Michelin Foot-Pump Wins Auto Express Product Honour
Auto Express, Britain’s largest circulation motoring weekly, has recognised the outstanding quality and value for money of the Michelin Twin-Barrel foot pump with one of its twenty annual Product Honour awards. The Michelin Twin-Barrel pump scored a maximum 5-star Best Buy rating in a multi-brand product test carried out by Auto Express to check the accuracy, pumping power and ease of use. Whilst the Twin-Barrel foot pump takes the important Product Honour, the Michelin Single-Barrel foot pump took the “Recommended” award in the same group test making it an impressive one-two for Michelin auto accessories range. The Auto Express Product Honours list is respected throughout the aftermarket industry with retailers and consumers recognising the relevance of the distinctive labels. Tests on the pumps included assessments on how many psi each pump delivered after 30 pumps, the accuracy of the gauge calibration, footplate grip and stability.
Continue ReadingCut Out the Waiting With Harvie
Harvie Tyres’ attendance at Brityrex coincided with the release of the company’s brand new 84 page catalogue. This new and larger catalogue reflects Harvie’s ongoing commitment to expanding their product range, and the 2007 edition contains more than 1,300 items with many new offerings including wheel aligners, balancers, tyre changers and alignment lifts. A number of these products are the fruit of a recent supplier partner arrangement deal negotiated between Harvie and Pro-Align, and make a valuable addition to the Prema range of tyre repair equipment and kits that Harvie has become so well known for, plus a wide selection of Trax lead free balance weights, valves, bead lubricants, air line equipment and tools of every description.
Continue ReadingNew Look for N.E. Wholesale
For N.E. Wholesale looking good isn’t the most important attribute they like to shout about but it certainly helps when operating in such a competitive industry. You may have read in a previous edition, N.E. Wholesale who’s head office is based in Middlesbrough have undergone a revamp in bringing their brand into the new decade and have opted for a simple yet classy look for their new logo.
Continue ReadingMichelin Gives Tyre Safety Training in Africa
International development agency Transaid has launched a Tyre Safety Awareness Campaign in Malawi and Zambia, which commenced with a series of training courses led by Phil Rochester, a Training Manager at Michelins head office in Stoke-on-Trent. The initiative forms part of Transaids wider programme of work on road safety and professional driver training, which aims to reduce the number of road traffic crashes in Africa, which records 10 per cent of all such incidents, despite having just four per cent of the worlds total vehicle parc. A total of 10 training courses were delivered over a two week period to key audiences which included traffic police, road safety agencies, road transport operators and public transport operators. Each course provided basic information on safety checks and how to avoid dangers associated with poorly maintained tyres, with training delivered to 270 people.
Continue ReadingEU Commission Approves Bridgestone’s Bandag Acquisition
The European Commission has cleared Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc’s proposed acquisition of Bandag. After examining the operation the Commission concluded that the transaction “would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.” Making its decision the commission concluded that the new combined firm would continue to face strong, effective competition from companies such as Michelin, Goodyear and Kraiburg. According to the report, the main horizontal overlap occurs between the parties with regard to the re-treading business, particularly the supply of re-treading material to independent businesses active in the re-treading of tyres. However, the Commission’s examination of the proposed merger showed that the horizontal overlaps between the activities of Bridgestone and Bandag are limited and that the transaction would not lead to major structural changes on the re-treading market.
Continue ReadingToyo Sells Australian Parts Business
Toyo Tire & Rubber have announced the sale of their Australian subsidiary’s automotive interior parts business. This move comes eight years after the parent company in Japan discontinued its involvement in the automotive interior parts business. The Australian subsidiary, Toyo Tyre & Rubber Australia Ltd, will now focus solely upon its tyre sales and distribution role. The transfer sees the company’s facilities in Sunshine, Victoria changing hands, along with 69 Automotive Interior Parts Business employees. Toyo has not released specific details regarding the division’s new owners.
Continue ReadingNew Wanli UHP to Hit the Market
(Akron/Tire Review) St. Louis-based Zisser Tire has introduced the Wanli S-1089 ultra-high performance tyre. According to Wanli Performance Tire, Zisser’s marketing arm for the line, the new Wanli S-1089’s tread a large serrated center rib for lateral stability and wet traction, and directional tread blocks. Wanli Performance Tire said the new product is “engineered for comfort and performance in large diameter applications.” The W-rated tyre will be available in nine sizes covering 20- to 24-inch applications, as well as one in size 305/30R26. The tyre, which will be available in late June, said the company, will carry a UTQG of 280AA, and will be covered by Zisser’s free replacement warranty.
Continue ReadingAvon Offers to Keep Performance Cars Cool With Winter Products
Avon Tyres has expanded its cold-weather programme with the addition of new sizes to fit a broad variety of popular high performance cars and 4x4s. Introduced to tackle the precarious driving conditions motorists face from November onwards, the Ice Touring ST and the Ranger Ice have been introduced for high performance saloon cars and 4x4s, respectively. The Ice Touring ST’s specially-engineered tread pattern is designed to deliver grip and handling in winter temperatures. Its high silica content, together with extensive siping, helps keep the tread blocks flexible at very low winter temperatures, which aids grip in the wet and traction in the snow. Wide spacing of the tread blocks also helps prevent the tread clogging up with snow.
Continue ReadingTechking Launches New Company Website
OTR radial manufacturer Techking Tires Limited launched a brand new company website – www.techkingtires.com - at the start of May. The new site provides a much broader range of information than the site it replaces and includes news and product database sections, with Techking’s R&D department uploading new product information to the site on a regular bases. The site also provides customers with an easier way of contacting Techking online. Tony Jiang, Techking R&D manager, is in charge of the website. “We will update the website from time to time and we welcome the inputs from all our industry friends, including company employees, company business partners and even our counterparts,” he said. “We have membership for the website. The members can have access to the classified information of the company.” Techking is placing great confidence in the new website, and company president Tech Wang has stated: “We are dedicated to radial OTR tyres only, aiming to be the most professional OTR solution provider. We hope the new website can become a platform for sharing information with our industry friends. We registered the domain name in China. We are going to do the same overseas. We [have] put a lot of effort in[to] building and maintaining this new website. We will treat it like our baby.”
Continue ReadingKumho Chosen for Green LCV
Coventry based manufacturer of zero emission commercial vehicles, Modec Limited, have chosen to fit Kumho tyres as OE on their range of environmentally friendly vehicles. Kumho will supply freight truck tyres to Modec, who officially opened their Binley factory on March 8. The Modec range of electric light commercial vehicles, which are powered by nickel chloride batteries, reportedly generate 102bhp and can reach a top speed of 50mph with a range of 100mph. The Modec is able to carry a load of up to 2 tons. Kumho has participated in the development of the Modec from the earliest stages. “I am very honoured to work with Kumho Tires, who have supported this project and process from the beginning,” said Graham Mclntosh, product developer at Modec Limited. “Kumho Tires’ product fits the quality and price of Modec which is in high demand in urban cities.”
Continue ReadingBridgestone Workers to Vote on Remuneration Scheme
At present Bridgestone and union officials are negotiating a proposed contract that could potentially see the pay of workers at a US Bridgestone plant become tied to their productivity. The new contract at the Bridgestone Firestone facility in La Vergne, Tennessee needs to be agreed upon by mid-August, and while Bridgestone officials claim that paying individual workers bonuses based on the number of tyres they produce will increase pay while making the company more profitable, the USW Local 1155, who represents the plant, has reservations about switching to this type of incentive system. If plant workers vote in favour of the contract, the La Vergne facility will become the last remaining unionised Bridgestone tyre and inner tube plant in the US to switch to this system of remuneration. Workers and management were given 120 days to work out and vote upon an incentive plan, and while Bridgestone has made no concrete statements regarding job cuts if they do not vote in favour, company spokesman Dan McDonald said “if they dont accept, it opens up the possibility of layoffs.”
Continue ReadingHankook Aiming for Doubled Euro Sales by 2010
With the opening of Hankook Tire’s £340 million facility in Dunaujvaros, Hungary scheduled for June, the South Korean manufacturer’s goal of doubling its European market share to 8 per cent by 2010 looks on track. By the end of this three-year timeframe the new factory will have an expected capacity of 10 million units. During this same period Hankook plans to increase global output from 69 million to 80 million units, and the company has previously stated that its longer-term goal is 100 million units a year. Hankook is the fastest growing of the world’s top 11 tyremakers, with sales increasing by 20 per cent annually. Furthermore, it reportedly enjoys the industry’s highest profitability, with average operating profit margins exceeding 10 per cent. And as Hankook’s largest export market, Europe is naturally very important to the tyremaker - a fact confirmed when the company referred to Europe as their “second domestic market” earlier in the year. A total of 35 per cent of the company’s export revenue (which in turn is 70 per cent of total revenue) comes from European sales.
Continue ReadingApollo Investing a Further £50 Million in Healthcare
The Apollo Tyres group has outlined plans to invest a further Rs 4,000 million (£49.78 million) in significantly expanding its recently established healthcare venture, Artemis Health Sciences. These funds would be used to establish five new hospitals in India – four secondary healthcare facilities each containing 150 beds, and a speciality hospital with 220 beds - and at present the company is looking at a number of prospective cities, including locations in Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Vadodara, Coimbatore and Bhubaneswar. These hospitals would be set up in the next three years. Artemis has already invested Rs 2,000 million (£24.89 million) building a 260-bed hospital in the city of Gurgaon. This facility is expected to be operational by mid-June. Additional future investment will see the number of beds at the Guragon facility, which specialises in orthopaedic, cardiovascular and oncology treatment nearly double to 500 beds.
Continue ReadingNot a Good Week….
A truck driver in China’s Sichuan Province is a strong contender for the distinction of being China’s unluckiest person this year. On May 23 the body of 47-year-old Hu Gonggui was found lying next to his truck, which was parked in the verge of a highway in southwest China. After examining the circumstances surrounding Mr. Hu’s death, police concluded that he had stopped to examine the tyres on his truck – laden with at least 55 tons of coal, more than four times the recommended limit – when a tyre exploded in his face, causing serious head injuries. And while being killed by a tyre exploding at the very moment you choose to stand in front of it seems unlucky enough, Mr. Hu’s misfortune continued even after his demise. On May 26 his family was informed that Mr. Hu’s body was mistaken by the funeral home for that of another road accident victim, and wrongly cremated. The son of Qi Chaogang, the man mistaken for Hu, doubted the appearance of his fathers body, but was informed by an employee of the funeral home that it was normal for the appearance of a body to differ a little after experiencing a severe vehicle accident, so the cremation proceeded as planned. Mr. Hu’s family received 20,000 yuan (£1,300) in compensation from the funeral home.
Continue ReadingMichelin Investing Heavily in Poland
This autumn Michelin will launch production of new rubber mixes at its manufacturing site in Olsztyn, Poland. This comes as part of a £172 million investment program that also incorporates the construction of an adjacent logistics and warehousing centre. This investment program, Michelin’s largest in Europe, will create more than 500 new jobs. The Olsztyn site first opened in 1967 and was incorporated into the Michelin Group in 1995. It is currently Michelin’s only facility in Poland.
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