Tyrepress readers ticket offer – Japfest 2: The Evolution
Japfest 2: The Evolution, the second event in the Adrian Flux Auto Series for high performance Japanese cars, was launched last year at Rockingham. In 2011, the event promises to be “bigger, faster, more interactive” and will this year take place at one of UK motorsport’s heartlands, Donington Park. Readers of tyrepress.com can access specially priced tickets to the event – advance tickets cost £13 with the code MAX04. The event takes place on Sunday, 10 July.
Continue ReadingZircotec exhaust coating reduces Aston Martin’s temperature under the hood
Zircotec’s ceramic coating technology is used to reduce the surface heat of exhausts, and Aston Martin saw the potential in the material for cooling its V12 Zagato endurance racing car at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. The coating, derived from Zircotec’s ThermoHold, was selected by the manufacturer for its durable and lightweight method of reducing under-bonnet temperatures at the Nordschleife, improving reliability and preventing heat damage to bodywork, fuel and electrical systems. With its origins in the nuclear industry, Zircotec’s ThermoHold technology is applied to the exhaust system by plasma spraying to prevent heat being radiated by the 6.0 litre V12 engine.
Continue ReadingLorenzo victorious on hard compound at Mugello
Jorge Lorenzo won the latest Italian MotoGP round using Bridgestone’s hard front and rear slicks, overcoming Casey Stoner’s early lead of 2.3 seconds. He also set a new lap record at Mugello, while Championship leader Stoner also lost out to Andrea Dovizioso in the final six laps, allowing the Italian to achieve his best result of the season in front of a home crowd. Round seven’s winner Ben Spies got the better of Marco Simoncelli for fourth position, ahead of Valentino Rossi who finished sixth having climbed from 12th on the grid.
Continue ReadingInternet gaining influence in Japan’s tyre market
In Japan, as elsewhere, the internet is growing in influence as a source of information for tyre purchasers. According to the according to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2011 Japan Winter Tire Retailer Satisfaction Index Study, the percentage of Japanese consumers who say they rely on information from the internet while shopping for winter tyres has increased to 29 per cent in 2011, up seven percentage points from 2010, while the percentage of customers who say they purchased their winter tyres through the internet or mail order has increased to from nine per cent in 2010 to 13 per cent this year.
Continue ReadingL-Ray goes smaller for third DVS-1220 tyre analyser
Michigan-based business L-Ray has been manufacturing non-destructive tyre testing equipment for almost 40 years – previously under the names IHI (International Holographics, Inc) and Grant Engineering. While a small business, it operates on the global stage in manufacturing and retreading segments - in total, the company says it provides over 250 machines in more than 24 countries – first producing holography machines and then shearography machines. In 2007 L-Ray introduced its new Differometric Technology, which president Lee Petrimoulx says is “much faster and provides high quality digital images for checking tyres or retread casings”.
Continue ReadingMixer manufacturer Carter International discusses expansion plans
Since being relaunched in its present trading format eight years ago, Rochdale-based Carter international says it has evolved into a “leading manufacturers of mixing room machinery” and other tyre manufacturing products; the upwards curve in the company’s development has led to the organisation’s current plan to relocate to a greenfield site. Carter says its “ongoing success in a highly competitive market” has encouraged the company to improve its manufacturing and operational facilities for greater “professionalism and efficiency”.
Continue ReadingSolvay notifies EC of Rhodia friendly takeover bid
Belgian company Solvay has informed the European Commission of its friendly takeover bid on Rhodia in order to gain the competition authority’s approval of the transaction. The cash takeover offer was first announced to Rhodia shareholders in early April, with Solvay saying it would pay 31.60 euros per share for the French chemical manufacturer. Rhodia’s board of directors unanimously recommended acceptance of the offer.
Continue ReadingLanxess lifts synthetic rubber prices
As of July 1 the per tonne price for Lanxess’s Perbunan and Krynac synthetic rubber ranges and its Baymod and Nanoprene products increased by 150 euros. The given reason for this price adjustment is a rise in manufacturing costs.
Continue ReadingBosch online booking system goes live
Independent garage network, Bosch Car Service, has today launched a new online booking service in the UK. The company says the system, which has been in development over the past year, was launched to provide customers with a simple-to-use facility through which to book their vehicles in for a number of different services. Customers can book their appointments through the boschcarservice.co.uk website.
Continue ReadingBridgestone to raise North America commercial tyre prices
Price increases averaging 11 per cent are to be implemented on a number of Bridgestone company products in the US and Canada. The new prices take effect August 1 and apply to Bridgestone and Firestone brand truck and bus tyres, Bandag brand retreads and retreading materials, and Bridgestone, Firestone and Continuum OTR tyre products and retread rubber.
Continue ReadingDunlop ‘race to road’ highlighted in latest ad campaign
Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK says it is delighted to announce further investment in the Dunlop brand through a new television advertising campaign. Set to run across July, the Dunlop advert will appear on a number of channels, including Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky 1 and Sky Sports, thereby giving the brand exposure to relevant target audiences.
Continue ReadingComment: A change will do you good?
As the July issue of Tyres & Accessories went to press, Kwik Fit Group announced the arrival of Stapleton's boss Kenji Murai as its new group head. Of course we are all aware of the fact that Itochu now owns both Stapleton’s and Kwik Fit (who could have missed all the coverage reporting the purchase from 2 March onwards?); and it is of course natural that a company will want to have their own people integrated into a business they have purchased (and congratulations and best wishes to the new boss); but there are at least two reasons why this news will raise some eyebrows.
Continue ReadingToyo sued in 2006 fatal crash claims
Toyo is currently in the High Court answering a claim for damages by siblings Dharmendra Joshi and Joshi Divya, who were passengers in a car whose tyre blew out on the M4 in Wales on 25 June, 2006. One of their fellow passengers, 26 year-old Neha Bhatt, was killed in the accident after being thrown from the Mitsubishi Pajero jeep, which reports say “flipped at least ten times”. Mr Justice Mackay established that the “tyre tread separated from the rest of the tyre along about half of its circumference, resulting in the loss of control and causing this terrible accident”. The point of contention is whether the tyre was defective, as the six survivors of the crash claim, or whether there was an impact “that triggered some progressive rapid stripping of the tread”, as Toyo contends. The hearing is set to run well into next week.
Continue ReadingVee Rubber producing more than 25 million tyres
Vee Rubber has had a long period of sustained growth in the last two decades, and is now the employer of over 4,000 at its three large manufacturing facilities on the outskirts of Bangkok. Their combined production now exceeds 25 million tyres per annum, about half of which is now exported through branch offices throughout Asia, Western Europe, USA, Canada and Latin America.
Continue ReadingSivik 3D balancers “providing extremely positive feedback”
Relative newcomer to international tyre and automotive servicing machinery Sivik has a comprehensive range of quality products that has seen exports increase, first from its Siberian home and now from its Slovakian sales office, as export manager Nikolay Valov told Tyres & Accessories in Bologna: “It was around six years ago that our marketing strategy was broadened, initially to develop sales in traditional Eastern bloc countries, but gradually this evolved to include several countries in Western Europe and beyond.
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