There’s a puncture waiting for you – Bridgestone launches DriveGuard ad campaign
This month’s launch of the DriveGuard, the first Bridgestone run-flat tyre for the European aftermarket, is being backed up by an advertising campaign that targets consumers in key markets. The DriveGuard ‘extended mobility’ campaign begins in April and centres on the idea that somewhere out there “there’s a puncture waiting with your name on it.”
Continue ReadingJinyu could be producing tyres in Turkey by 2020
Various news reports suggest Jinyu, (which changed its name to Sailun Jinyu in 2014 following its merger with Sailun) could be building a new tyre plant in Turkey. According to the Turkish Hurriyet newspaper, Jinyu is considering a joint-venture with local distributor Yeslas.
Continue ReadingAria Tire breaks ground on new Iranian tyre factory
Local sources report that Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, the Iranian minister of industry, mine and trade attended the ground-breaking of Gostaresh Aria Tire’s new tyre production facility in Zabol City, Eastern Iran on 10 March. The ground-breaking marks the latest development in a significant expansion of the Iranian tyre industry.
Continue ReadingInter-Sprint builds up one-stop supply focus
A recurring theme encountered when talking to tyre wholesalers in 2015 and 2016 is the importance of value-added services. Each wholesaler has its own strategy for delivering this added value; in the case of Inter-Sprint, it involves a focus on acting as a “one-stop tyre partner.” This is a direction the Netherlands-based company has followed for some time now, and it is taking steps to ensure its customers can benefit from this in the years to come.
Continue ReadingDeldo sees scope for growing in a difficult market
The rules that apply in business are much like those we use as individuals. How we respond to a situation, for example, depends on the way we view it. For a company, changes to the market can either be seen as a threat or an opportunity. Belgian firm Deldo prefers the latter approach, and is finding new possibilities within the state of flux that is today’s tyre wholesale market.
Continue ReadingVan den Ban continues investments in products, brands and logistics
Success as a tyre wholesaler, says Cyril Versteeg, depends upon a company’s ability to deliver added value. When Tyres & Accessories recently met with Versteeg, commercial manager at Netherlands-based wholesaler Van den Ban, he reflected on the evolution of this principle over the years. While added value has always lain at the heart of the wholesale business model, the market has driven Van den Ban and other wholesalers to embrace entirely new demands. More than ever, wholesalers not only need to offer a complete and, where possible, exclusive range of products – they must also guarantee fast and accurate deliveries.
Continue ReadingCimcorp opens US office
Cimcorp, a manufacturer robotic gantry-based order fulfilment and tyre handling solutions, is opening a new US-based operation – Cimcorp USA, Inc. (Cimcorp USA) – based in Norcross, Georgia. The firm is making the announcement at the Modex trade show taking place from 4-7 April in Atlanta.
Continue ReadingTitan’s opens oil sands tyre reclamation facility – plans similar setups in Australia, Chile
On 29 March, Titan International subsidiary Titan Tire Reclamation Corp. officially opened its oil sands facility in Fort McMurray, Canada. Titan International estimates that the operation, when fully operational, will be able to convert 240,000 pounds (108.9 tonnes) of scrap tyres to approximately 13,600 gallons (61,800 litres) of oil 52,800 pounds (23.9 tonnes) of steel and 76,800 pounds (34.8 tonnes) of carbon black each day.
Continue ReadingGoodyear OE on new Mercedes-Benz E-Class
The new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 has been accredited with OE fitments on the Mercedes- Benz E-Class. The Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 will be fitted in a range of sizes from 17 to 20 inch rims, section width ranging from 225 to 275, and aspect ratio spanning from 30 to 55. All tyres will be marked ‘MO Extended’ indicating tyres built by Goodyear for Mercedes-Benz as well as providing Goodyear’s Run on Flat technology in all fitments.
Continue ReadingManufacture locally and eliminate transport costs
Numerous tyre makers have or are in the process of setting up factories within regions where they aim to sell their products. Decentralising their manufacturing footprint reduces the time and cost involved in delivering tyres to retailers and end users. A new breakthrough from a British company promises to advance this approach a step further.
Continue ReadingPirelli to sell truck tyres in the North America
Pirelli has begun plans to sell truck and bus tyres in the United States and Canada through a new entity, TP Commercial Solutions LLC. The move represents an expansion into North America of Pirelli’s industrial business unit, currently headed at the group level by Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera.It also follows plans to separate Pirelli’s car and truck tyre businesses, which was initiated in practice by a stock market filing published on 21 March in China. This filing saw China National Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. (ChemChina’s tyre division known as CNRC) announce it had signed a “material asset reorganisation framework agreement” with Aeolus Tyre Co., Ltd including the creation of a China-based Pirelli TBR company.
Continue ReadingBetter together: Regional NTDA meetings show national strength
At the end of February Tyres & Accessories attended the NTDA’s North West region meeting. For years the National Tyre Distributors Association kept in touch with the grass roots of the industry via a regional structure. This dissipated and virtually evaporated in recent decades, but not in the North West where it has continued to be strong – representing the local needs of the association and working together for the common good of tyre distributors as part of the national NTDA organisation. Latterly, the NTDA has experienced something of a resurgence of the regional approach with other regions being re-invigorated (prior to the North West meeting, the South East and Central South regions met in Watford on 10 February).
Continue ReadingNokian Tyres’ boss: How could we “have been so stupid”? – Ari Lehtoranta talks tyre test manipulation
“I didn’t have any choice.” – Ari Lehtoranta, president and CEO of Nokian Tyres, is convinced his decision to go public about the Finnish manufacturer’s manipulation of tyre tests in Europe over decades was the right decision. Lehtoranta, who has led the company since October 2014, wonders why Nokian Tyres went to the effort of supplying specially-made test tyres – particularly as the company’s non-manipulated products have always gained good results in tyre tests. In an interview with Tyres & Accessories, Lehtoranta explains why it is now important to take part in the current public discussions on the subject and, through these talks, develop new industry-wide transparency rules.
Continue ReadingATS Euromaster expands pilot truck services programme
ATS Euromaster has expanded its pilot truck services programme. The network is seeking to expand its service, maintenance and repair business with large commercial vehicle fleets. Phase one of the programme, launched in April 2015, marked the first time ATS Euromaster had expanded its range of services beyond tyres and wheels for commercial vehicles above seven tonnes gvw. Now a further 10 locations can provide SMR support to truck operators. They stretch from Glasgow to Exeter to cover key locations along some of Britain’s most significant transport routes, including the M1, M4, M5, M6, Felixstowe, and Tilbury.
Continue ReadingSumitomo investing to produce truck tyres in South Africa
Just over two years ago, Sumitomo Rubber Industries acquired Apollo Tyres South Africa, and with it the operation’s car tyre factory in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal. While the plant supplies the local market with passenger car and light truck tyres, Sumitomo Rubber South Africa has to-date met local demand for truck and bus tyres with imported products. This will soon change; the company has announced it will invest 910 million rand (£41.3 million) to install new production equipment within the Ladysmith facility, and it aims to produce truck and bus tyres there from July 2018.
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