bridgestone Corporation has announced that its Indian subsidiary (Bridgestone India Private Ltd) is to invest 50 billion yen (£357 million; 401 million euros; US$539 million) in a second tyre production plant in the country. According to the company, the latest factory will be built near the city of Pune, Maharashtra State, 170 km southeast of Mumbai.
This new plant is slated to begin passenger car radial tyre (PCR) production and truck and bus radial tyre (TBR) in January 2013 and August 2013 respectively. The company is aiming for capacity 10,000 units per day (PCR) and 3,000 units per day (TBR) by 2020.
Conservative estimates from Supertracker place the daily number of wheel alignments carried out using its equipment at around 18,000. Therefore the company has no doubt that training in the correct and most efficient use of the machinery has never been so important for the industry.
