Briton Achieves First 125cc MotoGP Win on Dunlop Tyres
In his 50th Grand Prix, Bradley Smith shot to his first ever victory by a 13-second margin at the Gran Premio bwin.com de España on the 3rd May. This is the first time Britain has provided a winner in the category since Chas Mortimer won in Spain in 1973. 36 years down the line, Smith brought a win home for the UK, racing on his Birmingham-manufactured Dunlop tyres. Smith got away brilliantly, taking the holeshot and immediately building up a good lead at the front. By the midway point in the race the 18 year-old from Oxford had gained an 18 second advantage, riding a lonely race and eventually crossing the line 13 seconds ahead of the chasing pack for his maiden GP triumph. Dunlop, which designs, develops and produces all of its racing tyres at its Fort Dunlop plant, was pleased with the victory: “It was great to see a British rider on British tyres win this race, especially as it is the first time a UK rider has seen a win in 36 years. Congratulations to Bradley Smith for winning with such finesse and passing the chequered flag 13 seconds ahead of the competition. When the Brit’s do it, they do it well!” said Pat Walsh, sales manager Motorcycle Race for Dunlop.
Continue ReadingConti’s European Tour Gets Underway With 6 New Truck Tyres
At the start of May Continental kicked off its “Road-Show 2009”, and is taking its show truck – featuring a display of its tyres and their various features – on a European tour. The road trip traverses the continent, from Helsinki to southern Portugal, Paris to the Baltic states and on to Sofia in Bulgaria. In total the Road-Show will cover more than 20 European Union lands and stop at more than 50 locations.
Continue ReadingNew Replacement Truck Tyre Head in Michelin’s German Markets
As of July 1, 2009 Michelin’s commercial vehicle tyre replacement market business in Germany, Austria and Switzerland will have a new man at the helm. Rainer Harter will replace Thomas Nagel in the position, and will report to Dieter von Aspern, Michelin’s replacement tyre business marketing director in the three countries. Nagel will lead the company’s electric mobility project under the responsibility of Dieter Freitag, director of Michelin Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Continue ReadingImported Tyres Replace Local Production at Dunlop Nigeria
In late April Dunlop Nigeria’s long awaited end of local production was realised. Less than four years after the decision was taken to invest an estimated 6.5 billion naira (£29.4 million) on radialising plant technology with a view to further boosting commercial vehicle tyre output, domestic production has been replaced by tyres imported from South Africa. The Dunlop Nigeria plant held a capacity to turn out 300,000 heavy-duty tyres per annum and manufactured products such as the Supersteel 315/80, which was launched in May 2006. Its demise so soon after upgrading is being blamed upon a combination of the faltering domestic economy and an influx of cheaper foreign produced tyres. The unreliability of power supplies in Nigeria is also said to have pulled the plug on the manufacturer’s competitiveness, and the company’s hope of a reliable source of affordable carbon black from local refineries was never realised.
Continue ReadingCooper Announces Quarterly Dividend
Cooper Tire & Rubber announced on May 5 its intention to pay shareholders of record at the close of business on June 2, 2009 a quarterly dividend of 10.5 cents per share on common stock. This dividend, payable June 30, 2009, will become the 149th consecutive quarterly dividend paid by the company.
Continue ReadingUK Restaurants Now Included in Michelin Guide for iPhone
Admit it – you just can’t get by without your mobile phone. When it’s not glued to your ear you are busy prodding the thing with your texting thumb or downloading the latest must-read e-mails. And now, thanks to Michelin, the mobile can also offer sterling service should you wish to whet your appetite. Following the successful introduction of its ‘Michelin guide Restaurants’ iPhone applications for France and selected other European locations, the company has extended its offering to the UK and three other European countries plus two US cities. Developed by ViaMichelin, the applications list all restaurants selected by the Michelin guide, including starred restaurants and Bib Gourmand eateries offering excellent value for money. The European titles, which cover the UK, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain, are available in five languages (French, English, German, Spanish and Italian) while the stateside titles, covering New York and San Francisco, are available only in English.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Announces Proposed Senior Note Offering
On May 5 Goodyear Tire & Rubber gave word of its intention to initiate a public offering of 7-year senior notes to the aggregate principal amount of approximately US$500 million, subject to market and other customary conditions. The notes, adds Goodyear, will be senior unsecured obligations of the company. The company reports it intends to use the net proceeds from this offering, together with current cash and cash equivalents and unused availability under its credit facilities, for general corporate purposes, which will include the repayment on or prior to maturity of $500 million in aggregate principal amount of its senior floating rate notes due December 1, 2009. Joint book-running managers for the offering will be J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Continue ReadingFirst Quarter Delivered ‘Unprecedented’ Low Demand, Says Rhodia
In reporting Rhodia’s first quarter 2009 results, company chairman and CEO Jean-Pierre Clamadieu has reflected upon a difficult three-month period. “As anticipated, we faced in the first quarter unprecedented low levels of demand,” said Clamadieu. “This, combined with the absorption of costly raw material inventories, resulted in a major adverse impact on profitability.”
Continue ReadingGoodyear Adds to US Commercial Tyre Range
Two new truck tyres are extending Goodyear’s US market range. These latest products, which the manufacturer is introducing to address the needs of multiple applications that range from city delivery to emergency vehicles and buses plus longer regional runs, are said to offer a deeper tread depth, enhanced tread designs and compounds in order to maximise tyre life in both urban and regional driving conditions. The local haul and regional segments are diverse and about as tough as it gets when it comes to wear on commercial tyres, said Donn Kramer, Goodyear’s director of marketing for commercial tyres. With the amount of scrubbing and curb damage the tyres undergo, fleets need tyres that are robust and able to provide a low cost-per-mile through multiple retreads. We’re excited to bring to market major advancements in tyre technology with the Goodyear G661 HSA and G662 RSA with Fuel Max Technology.
Continue ReadingAustralian Science Agency Partnering in Tyre Recycling Project
Australia’s government-run national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), reports it is working with Australian tyre recycling technologies company VR TEK Operations on the design and development of a new and improved method of recycling waste rubber for further use in the production of new tyres and a number of other products. The end goal of the project is to produce a devulcansied and activated high quality rubber powder suitable to be used in the manufacture of new rubber products.
Continue ReadingBirla Tyres Increases Permanent Staff Numbers, Resumes Production
Indian news sources report production at Birla Tyres’ stoppage-riddled facility in Orissa State has returned to normal, an event accompanied by a rise in the number of permanent employees at the plant. Management is said to have decided upon the resumption of “full production” and the induction of 280 of the factory’s casual workers as permanent employees, boosting permanent payroll numbers to 2,110. The plant’s 450 contractual workers have been upgraded to casual status.
Continue ReadingChinese Manufacturers Prepare to Fight USW Trade Case
Chinese tyre manufacturers and exporters are said to be preparing a response to the USW trade case against their products. The China Daily reports that they are receiving assistance from China’s Ministry of Commerce and from local industry associations in their quest to combat was is viewed as a discriminative case and a trade protectionism tool. The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) has agreed to look into the case, making it the seventh and to-date largest (in terms of volume) subsidy related investigation the US has conducted against China.
Continue ReadingMarangoni Project Recreates Lunar Vehicle
Forty years have now passed since the moment when Neil Armstrong’s boots pressed the first ever footprints on the surface of the moon. Several years later the lunar surface encountered the roll of a specially manufactured moon tyre when the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) became the first vehicle to literally offer out of this world performance. Those with a hankering to get better acquainted with the LRV can now do so thanks to Marangoni, who has produced a replica of this groundbreaking vehicle.
Continue ReadingHankook CEO ‘Looking Forward’ to What Lies Ahead
Hankook Tire reports that effective cost management and initial signs of a reviving market have helped it recover from negative territory in the previous financial quarter to post sales of KRW 1.1346 trillion (£599.7 million) in the first quarter of 2009. This result, 13.8 per cent up on a year earlier, is supplemented by operating profits of KRT 35.3 billion (£18.6 million), despite the market remaining, in Hankook’s words, a “challenging” one. During the first quarter exports from Korea rose 7.3 per cent year-on-year, with export demand showing a 19.9 per cent increase to North America and 8.9 per cent to Europe from a year earlier. The company also states that its Hungarian plant, the main production facility for the European market, has seen a “significant” 24.7 per cent growth in sales from the final quarter of 2008 and an 87.0 per cent increase from a year earlier.
Continue ReadingChinese Retreading Volumes to Grow 30% This Year – CRI
According to Shanghai based research company China Research and Intelligence (CRI), increased vehicle numbers are causing scrap tyre levels in China to grow at a rate of 10 to 20 per cent per annum. Last year, CRI reports, more than 200 million tyres in China reached the end of their useful lifespan, yet only 11.5 million were retreaded.
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