Louzán SL to produce Marangoni Ringtread retread tyres in Spain
Marangoni Retreading Systems has announced a new partnership with Spanish retreading partner, Louzán SL. The Galicia-based company, which was formed in the 1940s, offers a range of services for fleets, including retreading, with ten sales outlets for extensive territorial coverage. Marangoni said the partnership reflects the “major changes” taking place in the retreading industry. While the future of the retread manufacturer’s Rovereto remains uncertain, Marangoni has moved to increase its global partnerships in various markets around the world. The company characterises its latest Spanish partnership as an “expansion” of its activities in the country.
Continue ReadingPirelli truck tyres separating and merging with Aeolus/ChemChina
Pirelli’s Chinese owner ChemChina has officially entered into negotiations relating to the separating out the Italian firm’s truck tyre business in order to combine it with Aeolus and the three other ChemChina-owned tyre businesses.
Continue ReadingPirelli previews latest P Zero tyre in Geneva
Of all the tyres fitted to prestige vehicles at the Geneva Motor Show, 51 per cent were made by Pirelli. Pirelli’s premium vehicle share at the show was 32 per cent. According to Pirelli general manager, operations, Gregorio Borgo the Geneva shares are pretty much the same as Pirelli’s real-world market share. Now consider the fact that registration of prestige marques (the most exclusives brands) have increased seven-fold since 2000. During the same period, the registrations of premium marques have tripled. Meanwhile, general market registrations are only 1.5 times greater than they were at the turn of the millennium. With this in mind, you can see why Pirelli was keen to preview its latest P Zero tyre in the context of the Geneva motor show and why the company is emphasising so-called “marked tyres” more than ever.
Continue ReadingRoadlink’s six-figure factory investment
Roadlink International has invested the best part of £700k in its commercial vehicle caliper remanufacturing operation with the opening of a brand new facility at its head office in Willenhall, West Midlands.
Continue ReadingWhen it comes to tyre testing, where’s the line?
Last month, talk of tyre testing irregularities came to the fore following Nokian’s admissions of “mistakes” in this area. In the April edition of Tyres & Accessories we follow up on this story in some detail with a survey of leading manufacturers’ responses to the issue of the day and an exclusive interview with Nokian president and CEO Ari Lehtoranta. While the detailed views of the world’s leading tyre makers are many and varied, they are all unified in their denials of any underhand behaviour relating to magazine and association tyre testing (see Top tyre manufacturers deny involvement in tyre test manipulation for the full story). And yet Nokian’s Lehtoranta has clearly pointed the finger at the broader industry on a number of occasions in the past – and apparently is continuing to do so.
Continue ReadingAn integrated Bridgestone tyre & industrial range coming to Bauma
Bridgestone intends to jointly present both its tyre and industrial products at next month’s Bauma show in Munich. This is the first time the company has displayed products from both its two divisions together at a European trade show; the company says the content and layout of its more than 200 square metre booth will reflect the goal of “expanding the traditional trade fair role of product display towards an advisory role, offering customers a wide range of premium rubber products from a single supplier.”
Continue ReadingGM names Bridgestone a Supplier of the Year
On 10 March, General Motors held its 24th annual Supplier of the Year awards ceremony in the company’s headquarters city of Detroit, recognising 110 suppliers from 17 countries, including Bridgestone. It was the 14th occasion that Bridgestone Corporation has been designated a GM Supplier of the Year since the vehicle manufacturer inaugurated the award in 1992.
Continue ReadingWang Feng resigns as Aeolus Tyre chairman
Aeolus Tyre Co. Ltd. has reported the resignation of its chairman Wang Feng. In a Chinese-language statement issued on 15 March, the tyre maker shared that Mr Wang has resigned due to “job changes.”
Continue ReadingPirelli gains a new Board of Directors; Ren Jianxin named chairman
A number of significant management changes were confirmed at yesterday’s meeting of Pirelli & C. SpA shareholders. ChemChina chairman Ren Jianxin was named Pirelli’s new chairman, while Marco Tronchetti Provera was confirmed as chief executive officer and executive vice-chairman.
Continue ReadingIn the red: Venezuela, restructuring hurts Pirelli’s 2015 results
Although Pirelli’s revenues grew 4.8 per cent in 2015 and were above the year’s target of €6.25 billion, problems in Venezuela and other issues took their toll on the company’s bottom line. The tyre maker’s revenue for the 2015 financial year amounted to €6.31 billion. Price increases, higher replacement market sales and product mix more than compensated for the 1.6 per cent decline in volumes, a reduction that mainly came from emerging markets and the company’s industrial business.
Continue ReadingEuropean rubber associations join up for information campaign
The rubber industry associations of Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain with the support of the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers Association (ETRMA) have launched a campaign providing information on the general rubber goods (GRG) industry and the challenges it is facing.
Continue ReadingGiti: Dekra independent results contradict magazine tyre test
In response to a recent, less than favourable third party tyre test, Giti Tire has run two sets of independent tests with Dekra and “a leading German tyre testing association” to verify the wet braking performance of its GT Radial Champiro FE1 tyre. In the case of the original test, the Nexen Nblue HD Plus was chosen as the comparison product based on the reported results, which had this tyre as the test winner. Therefore Giti ran its tests using the same Nexen product as a comparison.
Continue ReadingGoodyear continues ‘thought leader’ strategy at Geneva 2016
Goodyear has done it again. For the last few years of exhibiting at the Geneva Motor Show, the company has been taking the idea of concept tyres more seriously than most (think of “battery charging, shape shifting tyres” last year and an SUV concept plus “chip in tyre” technology the year before. The goal is clearly to challenge received wisdom and raise questions about the future of tyres – taking a thought leadership role in the markets, but especially with OEMs. This year Goodyear put its Eagle 360 centre-stage in Geneva. Of course the spherical tyre is striking for its shape and the suggestion that it will move the vehicle of the future with a built maglev propulsion system, but what is perhaps even more interesting for the tyre industry is the questions this product raises about future tyre manufacturing, distribution and retail business models. Tyres & Accessories spoke with Goodyear EMEA president Jean-Claude Kihn in order to find out more.
Continue ReadingLehigh Technologies prepares for European MRP production
As Europe’s retreaders are currently learning to their cost, commitment to sustainable products often takes a back seat to lower prices; despite offering proven environmental plusses, retreaded truck tyres continue to lose market share to cheap and often non-retreadable imported new tyres. To truly thrive, an environmentally-friendly product must also deliver a price benefit. With its micronised rubber powder (MRP) products, Lehigh Technologies offers this double advantage. Tyres & Accessories recently met with Lehigh Technologies’ vice-president and general manager Kedar Murthy and Josep Freixas, the company’s MRP business development manager for the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions, to find out how the market is taking to the concept of new tyres containing materials made from end of life tyres.
Continue ReadingStamford Tyres achieves higher profits despite slump in turnover
Singapore’s Stamford Tyres Corporation Ltd has reported a 32 per cent year-on-year increase in profit before tax for the third quarter of its 2016 financial year. The company’s profits in the three-month period ending 31 January 2016 amounted to S$1.6 million (£814,000), up from $1.2 million a year earlier. This rise in profit was achieved despite a 20 per cent drop in total group revenue to $60.3 million (£30.7 million). The quarter gross profit margin increased from 21.8 per cent to 25.2 per cent.
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