Vipal directs European course with Spanish recycled tyre association
Brazilian retread material and tyre repair manufacturer Vipal has hosted a course in Europe. The even was run in conjunction with Universidad Miguel Hernández and Asociación Española de Neumáticos Reciclados (the Spanish recycled tyres association). One of the objectives of the inaugural course in Elche, Spain, was to provide participants with a general overview of the techniques involved in recycling tyres, with a particular focus on common problems and methods for avoiding them. Held at the end of October, this event launched activities that are part of the course entitled “Research and Training regarding Recycling Tyres” that has become part of the Mechanical Engineering degree offered by the University.
Continue ReadingEuro-zone debt crisis hitting trailer market
The uncertain economic outlook in Europe looks set to hit sales of heavy trailers in 2012. Demand for new trailers is now forecast to fall below the level of 2011, according to some market analysts. As a consequence the sales figure for 2012 will be 10,000 trailers less than was forecast in May this year.
Continue ReadingMetzeler honours the land of the rising sun in 2012 calendar
As parent company Pirelli launched what is, it is probably fair to say, the mother of all pin-up calendars in New York, the firm’s Metzler specialist two wheel tyre brand launched a calendar of its own. The Metzeler Classics calendar, now in its 19th edition, celebrates two-wheeled competitions from the sixties with a series of black & white shots, paying homage to Japan and its motorcycling tradition, marked this year by such terrible adversity with Tsunami, earthquake and nuclear challenges.
Continue ReadingContinental UK appoints new industrial sales manager
Continental Tyre Group has promoted Rebecca Shedden’s from 360 network office manager to general sales manager – industrial. Shedden has worked at Continental for over 14 years and has gained a vast amount of experience in the commercial vehicle industry. In her new role, Rebecca will be responsible for leading Continental’s experienced industrial sales team to grow profitable business and also strengthen strategic relationships in the market.
Continue ReadingFindlay dispute – a return to a more combative tone?
In the last couple of weeks the tyrepress.com website has published a number of texts updating the progress, or lack thereof, of negotiations between Cooper Tire & Rubber and the United Steelworkers towards a new contract for Cooper’s Findlay, Ohio plant. The current standoff between union and tyre maker is not the first Tyres & Accessories has reported, and is certain not to be the last. Yet some think what is happening in Findlay shows the direction US labour relations are taking; the Wall Street Journal, for example, opines that “the clash between Cooper and its 1,050 union workers may signal a return to a more combative tone in the America's industrial heartland.”
Continue ReadingYokohama continues Forever Forest in US
Through its “Forever Forest” programme, Yokohama Rubber and its subsidiaries aim to create verdant surroundings at Yokohama facilities around the world; the intention is to plant more than half a million trees by 2017, a goal Yokohama is almost halfway towards achieving. The company’s US tyre operation, Yokohama Tire Corporation launched the second phase of its Forever Forest activities on 7 December with the planting of more than 300 seedlings at its headquarters. This second phase planting in Fullerton, California followed the inaugural event held in December 2010 when Yokohama Tire Corporation planted more than 500 tree seedlings.
Continue ReadingWinter tyres the ‘safest option’ for the season – TyreSafe
The autumn of 2011 was one of the warmest we’ve had in a while, but now the nip of winter has arrived and air temperatures are dropping. More importantly for motorists, the seven degrees Celsius threshold – the level at which the tread compound in summer tyres begins to harden – has been crossed. In light of this, TyreSafe has again shared it winter tyre message with Britain’s drivers.
Continue ReadingKumho reviews motorsport season
2011 was Kumho’s ninth and final year as official supplier to the Formula 3 Euro Series, for which the company created a new tyre with stiffer construction and softer tread compound. The intention was to create a cover with a more significant performance peak coupled to a reduction in grip after just a few laps, what Kumho views as the type of cycle F3’s aspiring Grand Prix drivers need to cope with if they are to make it to the pinnacle of motorsport. The product helped competitors to break lap records achieved on the previous tyre.
Continue ReadingDemonstration key for balance weights marketing – Wegmann
As a world market leader for balance weights, Wegmann Automotive says its Hofmann Power Weights are ready to meet the challenges of the future through a focus on a “high level of product quality boasted by the ‘Made in Germany’ mark and spreading the word to all about the subject of balancing.” Exemplifying this approach, Thorsten Thom, who took over as managing director at Wegmann Automotive at the start of the year explains the company’s special training approach to explaining the effects of imbalance, along with how to install weights correctly.
Continue ReadingCES (UK) urges independents: prepare for TPMS
Car parts and garage consumables distributor CES (UK) says that it is working to help independent garages ready themselves for continuing developments in the market, focusing on new TPMS legislation. From November 2012, TPMS will be mandatory on all new vehicle platforms, legislation designed to improve vehicle safety and drive down emissions. Although there is still almost a year until TPMS becomes mandatory, there are already many vehicles in the car parc that use the technology. The company has also recently launched its 2012 catalogue, with 100 pages of consumables, tools and cleaning products that are typically used every day by technicians.
Continue ReadingContinental Carbon Australia to close
US-based company Koppers Holdings Inc. has announced the end of manufacturing at its Continental Carbon Australia plant in Kurnell, just south of Sydney. The carbon black facility is scheduled to end operations during the week of 5 December 2011 and preparations for closing the plant will be made over the coming four months. Koppers says the decision, which will affect approximately 65 employees, was taken as a result of an analysis of its manufacturing facilities; this highlighted a number of negative factors working against the Continental Carbon Australia plant, including the strong Australian dollar and raw material availability and cost.
Continue ReadingTough times for tyre distributors?
As we look forward to 2012 there is no sign to economic pressures that blighted 2011 lifting any time soon. On the contrary, with the financial confusion surrounding the eurozone and with credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s threatening to downgrade any of the 17 countries associated with it, there are still many challenges ahead. That said it was apparently a good year for some.
Continue ReadingQuarter profit plummets at Stamford Tyres
Stamford Tyres has reported its unaudited quarter earnings for the period between 1 August and 31 October 2011, a quarter in which its after-tax profit dropped 80.5 per cent. The Singapore-based company’s after-tax profit amounted to S$330,000 (£149,500) in the second quarter of the 2012 financial year, as opposed to $1.69 million a year earlier.
Continue ReadingConti: 3 – 6 metres between wet braking tyre label bandings
Following the European authorities’ announcement of the latest tyre labelling regulations, Continental has also given more freshly released details of the labelling legislation, breaking them down into a more digestible form. As far as the wet braking category is concerned, vehicles with tyres in Class A stop are set to stop in the shortest distance from 50mph, whilst vehicles with tyres from Class B will take 3-6 metres longer. This trend continues for the subsequent values and results in a braking difference of over 18 metres from a vehicle in Class A to Class F.
Continue ReadingMitas to acquire Tribatyre
Mitas, a leading OE supplier of off-road tyres, has announced plans to acquire Tribatyre, headquartered in Uden in The Netherlands. According to the company, Tribatyre and Mitas plan to sign the purchase agreement on 8 December with the contract set to take effect 1 January 2012. Mitas reports that opening its new sales distribution office and warehouse in Uden will improve services and increase market share in the Netherlands and Belgium. The announcement was made at Agribex, the leading Belgian farming fair.
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