Hayes Lemmerz Brazil Receives Supplier Award from Agrale
Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. announced that its steel wheel manufacturing operation in Guarulhos, Brazil has received the 2003/2004 supplier award from Agrale, the Brazil-based truck, chassis, tractor, motorcycle and engine manufacturer. The award recognized Hayes Lemmerz as The Best Supplier of its commercial truck steel wheels. The recent quality awards received by this plant demonstrate that investment in upgrading the capabilities of the plant are paying off. I am honored that Agrale has recognized our efforts to be an industry leader, said Fred Bentley, President of the Companys International Wheel Group. The key to successful implementation of quality is having a team that truly practices Operational Excellence. Our team strives to provide our customers with the best products and service possible.
Continue ReadingMichelin Development Fund Reaches New Heights
Three more Dundee firms have been given a cash injection from the Michelin Development Fund, pushing the total loaned to local businesses beyond £100,000. IRT, MW Plastics and Team Play Learning Dynamics (TPLD) shared a total of £68,000, which will help company development, performance and enhance long-term profitability. Working in association with Scottish Enterprise Tayside, Business Gateway, Dundee City Council’s economic development unit and The Royal Bank of Scotland, Michelin Development aims to effectively contribute to the economic regeneration and long-term prosperity of the different regions where Michelin has sites within the UK. Michelin Development Dundee’s core aims are to encourage skills and entrepreneurship able to support the long term future of the city. There is also a drive to attract inward investment and contribute towards the creation of sustainable, quality employment growth.
Continue ReadingContinental to source more from Metro
German tyre major Continental AG has decided to source as many as 30,000 two-wheeler tyres and tubes per month from Metro Tyres Ltd. (MTL). Continental has also firmed up plans to source as much as 50 per cent of tubes to be manufactured by MTL for cars, tractors and light commercial vehicles, according to Indian media sources. These tyres and tubes would be sold in Germany and Europe under the brand name Continental. Meanwhile, MTL has also entered into talks with Bajaj Automobiles, Hero Honda and Yamaha for catering to the original equipment manufacturing segment.
Continue ReadingRolling Resistance Testing Contract for Smithers
Testing, research and consulting firm Smithers Scientific Services Inc. – with headquarters in Akron/Ohio (USA) – has confirmed that it has been awarded a $400,000 contract from the California Energy Commission to conduct a study of tire characteristics as they relate to rolling resistance. The study, funded by the Energy Commission, will involve tire rolling resistance, traction and treadwear testing, and will potentially serve as the basis for a fuel efficiency reporting system and minimum- efficiency standards. “Lower tire rolling resistance can directly lead to better vehicle fuel economy,” said David L. Schwarz, vice president of technical services and sales for Smithers. “However, as with any tire characteristic, there are potential tradeoffs. Thus, the Energy Commission study is not limited to rolling resistance testing. Additional work will be conducted to evaluate other performance attributes.” He pointed out that currently there is “really no information, in terms of tire rolling resistance or fuel economy, available to a consumer purchasing replacement tires.” The study will take about 18 months to complete. The rolling resistance testing will be conducted at Smithers’ indoor tire testing laboratories in Ravenna, Ohio.
Continue ReadingInternational Habitat Conservation Award For Bridgestone Firestone
Employees at Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC’s (BFNT) Warren County facility received international recognition for their contributions to wildlife habitat conservation at the Wildlife Habitat Council’s (WHC) 16th Annual Symposium, Beyond Borders: Reconciling Wildlife Needs & Human Activity. BFNT demonstrates its commitment to environmental stewardship and increasing native biodiversity by achieving habitat certification at its Warren County plant.
Continue ReadingYokohama Design Center
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that it established a Yokohama Design Center (YDC) inside the head office building of the Minato-ku, Tokyo-based company. The YDC is intensively equipped with advanced information technologies, workshop functions and audiovisual equipment so that it can contribute to the improvement of passenger-tyre appearance and the reduction of product development lead-time at the company.
Continue ReadingUS Car Makers Interested in Contis APIA
At a news conference held at the Washington Auto Show Continental presented its roadmap for total vehicle safety that will integrate active and passive safety equipment. The company announced that two leading automakers have commissioned Continental to undertake advanced design work on integrating various elements of its comprehensive safety solution, the Active Passive Integration Approach (APIA) concept. “The industry recognizes Continentals unique ability to deliver total safety solutions,“ said Joe Gaus, vice president, Continental Automotive Systems who also talked about how electronics are leading the way to safer cars by allowing ongoing development of active safety systems that help drivers avoid crashes and mitigate injuries.
Continue ReadingAlcoa Wheels Drive New Ford Designs
Ford Motor Company will now offer a new line of 20-inch Alcoa wheels as Genuine Ford Accessories for Super Duty trucks. Referred to as Super Duty Dubs, customers may now choose from five styles of the strong, hot-forged aluminum wheels – from a flared 6-spoke to a wide 5-spoke design. Each is engineered to meet Ford specifications for durability and vehicle dynamics standards. These wheels are now included as a Genuine Ford Accessory by the U.S. automaker.
Continue ReadingFourth MIRS Line For Pirelli
Pirelli has begun to install a fourth MIRS production line at its US factory in Rome, Georgia. Production will be in full swing by June 2005 and the new line will produce predominantly Scorpion Zero SUV tyres, including the new 26 inch tyre, recently shown at the SEMA exhibition. Rome will become Pirelli’s main source of performance SUV tyres, with all of its 4x4 output being tyres of 22 inches or larger.
Continue ReadingNew World Braking Record
An Ultima GTR sports car has broken the production car world record by accelerating to 100 mph and back to a complete standstill in a mere 10.3 seconds; half a second better than the previous record and more than a second faster than the McLaren F1. The car was fitted with Mintex Racing F4 compound friction on both front and rear and was fully street legal. 0-60 mph was achieved in 2.7 seconds and 100 mph in 5.5 seconds, then the car braked to a halt in only 82.2 metres.
Continue ReadingMichelin North America Announces Price Increases
Michelin North America is increasing U.S. replacement tyre prices on a variety of product lines. • Passenger and light truck tyres will increase by up to 5 percent on Michelin brand and up to 6 percent on BFGoodrich, Uniroyal and private and associate brands effective March 1, 2005. • Commercial truck tyres will increase by up to 6 percent on both Michelin and BFGoodrich brands effective March 1, 2005. • Earthmover tyres will increase by 5 percent effective Jan. 1, 2005. • Agricultural tyres will increase by up to 6 percent for radial tyres and up to 12 percent for bias tyres effective Jan. 1, 2005 • General aviation tyres will increase 5 percent worldwide effective April 1, 2005.
Continue ReadingChronos Richardson to Exhibit at Tire Technology Expo 2005
Chronos Richardson will exhibiting for the first time its new CR 600 XP process control system at Tire Technology Expo 2005 in Cologne/Germany (Feburary 22nd-24th). This is a PC based system, which uses open-system software packages in conjunction with leading brand PLCs to provide Windows based applications for the mixing room. CR 600 XP has been developed to help tyre manufacturers to efficiently control/monitor their mixing room and improve the quality of their compounding process. At Tire Technology Expo 2005 Chronos Richardson will also illustrate the success they have achieved through establishing technological partnerships with tyre manufacturers around the world, working at both local plant and corporate level in providing turnkey solutions for thousands of mixing rooms. “Our project experience covers every aspect of the mixing room from material intake through to mills and batch-off and total plant control,” says the company.
Continue ReadingGetting a Grip Gets Better, Thanks to Goodyear and GE
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and General Electric – specifically, GE Advanced Materials, Silicones – teamed up for breakthrough technology in new auto tyres. A unique tyre, Goodyear’s Assurance featuring TripleTred Technology, is the result of this technology.
Continue ReadingTitan Wheel Corporation Issues Record Winter Bonus to Employees
Titan Wheel Corporation (Quincy/Illinois), a subsidiary of Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI), issued a record winter bonus to its employees. The bonus amounted to an average payout of $2,500 per employee. Each employee received $200 of their bonus in Sacajawea golden dollars. This brings the total bonus for the year to approximately $5,000 per employee.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Dunlop expands FleetOnlineSolutions
Goodyear Dunlop’s pan-European internet-based tyre management system, FleetOnlineSolutions which was launched to truck and bus fleet operators late last year, has been expanded. The improvements that have been made include major functionality upgrades, web-based interactive reporting and intensive training, says the tyre manufacturer. There are now more than 3,500 contracted vehicles on the system, based in three countries. FleetOnlineSolutions utilises the internet and is accessible to the customer, contracted tyre service providers and Goodyear Dunlop. All details of a customer’s tyre contract are available via the secure FleetOnlineSolutions website which also handles all reporting, invoicing and stock ordering, related to contracts. This means that whenever a customer needs tyre-related work to be carried out, it is done exactly to the specification agreed in the contract. In other words, the service-provider works precisely to each customer’s individual tyre policy and pricing structure as originally agreed with Goodyear Dunlop.
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