Michelin Adds Sizes, Boosts Warranty on Tiger Paw Line
(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America’s (MNA) Uniroyal brand has added 23 new sizes to its Tiger Paw Touring line, and enhanced the line’s warranty. The new sizes include some V-rated sizes, and will be available to dealers this month, MNA said. The new warranty program boosts the standard treadwear limited warranty on T-rated sizes to 80,000 miles, which MNA said is the longest mileage warranty ever offered on a Uniroyal tyre. H-rated sizes got a boost to 70,000 miles, as well. The new sizes range from a T and H-rated P185/60/R14 through a V-rated P225/50R16.
Continue ReadingHankook Still Talking in Slovakia
(Akron/Tire Review) News reports indicate that Slovakia is still negotiating with South Korean manufacturer Hankook Tire Co for a 500 million euro plant near Levice. Acting Slovakia Economy Ministry spokesman Peter Papanek told newswire TASR that negotiations were on-going. “The Hankook investment is still very important for Slovakia. The Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) is still holding talks on this investment,” Papanek said in published reports. The country is now offering an incentive package that is 70 per cent lower than its original offering of some 110 million euros. Slovakia’s cabinet rejected an investment plan with Hankook in early July. That plan allowed for state investment for infrastructure improvements worth 21 per cent of Hankook’s planned investment. Hankook said that it would not accept the lowering of investment stimuli from 21 per cent to 19 per cent, and restarted talks with other Eastern European nations.
Continue ReadingAccuride Appoints New VP/General Manager to Gunite Corporation
Accuride Corporation has appointed Dr Omar Fakhoury as vice president / general manager of Gunite Corporation. Gunite, a subsidiary of Accuride Corporation, supplied wheel-end systems and components for the heavy and medium-duty truck market.
Continue ReadingSteelworkers Contribute to Hurricane Relief
(Akron/Tire Review) The United Steelworkers (USW) has made an initial contribution of $100,000 for relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The USW said that thousands of members live and work in the Gulf Coast areas most affected by the hurricane, and many are in immediate need of temporary shelter, food, and medical supplies, as well as longer-term help in repairing damage to their homes. The union contributed $50,000 directly from USW International, which was matched with an additional $50,000 from the Steelworkers Humanity Fund in Canada. The USW also urged members and the union’s locals to add their contributions to the USW’s initial $100,000 seed money for the relief effort.
Continue ReadingAmtel-Vredestein to Extend Stock Offering
(Akron/Tire Review) Amtel-Vredestein plans to double its authorised capital up to 5.45 billion rubles via an additional stock issue. Shareholders approved the offering last month in Moscow, in an move expected by many industry watchers. It had been rumoured that Amtel-Vredestein would hold an initial public offering for the new company, a subsidiary of Amtel Holdings Holland BV. The new issue will comprise three million ordinary shares at par value of 1,000 rubles.
Continue ReadingPirelli OE On New Audi RS4
Pirelli has announced that it will provide original equipment for the new Audi RS4 range. The Italian tyre manufacturer made the announcement at the Pirelli proving ground in Vizzola Ticino - exclusively fitting the vehicle with the company’s ultra high performance P Zero Rosso and P Zero Corsa Asimmetrico tyres.
Continue ReadingChinese Retreading Market Presents World of Opportunity
While much has been made about the enormous potential of the emerging Chinese tyre market, the opportunities go further than this alone. For every tyre that is produced and used in the People’s Republic there is a potential money-making opportunity for the retreading and collection aspects of the tyre business. It is not overstating the situation to say there is huge potential for retreading in China. Currently around 265 million tyres are produced in China each year, across all segments. At the same time the domestic market’s 3 million vehicles currently demand 130 million tyres annually, according to a Hong Kong Trade Development Council report.
Continue ReadingMichelin to Shed F1 Teams
Tyre supplier Michelin is set to shed at least two F1 teams next year, online news sources have reported. Michelin currently dominates the Formula 1 grid, supplying tyres to 70 per cent of entrants. Michelin CEO Edouard Michelin is expected to announce which teams will swap suppliers to Bridgestone at Spa this weekend. Further speculation has suggested that Michelin may pull out of F1 completely at the end of 2006. Teams tipped to move to Bridgestone include Red Bull and Williams. Toyota is also reported to be under pressure to team up with the fellow Japanese company.
Continue ReadingDunlop launch ‘Great and British’ Racing Festivals
Dunlop is introducing a series of Great and British Dunlop Motorsport Festivals for the 2006 season. A major marketing programme, to broaden the appeal of motorsport in the UK and to introduce new spectators to the sport, will also support the weekend events. The complete list of championships is due be announced shortly, however the John Cooper Mini Challenge, Radical Enduro and Radical BiDuro Championships, and Avo Ginetta Championship have already signalled their commitment to the package, which is backed by the British Automobile Racing Club (BARC).
Continue ReadingMaccess Acquires ADS
International Automotive Distributors Limited (IAD) has acquired the ADS business unit of Unipart Automotive. Trading as Maccess, the company currently has 14 locations across the UK and will gain a further five sites from ADS. This coordination of resources has been done to improve product availability and offer, as well as delivery service levels to customers of both businesses.
Continue ReadingBRMA Statement on Self Supporting Run Flat Tyres
The British Rubber Manufacturers' Association has issued a statement, designed to answer some of the queries from both motorists and tyre depots, concerning self supporting run flat tyres (SSTs). The BRMA notes that these are being increasingly fitted to new vehicles and are fast becoming an established feature of the tyre industry landscape. The fact that many questions exist about their reparability, retreadability and whether they can be used with "conventional" tyres became apparent at the NTDA seminar, held alongside the Brityrex International exhibition in May. In order to help answer these questions, the BRMA statement addresses the points that arise most frequently. It is reproduced here and can also be accessed on the BRMA website, www.brma.co.uk
Continue ReadingBRMA Director’s Charity Trek a Success
Director of BRMA, John Dorken, successfully completed the trek he undertook in the High Andes to raise funds for the Medical Aid and Relief Charity for the Children of Chechnya. He raised £6000 and received some generous contributions from a number of companies including Michelin, Continental, Bridgestone and Pirelli.
Continue ReadingDunlop Appoints BBH as Marketing Agency
Dunlop has appointed Bartle Bogle Hegarty London as its above-the-line agency for its Europe, Middle East and Africa business. BBH will work closely with Dunlops other agencies Claydon Heeley Jones and Mason, AgencyRepublic and Universal McCann in London. The manufacturers five-year relationship with former marketing agency, 180 Amsterdam, ended in June.
Continue ReadingLiftOne Takes the Strain
Health and safety regulations apply to all businesses. But there are some matters that need to be given special consideration by employers. The government has earmarked ‘Lifting and Handling’ in the workplace as one of these key areas. In As far as tyres are concerned this has particular significance with regards to tyre bays, where fitters manually handle heavy tyres and wheels during the tyre changing process. According to the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) more than a third of all ‘over-three-day’ injuries reported each year are caused by manual handling – ‘the transporting or supporting of loads by hand or by bodily force’.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Blimps Raise Hurricane Relief Efforts
Goodyear is to use its fleet of airships to encourage donations in support of the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The only airships with electronic day and night signs, the blimps will use their signs to promote fund-raising efforts from the American public. Chuck Sinclair, senior vice president of global communications for Goodyear commented: “We talked about the possibility of flying signs over the affected areas, however it was agreed that the best way to offer immediate support is through an awareness campaign to alert the public where donations can be made. We recognise the relief efforts will go on for months, and we pledge our resources in support of these efforts as a way to keep the American public focused on the needs.”
Continue Reading