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At the start of this year, Erich Fric took over as managing director of Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe’s consumer business within the Europe North region. Fric’s region of responsibility in this new role includes the Nordic and Baltic markets, as well as Russia and the CIS countries.
We may see a breakup of Continental AG commencing before the end of this year. German business publication Manager Magazin writes that Wolfgang Reitzle, chairman of the tyre maker and automotive technology company’s Supervisory Board, foresees the first subsidiary to emerge from this breakup being listed on the stock exchange some time in 2018. He sees this as being the direction Continental will clearly take, even though to-date neither the Supervisory Board nor the Executive Board has decided upon a concrete course of action.
Van and campervan tyres can lead hard lives. The vehicles they are fitted to are often driven fully loaded on poor roads and gravel surfaces. The tyres must bear the entire weight of the vehicle and provide safe and stable handling under all conditions. To give these products more strength, Nokian Tyres is now introducing its Aramid Sidewall technology into all Nokian van and campervan product lines. From 1 January 2018, it is present in the Nokian WR C3, cLine Van, cLine Cargo and Weatherproof C ranges. Nokian SUV tyres have been manufactured with aramid sidewalls for several years now, and in addition to the abovementioned products the material can be found in 15 Nokian tyre lines.
Offered as part of its fleet service programme in Europe since 2013, Bridgestone is now beginning the rollout of its Tirematics solution in the Asia Pacific region. The solution is initially being deployed in Singapore and Thailand.
Belarusian tyre maker Belshina is investing an undisclosed sum to expand its heavy tyre capacity. The project will see production of all-steel radial industrial tyres with 25- to 29-inch rim diameters begin within the main factory at Belshina’s heavy tyre plant. Plant director Vadim Nikitenko shares that Belshina intends to begin serial production of these tyres in sizes 18.00R25, 17.5R25, 20.5R25 and 23.5R25 by the end of this year.
Directors of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company have declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.14 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable 1 March 2018 to shareholders of record on 1 February 2018. The payout represents an annual rate of US$0.56 per share.
The remits of a number of the Bridgestone Corporation management team in Japan will alter from the end of March. Minoru Shimizu, currently senior vice-president and senior officer responsible for Bridgestone’s Japan Tire Business, chief executive officer of its Japan Tire strategic business unit and chairman of Bridgestone Tire Japan Co., Ltd., will hand over the last of these roles to Masahiro Isobe.
Tyres have a new enemy, and its name is CatClaw. Designed to hinder terrorist attacks and the even more heinous crime of parking on footpaths, CatClaw is a small device that, when installed in large number along kerbs and footpaths, can cause rapid tyre deflation.
Following on from the launch at last year’s SIMA show of the Agriflex+ 389 VF, Alliance Tire Group (ATG) released further agricultural tyre lines during 2017, including the Alliance 128. The Yokohama Rubber-owned tyre maker also announced its intention to intensify its activities with OEM customers and has appointed a dedicated original equipment team.
Three different Pirelli tyre models will be supplied as original equipment for the new Lamborghini Urus. Purchasers of the 650hp SUV will be able to choose between the P Zero, P Zero Corsa and Scorpion ranges; Pirelli notes that the Scorpion is also available in winter, all-season and all-terrain versions. A total of six 21- to 23-inch tyre dimensions have been homologated for the Urus.
The Tire Industry Association (TIA) has announced the upcoming official retirement of its senior technical consultant, Marvin Bozarth. He will farewell colleagues and industry associates at the 2018 Off-the-Road (OTR) Tire Conference, which will take place in Florida, USA from 21 to 24 February.
The argument against prematurely dismounting tyres voiced by Michelin here in the UK and in Europe has become a topic of conversation at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week. The tyre maker’s global initiative to promote consumer awareness was presented at the show yesterday by Michelin North America’s recently-appointed chairman and president, Scott Clark.
The Dunlop TrailSmart has been replaced in key sizes by a successor tyre, the TrailSmart Max. In addition to building upon the previous-generation tyre’s wet and dry grip characteristics, Dunlop Europe says new technologies have been used to improve the TrailSmart Max’s handling and durability.
Happy Birthday, Bush Tyres. Now 70 years old, Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire’s leading independent tyre specialist may well be the longest-established agricultural tyre supplier in the country. Set up as a bicycle tyre specialist in 1947, agricultural tyres joined the portfolio soon afterwards, and Bush Tyres never looked back. Now in its fourth generation, the family-run business is, as a Grouptyre member, strongly engaged in the distribution and retail sale of car tyres, and it is also equipped to meet the tyre and service requirements of commercial fleets. The agricultural tyre business remains nonetheless important to Bush Tyres, and here it is present in a variety of segments, including original equipment. Marketing director Tom Bush shares that the tyre company was particularly active in this last-mentioned field in 2017, and aims to continue its growth there during the course of this year.
ZC Rubber has appointed Craige McFerrin vice-president of sales for the Arisun brand that is offered by its ZC America subsidiary. Previously East US region sales manager for ZC America, McFerrin racked up more than 37 years of experience in commercial vehicle tyre sales before joining ZC Rubber.
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