Automechanika Shanghai 2015 in new, larger venue
Automechanika Shanghai sees Asia’s largest trade fair for automotive parts, accessories, equipment and services move to a new location - the National Exhibition and Convention Center, Puxi, Shanghai. The event, which will be held 2 – 5 December 2015 hopes to capitalise on the expanded venue with 280,000 square metres of exhibition space, up 27 per cent from 2014. Indeed the Parts & Components sector will expand exhibition space to 146,000 sqm alone.
Continue ReadingFalken Tyre sponsoring Bundesliga newcomer
Falken Tyre Europe has entered into sponsorship agreement with German football club FC Ingolstadt 04. The team has been promoted to the premier Bundesliga league for the 2015/2016 season after winning the country’s second-division league last year, and Falken says the new two-season partnership will serve as the “spearhead of a strategic sales sponsoring programme in the football sector” that will see it participate in further advertising and hospitality campaigns with European clubs.
Continue ReadingGoodyear-shod VW sets US fuel economy record
It’s ‘Guinness Time’ again: Last month Honda set a new Guinness World Records title for ‘lowest fuel consumption – all 24 contiguous EU countries (all cars)’, recording an average 100.31 miles per gallon over 8,387 miles during a 25 day drive across all 24 EU contiguous countries, and now Volkswagen of America has set a new Guinness World Records achievement for the ‘lowest fuel consumption – 48 US contiguous States for a non-hybrid car’. The record-setting VW Golf TDI achieved an average fuel consumption of 81.17 mpg during its trip, beating the previous record by more than 3 mpg. Goodyear supported Volkswagen of America in its attempt, supplying the Golf TDI with Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tyres.
Continue ReadingJuly start for Pirelli’s motorcycle tyre JV plant
PT Evoluzione Tyre, the joint venture that factory Astra Otoparts established with Pirelli following the signing of an agreement in April 2012, is scheduled to enter production this month. Astra Otoparts says the factory’s production target for 2015 is 2 million motorcycle tyres and the total planned annual output is 7 million pieces; 4 million of these will be Pirelli or Metzeler branded tyres that will be sold in the domestic and export markets, and the remaining 3 million will be manufactured under Astra Otoparts’ Aspira brand name for sale both in Indonesia and abroad. Pirelli holds a 60 per cent share in the joint venture and Astra Otoparts the remainder.
Continue ReadingContinental announces US tyre recall
Some 3,800 ContiProContact tyres sold in the US market have been recalled due to the risk of tread separation. Continental says the recall relates to size P205/65 R15 95T XL tyres manufactured in February 2015. These replacement market products carry the Department of Transportation code VY UR 471B 0615.
Continue ReadingBridgestone to produce anti-vibration rubber in Indonesia
Astra Otoparts, the Indonesian automotive component company that has partnered with Pirelli to set up a motorcycle tyre factory, has entered into an agreement with Bridgestone Corporation to establish another joint venture manufacturing company. This latest JV is non tyre-related and involves the manufacture of vibration rubber products for motor vehicles. The agreement was concluded in Jakarta on 2 July and was signed by Yasuhiro Suzuki, director of Bridgestone’s Diversified Original Equipment Division, and Hamdhani Dzulkarnaen Salim and Djangkep Budhi Santoso, president director and director of Astra Otoparts.
Continue ReadingReifen Gundlach gains ISO/TS 16949 accreditation
Reifen Gundlach is celebrating the attainment of ISO/TS 16949, a standard that qualifies the German tyre wholesaler to supply the automotive industry. However, this is not a completely new development. Reifen Gundlach reports that it embarked on the course for this technical innovation several years ago. Indeed OE-compliant complete wheel assemblies have been rolling off the production line of “one of the most modern assembly lines for the aftermarket in Europe” since 2008 and the firms tyre/wheel assembly business has had quality management system standard ISO 9001 since 2006.
Continue ReadingReports: Deruibao bankrupt
Reports suggest that struggling Shandong, China-based tyre manufacturing Deruibao tyre has now officially declared bankruptcy. As Tyres & Accessories reported in February, the company called on local Grungrao County officials for support who tried to restructure the business. Qingdao Doublestar and Hengfeng tyre were also linked to the firm as possible buyers.
Continue ReadingTRIB’s Stevens to speak at Latin American & Caribbean Tyre Expo
The Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB) shares that its managing director, David Stevens, will once again be a featured speaker at the Latin American & Caribbean Tyre Expo. This year’s event, which takes place in Panama City between 16 and 18 July, will be the fourth year in a row that Stevens has attended the show in this capacity.
Continue ReadingSouth African tyre association seeks anti-dumping protection
The association representing the interests of four tyre majors in South Africa would like to see anti-dumping duties imposed on cheap tyres entering the country. The South African Tyre Manufacturers Conference (SATMC), which acts as the ‘generic face’ of Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear and Sumitomo in their dealings with government, the motor industry and the public, intends to petition the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) for protection against these imports.
Continue ReadingTyrexpo India underway
The third edition of Tyrexpo India got underway in Chennai yesterday. The tyre industry show officially opened with a ‘lamp lighting’ inauguration ceremony officiated by representatives from tyre makers, local industry associations and exhibition organiser SingEx-ECI. The show will run at the Chennai Trade Centre until 9 July.
Continue ReadingInter presents 2015/16 away kit – minus the Pirelli name
The most noticeable feature of Italian football club F.C. Internazionale Milano’s newly-unveiled away kit is that the Pirelli name doesn’t appear on the shirt. Its absence brings to mind comments Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera made when Inter stood before the Europa League exit in May, however the tyre maker remains closely linked to the new kit – the Pirelli name has made room on the away shirt for Driver, the company’s network of independent tyre dealers.
Continue ReadingTGI completes ‘Mission: Happiness 2’
Following the successful debut of TGI dealer meeting entitled “Mission: Happiness”, in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in 2013, Tire Group International hosted its 2015 equivalent – “Mission: Happiness 2” recently.
Continue ReadingTIA appoints David Martin as secretary
The Tire Industry Association (TIA) board of directors elected David Martin as its new board secretary at the association’s bi-annual meeting held 23 – 25 June 2015. Martin will begin his one-year term as secretary on 2 November 2015. After that year, he will proceed as vice president, then president, then past president; all of these positions are for one-year terms.
Continue ReadingInterstate launches three new winter tyres
Interstate Tire & Rubber Co. has expanded its winter tyre product offering with the addition of over 100 new sizes and the release of three new product lines. According to the company, the total winter tyre range offers now 12 different lines with over 310 unique sizes.
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