News
ExxonMobil opens Singapore butyl and resins plants
On 21 June 2018 ExxonMobil announced it had started production of hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin and halobutyl rubber at its integrated manufacturing complex in Singapore, the company’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical complex in the world. ExxonMobil’s new Escorez hydrogenated hydrocarbon resins plant will be the world’s largest with a capacity of 90,000 tonnes per year, and will meet long-term demand growth for hot-melt adhesives used in packaging or baby diapers. The new 140,000-tonnes-per-year butyl plant will produce premium halobutyl rubber used by manufacturers for tyres to better maintain inflation to improve fuel economy.
MWheels becomes key sponsor, wheel supplier of BTRC’s Team Oliver Racing
MWheels has become a key sponsor of British Truck Racing Championship (BTRC) contenders Team Oliver Racing, supplying Xlite forged aluminium wheels for both 2018 racing trucks and all the teams transporter vehicles. The agreement, which will see the Xlite and Xbrite brands feature prominently throughout the series, will also support an assortment of client and media marketing initiatives.
Drivers to spend £45 million on air con services this summer
A new report predicts that drivers in the UK will spend over £45 million on air conditioning services this summer due to the impending heatwave. Based on internal garage and consumer data, the marketplace has predicted that there will be over 1 million air con units serviced in total in the months of June, July and August, having already seen a 2500 per cent increase in requests in May compared to April.
Pro-Align launches two-day aftersales commitment
Pro-Align has launched a new commitment to visit customers with a valid aftersales agreement within two days of receiving a reported issue on Hunter equipment. For customers where a visit cannot be completed within the agreed time frame, no charge will be made for the resulting repair. The garage equipment distributor said the new commitment has been made in response to a growing number of workshops’ reliance on Hunter wheel servicing equipment for profit maximisation.
2017 – 2021 trailer registration growth forecast higher than any 5-year period ever
Clear International has just issued its latest forecast for the West European Trailer Market, which suggests that trailer registrations between 2017 and 2021 will grow at a faster five-year period than any other on record. Since the last report there has been a further improvement in the short term outlook for some West European economies. As a consequence, the forecast of a slowdown in demand for trailers in the region during 2018 has changed.
TireHub to start operations in July
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (Goodyear) and Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (Bridgestone)’s TireHub LLC joint venture in passenger and light truck tyre distribution, will begin serving customers the first week of July. The joint venture received clearance from all required regulatory authorities earlier in June, enabling the creation of one of the largest national tyre distributors in the United States. The transaction is expected to close at the end of June.
Goodyear CFO Laura K. Thompson to retire
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) Laura K. Thompson is to retire in the first quarter of 2019 after 35 years of service.
Triangle mourns chairman Ding Yuhua
Ding Yuhua, Triangle Tyre’s chairman, died on 13 June 2018 at the age of 70. In addition to running the large Chinese tyre manufacturer, Ding Yuhua, was deputy to the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th Chinese National People’s Congress, deputy to the 8th and 9th Shandong Provincial People’s Congress, member of Weihai People’s Congress Standing Committee and senior vice president of China Rubber Industry Association (CRIA).
Autoelectro maintains ISO quality standards
Autoelectro is proud to report that it has successfully gained recertification/transition to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and OHSAS 18001:2007 accreditations following its recent annual surveillance visit.
EDT Automotive signs nine garages to network during Automechanika debut
EDT Automotive, the multi-award winning engine decontamination specialist, has enjoyed a phenomenally successful debut show at this year’s Automechanika Birmingham, signing nine garages live on the stand as well as co-sponsoring the event’s Garage of the Year awards.
Klarius: How will WLTP real-world emission tests affect the automotive aftermarket?
The automotive industry is now implementing a new ‘real-world’ emissions testing procedure for vehicles that will hopefully make quoted mpg figures a bit more accurate but could mean higher tax brackets for many cars. The push by manufacturers to produce vehicles that are more optimised for the new test will therefore likely see some trends in engine design change.
VMI adds pallet lift to range
Tyre manufacturing equipment maker VMI has added a vertical pallet lift with high handling capacity to its product portfolio. The lift is for large batch-offs, mainly for the tyre industry.
TechMan announces partnership at Automechanika Birmingham
TechMan, the fast-growing garage management system provider, enjoyed a hugely successful Automechanika Birmingham debut at the NEC in Birmingham from June 5-7.
Bridgestone, Firestone agricultural products praised by Irish farmers after wet winter
Ireland’s winter was one of the wettest on record, leading to frustration for farmers, as conditions in their fields proved too treacherous to work in. The right agricultural tyres can help to overcome such issues, as a number of Irish contractors using Bridgestone and Firestone’s latest agricultural products have found.
PCL launches new nitrogen generation and inflation range
Pneumatic Components (PCL), the Sheffield-based manufacturer and distributor of pneumatic and tyre inflation systems, has launched a new and improved mobile nitrogen generation and inflation cart range.