Goodyear Provides Aerial Olympic Coverage
With a record total of 418 hours of Olympic television coverage, NBC will use The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company to provide aerial coverage for US television of the Winter Olympics from Torino, Italy. Goodyear, which provided the first aerial coverage of a televised sporting event at the 1960 Orange Bowl, has contributed spectacular images from above thousands of major sporting events for almost 50 years. “NBC is putting particular emphasis on its high-tech coverage,” said NBC Sports executive producer David Neal. “Only Goodyear has the means and the skill to be able to provide the type of first-class aerial footage we needed to enhance our more than 24 hours of combined coverage everyday and bring our viewers an amazing overhead perspective.”
Continue ReadingNew Tyres Unveiled at Chicago Auto Show
(Akron/Tire Review) As it has in recent years, Bridgestone Americas Holding (BAH) is sponsoring the media center at the upcoming Chicago Auto Show, 10 – 19 February, and is using the event to showcase new technology and products. BAH plans appearances by Mario Andretti and 2005 Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon, and will display the 1911 Marmom Wasp that Ray Harroun drove to victory in the very first Indy 500.
Continue ReadingJK Industries to Separate Tyre Business
JK Industries is planning to de-merge its assets in order to better focus its tyre business. The company’s board has today approved the proposal of de-merger. According to the India’s Business Standard newspaper, the investments will be transferred to a new company at their respective book values. Ernst & Young and Amarchand Mangaldas and Suresh A Shroff & Co (AMSS) have been appointed as advisors and legal advisors, respectively, the company told the Bombay stock exchange. JK Tyres manufactures the JK and Vikran tyre and produces 7.2 million units each year.
Continue ReadingCostco Buys Additional Branick N2 Systems
(Akron/Tire Review) Costco Wholesale purchased an additional 26 Branick Nitrogen Tire Inflation Systems for its Costco de Mexico Wholesale locations, completing the installations in late 2005. In addition, Costco purchased an undisclosed number of Branick units for its 16 UK stores. The addition of nitrogen tyre inflation systems in Mexico comes one year after Costco installed over 400 Branick nitrogen units in its US and Canada tyre centres.
Continue ReadingHankook to Supply VW With 540,000 Tyres Annually
Hankook Tire Co has closed a deal with Volkswagen to supply 440,000 tyres per year for the German manufacturer’s Golf and Bora models. The tyres will be fitted the fifth-generation Golf and will be sold in Europe from 9 February. In addition, the manufacturer will also provide 100,000 tyres a year for Volkswagen’s Bora model. The deal will take Hankook’s overseas annual shipments for finished cars to $150 million - 12 per cent of its total export volume. Hankook sees the OE contract as a strategic move that will enable it to enhance its share of the European replacement market. Both the Bora and Golf will be fitted with Ventus Prime K105 (205/55R 16) and the Optimo K406 (195/65R 15).
Continue ReadingHSE Warns Tyre Fitters
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging all employers involved in tyre servicing to assess the risks associated with changing OTR/earthmover tyres. The announcement follows a fatal accident, near Sandwich, Kent, on 27 January, which occurred during the repair of a puncture on a 1.5 metre diameter EM tyre. Kent Police and the HSE are continuing the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fatal accident. The HSE is encouraging businesses to ensure that employees are “properly trained and competent to undertake such work.” According to the HSE there are two main hazards that can arise during tyre inflation: The violent separation of the component parts of the wheel, or an air blast from a ruptured or burst tyre.
Continue ReadingVarta Warns of Further Battery Price Increases
Varta has warned the UK aftermarket to expect further steep rises in automotive battery prices later this year. This is the result of the high price of lead on global markets, which has been steadily rising since mid-2003, driven by demand for base metals from China and other emerging markets. The price of lead is the major factor governing the cost of a car battery and, while increased material costs were initially absorbed by the manufacturers, this is no longer tenable, with lead costing 80 per cent more than it did two years ago.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Promotes Two in Technical Group
(Akron/Tire Review) Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has promoted William Hopkins and Joseph Zekoski to new positions in its technical group. Hopkins, formerly vice president global product marketing and technology planning, was named to the newly created position of vice president of technology and strategic initiatives. He will be responsible for global strategic initiatives, tyre engineering, materials, performance prediction and global vehicle systems.
Continue ReadingPlantation Workers Go on Strike – Reports
(Akron/Tire Review) News reports out of Monrovia, Liberia, say that some 3,000 workers at Bridgestone Corp’s natural rubber plantation there have gone on strike. “The strike is very serious. Production has come to a complete halt,” a public relations spokesman with Firestone Plantation Co. told Reuters. “We have asked the government to intervene. We do not know why this is going on.”
Continue ReadingGoodyear Appoints Farm and Earthmover Specialist
Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK Ltd has announced the appointment of Stuart Starrs as Farm and Earthmover Tyre Specialist for Scotland. Stuart brings 20 years farm experience to the team reporting directly to Andy Morris, director of Off-The-Road tyres and will focus on developing contacts throughout Scotland co-ordinating promotions and sales as well as resolving any technical queries that may arise. He joins the company from Coventry-based tractor manufacturer AGCO, manufacturers of Massey Ferguson, Fendt and Challenger tractors for the European market. Here Stuart was area sales manager for England selling tractors to dealers throughout the territory as well as conducting field demonstrations and providing technical support.
Continue ReadingMicheldever Tyre Services Sold in Management Buyout
Tony Todd, the architect of 34 years of growth at Micheldever Tyre Services’, has sold the company to its management team. On 6 February Alan Baldwin, Phil Brookes, Ashley Croft, Mike Flood, Brian Kerswell, and Eric Noble became the new owners. A number of other companies, including Kwik-Fit, are said to have unsuccessfully approached the company. The deal was backed by private equity company Graphite Capital and the Royal Bank of Scotland. Financial sources report that Graphite is taking a 72 per cent stake while the management will own the remaining shares. While details of the price-tag have not been released, estimates would have to be based on the £150 – £160 million of sales the company achieved in 2005.
Continue ReadingKYB Strengthens OE Ties With Toyota
Shock absorber supplier KYB has strengthened its relationship with Toyota by signing a contract to supply shocks as original equipment for the second generation Yaris, which is built at Toyotas plant in Valencienne, France.
Continue ReadingUnder-Inflation Solution?
“With under-inflated tyres responsible for 6 per cent of all fatal motorway accidents – why isn’t more done to prevent tyre pressure?,” asks tyre pressure monitoring company, TPM Systems. For as little as 1p a day says it an bring a range of systems to the motorist. The Quik-Chek has been developed as a safe and quick way to accurately gauge tyre pressure - by simply pressing a button. However, while the gauge design is, by its very nature a direct monitoring system it does not update drivers in realtime or while they are driving. On the other hand it must be significantly cheaper than the aftermarket alternatives.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Unveils New In-Wheel Motor System
Bridgestone Corporation has unveiled a more compact, lighter version of its revolutionary in-wheel motor system for electric vehicles (Version III). Bridgestone first released details of the in-wheel motor system in September 2003. Then, a more compact and lighter version (Version II) was designed in September 2004. Based on this technology, Bridgestone developed the latest version especially for small tyre sizes. Installing the drive motors inside the wheels means each wheel can be controlled individually, which supports excellent handling. It also eliminates the need for the differential gear and drive shaft and therefore allows for unprecedented freedom when designing vehicles. Designers can allocate more space to the driver and passengers without increasing the overall size and weight of the vehicle.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Sponsors Geneva Motor Show 2006 Press Room
Bridgestone Europe, together with Fujitsu Siemens Computers, will co-sponsor the press room of the 2006 Geneva motor show (2-12 March). As ‘Official Press Sponsor’, Bridgestone will feature its logos and messages on prominent wall displays, signage and documentation in the press room. In addition, Bridgestone-uniformed staff will be on hand to assist journalists visiting the event. Last year Goodyear sponsored the exhibitions press centre.
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