HiQ Kettering Show ‘Slick’ Response Times
HiQ Kettering, based in Telford Way Industrial Estate, recently stepped into the fast lane by offering their services in response to a plea Honda Team Dynamics’ plea to fit 28 sets of tyres for a driving day with some of the nation’s biggest names in motorsport, at Rockingham race circuit. HiQ, which was recently purchased by Easy Tyre & Autocentres Ltd, was contacted by Team Dynamics, who were in need of a specialist team to fit the slick race tyres this week. HiQ immediately sent for mobile technician Russell Hickford, who drove the short distance to Rockingham and got in the pit lane for some fast fit action. Team Dynamics marketing manager Richard Tate-Harris said: “We had organised a number of laps around Rockingham with racing slicks, which meant we had to find a team of fast fitters at extremely short notice to replace and fit them. I immediately went to HiQ, as they sponsor the British Touring Car Championship and have specialist motorsport experience. It is fair to say that they saved the day and, without them, we would have been looking at a postponement of activity.
Continue ReadingAvon Tyres Wishes Customers ‘Best of British’
Avon Tyres is celebrating all that is ‘Best of British’ on two and four wheels, with a competition and poster campaign. All you have to do to is log on to www.avon-tyres.co.uk. Bikers can win a trackday at Castle Combe on Avon VP2 tyres, while visitors to the car site can win VIP hospitality tickets to the season finale of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Brands Hatch on 20 September. Runners-up from each competition will be given the chance to win exclusive limited-edition Avon watches. Cooper Tire Europe (Avon’s parent company) managing director, Julian Baldwin, said: “We are extremely proud of Avon Tyres’ British heritage, both as a manufacturer and a prime mover in the world of motorsport. Two years ago, our parent company’s faith in the quality of our British engineering skills was illustrated by the siting of the firm’s entire European design and technical centre in Melksham.”
Continue ReadingNortenha Puts Retreads to the Test
Portuguese retreader Recauchutagem Nortenha and Kraiburg Austria recently joined forces in a series of spectacular demonstrations, aimed at illustrating the quality of Kraiburg patterns and retreading. The vehicles used included buses and tankers and they were subjected to a series of tests, including overturning while cornering (the vehicles were fitted with stabilising wheels), aquaplaning and skidding. The stringent tests subjected the vehicles and tyres to load impacts and transverse forces which never occur in normal driving. Customers were invited to the promotional event and the invitation was taken up by representatives from over 40 well-known companies from Portugals freight forwarding, passenger transportation and construction industries, keen to explore the products behind the slogan More miles in full safety! The aim was to show existing customers and potential new cus¬tomers that retreads most definitely stand comparison with new tyres.
Continue ReadingSchrader Honoured by Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan has recognized Schrader International with the 2009 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Industry Innovation & Advancement of the Year. The company has an extensive line of TPMS sensors and tools, and holds considerable market share among vehicle OEMs. (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingUnipart Pledges Support For Motor Industry Code Of Practice
In recognition of the need to maintain high standards within the independent garage sector, Unipart Automotive has confirmed its support for the Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair. Unipart will be encouraging all existing Unipart Car Care Centres (UCCCs) to sign up to the Code of Practice and it will become compulsory for any new UCCCs joining the network to participate. To help the network benefit from the industry standard, Unipart will contribute towards the cost of signing up to the Code for its Car Care Centres.
Continue ReadingAustralian Commission Instigates Marine Cartel Court Action
It has been more than a year since UK-based trio Peter Whittle, David Brammar and Bryan Allison were sentenced for their role in a well-publicised global marine hose cartel, yet investigations into the affair continue. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has commenced court action in response to allegations that the cartel took advantage of some of the nation’s largest oil production projects.
Continue ReadingSoon You Will Only Be Able to Fit Type-Approved CATs
The Department for Transport has confirmed that the draft regulations limiting the fitting of replacement CATs to type approved products only are expected to be presented for ministerial consideration this month (June). There is scope for amendments to be made by the minister, but in essence these draft Regulations implement mandatory European requirements, and are expected to become law about four weeks after signature by the minister. The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) will then be responsible for policing and enforcement of a law requiring replacement catalytic converters intended for cars and light vans registered from 2001 to be fully type approved. Paul Hannah, business development director at Klarius Group commented: “In relation to vehicles to which the requirements apply, the Department for Transport have confirmed that the result of supplying or fitting a non-type approved CAT will be to make the company or business responsible and ‘potentially certain officers or equivalent of the company or business’ liable to prosecution with a maximum fine of £5,000. Professional Motor Mechanics need to learn quickly about what to do to adhere to the law and protect themselves; their customers, their employers and suppliers.”
Continue ReadingTrelleborg Publicises Agri, Forest, Industrial Unit Capabilities
Swedish manufacturer Trelleborg has released information on its Wheel Systems division, specifically publicising its dedicated larger rims Sävsjö facility in southern Sweden. As a supplier of complete agricultural, forestry and industrial wheels, the company deals with the specialised demands of these typically cumbersome tyres. It is particularly important in this field that the wheels’ components work harmoniously with each other, as Per Valdmaa, managing director of the Sävsjö manufacturing plant states: “The rim plays a crucial role in the operation of the vehicle or equipment it is fitted on, securing and protecting the tyre. It carries the machine’s load and transfers its performance to the ground. The tyre and the rim are interdependent; the two cannot function without each other. If the rim breaks, the rubber of the tyre is destroyed and the machine they are fitted on will stop working.”
Continue ReadingEuropean Garage Equipment Market Survey
Berlin-based research company Leo-Impact Consulting has released a comprehensive (334-page) market study, entitled European Garage Equipment 2008. The report examines the market for the following 12 product categories: Aircon Service, Battery testers and chargers, Body repair, Brake testers and testlines, Diagnostics, Dynamometers, Exhaust gas extraction, Gas analysers, Lifting equipment, Light adjusting equipment, Wheel and tyre and Wheel alignment. These markets are examined in seven different regions, which are Germany, France, Italy, UK, Spain, Scandinavia and Benelux.
Continue ReadingTransense Forms Translogik RFID Subsidiary
At the beginning of June, Transense Technologies plc formed a new wholly owned subsidiary to supply direct to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s), Value Added Resellers (VAR’s), System Integrators (SI’s), and in certain instances, directly to the end user. The product line will include the Pneu Logic Ltd range of commercial tyre inspection equipment, which includes the OTR Tread Depth Probe, jointly developed with Transense, incorporating a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader and the Transense SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave) sensor reader electronics. The company will also offer a tyre patch, which incorporates a Temperature and Pressure sensor, together with an RFID tag for “Cradle to Grave” tyre inventory purposes. Stand-alone RFID tags will be available for other asset management purposes.
Continue ReadingDunlop Aircraft Tyres OE for Latest Bombardier Regional Jet
Aeroplane manufacturer Bombardier has selected Dunlop Aircraft Tyres as original equipment supplier for its new 100-seat CRJ1000 Next Gen regional jet. Dunlop Aircraft tyres, one of two approved suppliers for the CRJ1000, will manufacture and retread the tyres at its facility in Birmingham – a site the company notes is ideally located to provide excellent support for the jet’s initial customers. According to Dunlop Aircraft Tyres, the deal to supply CRJ1000 nose and main wheel tyres builds on its long-standing relationship with Bombardier. This includes supplying the entire Dash 8 range and, under a supplemental type certificate (STC), all other CRJ variants. The CRJ is, comments the tyre maker, the best-selling family of regional jets; more than 1,500 have already been delivered.
Continue ReadingA Dream Realised for Cimcorp
Finland’s Cimcorp has long held the desire to develop a tyre factory in which every stage of the operation – from tyre assembly to final shipping – was automated. This idea has formed the core of the company’s so-called “dream factory” concept, and Cimcorp reports that in the past year this dream has become reality. The company’s path towards a fully automated tyre plant began some time ago, and outside the tyre industry.
Continue ReadingIndia’s ATMA Seeking 7.5% Natural Rubber Duty
India’s national budget is due to be delivered on July 6, and the nation’s tyre manufacturers are hoping that a sought after reduction in natural rubber duty will be forthcoming. As in the past we are looking forward to the correction of the inverted duty structure,” said Rajiv Budhraja, director-general of India’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA). “That is the first and foremost demand. According to a Reuter’s news brief, the ATMA has requested the government reduce the customs duty on natural rubber to 7.5 per cent; previous news reports indicated the ATMA was seeking a 10 per cent duty. Regardless of the desired rate, the association’s goal is to provide manufacturers some relief from what is seen as an unfair tax structure. While natural rubber currently attracts a customs duty of 20 per cent, the tax on imported finished tyres is only half that.
Continue ReadingBridgestone’s Dahl Appointed To US Certification Body
For some 37 years the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) has existed as a US based independent, non-profit organisation whose main purpose has been to improve the quality of vehicle repair and service through the testing and certification of repair and service professionals. At present, about 400,000 professionals hold current certifications. On June 22, Bridgestone announced that Glenn Dahl, senior coordinator of Technical Educations for Bridgestone Retail Operations (BSRO) has been appointed to the ASE Board of Directors.
Continue ReadingBottas Wins Kumho-Shod Masters of Formula 3
Victory in the 19th Masters of Formula 3 race, fought out over the weekend of June 13 and 14, went to Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas. But the race, which returned to its ‘ancestral home’ of Zandvoort in the Netherlands after two years at Zolder, was also a victory of sorts for Kumho Tyres: The manufacturer supplied each and every tyre utilised in the meeting – about one thousand in total – continuing a support of the series that dates back to 2002.
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