The Cooper Tire & Rubber Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, has established a new scholarship in recognition of soon to retire chairman, chief executive officer and president Roy Armes. The fund is known as the Roy V. Armes scholarship and is designed to assist the children of Cooper employees in the USA who intend to read either business or engineering at an accredited four-year college or university. The first Armes scholarship will be awarded in 2017.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) approved Triangle Tires’ most recent initial public offering (IPO) bid. Qingdao, Shandong Province-based tyre manufacturer Triangle was one of 13 firms to receive a CSRC go-ahead on Friday 19 August. The IPO is set to take place in Shanghai. An official IPO announcement is expected in September.
Used bike market ‘muted’ as YOY July registrations drop
The motorbike, scooter and moped sector is described as “muted”, with inclement weather and a contracting new bike market suggested as reasons for the relative inactivity. My Car Check’s Rob Hobson said: “It is very much a mixed report this month. New registration numbers for 2016 are still up, although July was down compared to the same month in 2015 – the first time that’s happened this year.
August used car trends slow as expected, My Car Check suggests premium option
My Car Check’s valuation experts have spoken about the significant trends in the UK used vehicle market for August, adding its car of the month. Head of valuation services at My Car Check, Gavin Amos, said: “Used car sales have slowed over the last month, which is only to be expected at this time of year.”
The UK may have voted to leave Europe, but for the time being we are still subject to European regulations. The EU says that tougher CO2 standards for cars and vans will be introduced to help cut transport emissions and improve air quality in Europe. They form part of a package of measures announced by the European Commission, which for the first time will also include fuel efficiency targets for trucks.
Groundbreaking held for Bridgestone’s Joliette plant expansion
In addition to celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opening of its car and light truck tyre factory in Joliette, Canada, last Thursday Bridgestone Americas officially broke ground on expansion work at the plant. Upwards of CAD$300 million (£178.1 million) will be invested over a period of five years and will see the installation of new equipment installed at the Joliette site that will lift production capacity by 3,000 tyres per day to a total of 20,000 tyres a day by 2023.
Realignment within Firestone race tyre team announced
A number of changes have been announced within the Race Tire Development (RTD) arm of the North America-based Firestone Racing programme. Bridgestone Americas describes these as a reorganisation and opines that they will add “manufacturing expertise while reaffirming the brand’s commitment to innovation and the Verizon IndyCar Series.”
Dunlop, Honda pit Isle of Man TT legend against double BTCC champion: video
Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Champion Gordon Shedden has taken on 23-time Isle of Man TT winner John McGuinness on each other’s race-winning machinery. Hosted by Dunlop and Honda, the head-to-head took place at Scotland’s Knockhill circuit on Monday. Shedden swapped his race-winning Halfords Yuasa Racing Honda Civic Type R for McGuinness’ Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP for 30 laps of the Scottish track. (See full article for the video.)
Nokian becomes World Orienteering Championships title sponsor
The Nokian Tyres World Orienteering Championships, WOC, will begin on Saturday 20 August in Strömstad, Sweden and last until 27 August. There are over 400 participants from 46 countries. Nokian Tyres, the worlds northernmost tyre manufacturer, is the title sponsor for the championships.
Supertracker aligner installed in motorsport-focused depot
Hoole Racing and Restoration has taken delivery of one of Supertrackers popular laser wheel aligners, becoming the first motor racing company to use Supertracker equipment at their busy workshop.
Gloucester based CM Downton has extended a 10-year partnership with Bridgestone until 2020, declaring the tyre manufacturer’s commitment to fleet uptime is reaping rewards. It added that its decision to switch to a pence-per-kilometre (PPK) agreement is already paying off.
GT Radial promotes SportActive UHP tyre with Evo track day partnership
Giti Tire is currently partnering with performance car magazine Evo for a series of track days. The manufacturer states that this “provides an excellent platform” from which to promote its current flagship ultra-high performance product, the GT Radial SportActive. Five events are held at Bedford Autodrome every year. With three track days completed and two more in the diary, including the popular How Fast? on 22 October with F1-style qualifying timed laps and leaderboard, the partnership is revving up.
Yokohama has added a further initiative to its shirt sponsorship link with Chelsea FC; the manufacturer is fitting its tyre to the team bus. Chelsea will roll into Watford FC’s Vicarage Road ground for the squad’s first away fixture of the 2016/17 season on Yokohama 104ZR coach and bus tyres. The company has also fitted its high-performance, premium car tyres to a number of the players’ own cars.
Hungary plant – Apollo Tyres anticipates €300M investment by end of fiscal year
Apollo Tyres’ Enschede plant in the Netherlands has a 200 tonne per day capacity and currently operates at more than 90 per cent capacity utilisation, and to supplement output within the region the tyre maker is currently erecting a brand new factory in Hungary. During a conference call last week, Gaurav Kumar, chief financial officer at Apollo Tyres Ltd., confirmed that the company has planned a capital expenditure of €200 million for the project during the current financial year (1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017).
The Tire Cologne: We’re the ‘legitimate successor’ to Reifen
Every other year since 1960 has been a ‘Reifen’ year, but 2016 was different. This year’s show not only marked the final time the world’s largest tyre trade fair took place as an independent event, it was also the last Reifen show to be held before a new and major rival enters the picture.
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