‘Michelin Man’ Ready to Advise Fleets on Tyre Issues
Have tyre related issues? Go ‘ask the Michelin Man’….Commercial vehicle operators with smaller fleets (up to 15 vehicles, to be precise) can now do just that following the launch of a new Michelin initiative on April 22. The service, named ‘Ask the Michelin Man’, encourages fleet owners, transport managers and owner-drivers to contact the manufacturer with any tyre related issues they may have. “Smaller fleets have been telling us they would like greater access to technical assistance and advice on how to improve their tyre performance,” says Martin Covington, head of Truck and Earthmover Marketing at Michelin’s UK headquarters in Stoke-on-Trent. “Taking simple steps, such as fitting lower rolling resistance tyres, adjusting pressures or regrooving can have a significant impact on your bottom line, whether you run a single tractor unit and trailer or a fleet of 10 rigids. Through ‘Ask the Michelin Man’ we are making our tyre expertise more easily available to the smaller fleet market, by both helping with specific technical issues and teaching best practice.”
Continue ReadingTyrexpo Asia 2009: “We have no Hesitation”
“In these hard times we are very happy that…” – So begins the organiser’s summary of Tyrexpo Asia, which during its seventh running attracted 2,985 visitors (a decrease of 5 per cent on the last time) and 135 exhibitors (an increase of 8 per cent) within an exhibition space unchanged from 2007. While these figures highlight how the exhibition developed, they only show a single snapshot. The sense of increased hesitation to spend money on travelling to and exhibiting at a show was in line with what one would expect in the current market situation. But what bare numbers do not depict is ‘visitor quality’, something that both the organiser and exhibitors noted to be “superior to very good.” Furthermore, Tyrexpo Asia also provided an ideal platform for tyre wholesalers and their suppliers.
Continue ReadingBright Puts Bridgestone Tyres on Hybrid
The new “green” concept vehicle from Bright Automotive will come equipped with Bridgestone brand tyres. The Bright Idea, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that the producer claims will reach 100 mpg, will feature Bridgestone Turanza tyres. Once in production in 2013, Bright Automotive plans to produce 50,000 of the cars, which will roll on Bridgestone Ecopia radials. (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingUK Fuel Duty to Rise Incrementally from September
UK chancellor, Alistair Darling announced in the Budget that UK fuel duty will increase by two pence per litre on 1 September 2009, and will be followed by an additional penny – in real terms – every year between 2010 and 2013. The measure is designed to “support the public finances, while also driving the move to a low-carbon and resource-efficient economy”. The Budget predicts that the move will “save 2 MtCO2 per year by 2013-14”, while also providing additional funds for “medium-term fiscal consolidation” (otherwise known as propping up the public coffers with your hard-earned).
Continue ReadingShall We Scrap the Banger Today, Darling?
Whip out the financial righteous indignation/mindless optimism, for today is Budget Day in the UK, and Alistair Darling has a whopper of an idea to administer some serious cardiovascular stimulation to the automotive industry. The government is prepared to pay up to £2,000 towards a new (or nearly new) car when motorists scrap a vehicle that is more than ten years old. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the idea is taken from the Germans and other EU nations, where similar schemes have resulted in new car sales jumping up to 40 per cent in the last month. Citroen dealerships in the UK have reportedly seen a rise in new car sales following their own implementation of such a system. However, questions have been raised about the value of investing tax-payers’ money in such a scheme, since many of the additional new cars sold through it will have been imported, while the vehicles to be scrapped must prove their roadworthiness to qualify; only those in possession of an MOT certificate will be able to claim money off a new purchase. Of course, without this latter measure, it is easy to see a loophole developing, through which opportunists may profit by buying an old car with the sole intention of using it to claim money off a new purchase. While these concerns are worth addressing, it would take a hardened cynic to foresee no boost at all for new car sales in the UK as a result of these plans.
Continue ReadingTRIB Marks Earth Day with Green Retreading Reminder
April 22 is Earth Day – and according to the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau, you could do a lot worse than celebrating the environmentally themed day with a set of retreads. TRIB comments that retreaded tyres are one of the most environmentally friendly of all recycled products, as they contain one of the highest post consumer contents because the actual tyre itself is being recycled. The oil savings with retreads is also very significant, adds TRIB, as tyres are basically petrochemical products. It takes approximately 83 litres of oil to manufacture one average size truck tyre. Since most of that oil is found in the tyre casing, which is re-used in the retreading process, only about 26 litres of oil are needed to retread that same tyre. Thus a fleet using as few as 100 tyres a year can help save almost 5,700 litres of oil annually, notes TRIB.
Continue ReadingBelshina Focusing on International Growth
Since Belshina opened its first sales office outside of the CIS region, in Lithuania, a year and a half ago, the Belarusian commercial vehicle tyre specialist has looked towards establishing itself in even more regions. One particular area where Belshina has turned its attention is Southeast Asia, where the company is focusing upon the distribution of its earthmover tyre range. At Tyrexpo Asia the director of Belshina Asia, Maksim Smyslov, shared that the Belarusian manufacturer founded a new Singapore based operation in November 2007. It has been trading since last year and is focusing for the time being upon the earthmover tyre business, marketing these products to the region’s mines and mining operators.
Continue ReadingSchaeffler Has Eye on Another Conti Board Seat
It appears Schaeffler’s representation on the Continental AG supervisory board will be strengthened with the addition of a fifth representative. Reuters reported on April 20 that Hans-Jörg Bullinger, president of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, will not, as originally planned, stand as a supervisory board candidate at the April 23 Annual General Meeting. Bullinger’s comment to Reuters was that “Schaeffler would like it if the company is well represented.”
Continue ReadingMarch Sales Give Pirelli a Glimmer of Hope
Upon reporting its first quarter 2009 financials, Pirelli commented that its tyre division experienced “signs of recovery” in March; these indications of better times came in the form of a slowdown in sales decline in some countries and positive growth rates in others. Various government incentives to boost new car sales partly contributed to this reversal of fortune following OE business contraction in the first two months of the year, Pirelli comments.
Continue ReadingConti Management “Welcomes” Clairoix Court Decision
Continental’s decision to close its Clairoix factory in France was met with allegations the company had failed to correctly consult employee representatives beforehand, as required by French law. The plant’s joint works council instigated legal action against Conti, however these claims were dismissed by The Tribunal de Grande Instance (high court) of Sarreguemines on April 21. “Our Continental France subsidiary was ruled to have acted correctly throughout in informing and consulting with the members of the joint works council. We take the occasion of this court decision to emphatically reaffirm that Continental AG has consistently respected and complied with all legal stipulations,” declared Dr. Bernhard Trilken, in charge of worldwide production for the Continental Passenger and Light Truck Tires division.
Continue ReadingBoto Tyre to Build New Passenger Car Radial Factory
Shandong Wanda Boto Tyre Co., Ltd., has revealed plans to build a passenger car production facility nearby its existing tyre manufacturing complex in China. Speaking to Tyres & Accessories company representatives explained how, despite the ongoing economic downturn, Boto Tyre's board and shareholders are confident that they can sell the up to 15 million passenger car radials the new plant is scheduled to produce. Around 1 billion yuan is believed to have been earmarked for the expansion and building work is set to begin in June, with the construction project expected to conclude by the end of the year. As vice director of international trade development, Rainbow Zhao told T&A “building projects don't take very long in China.”
Continue ReadingRubber Prices May Plummet 35% as Tyre Sales Slow
Global sales of passenger car and commercial vehicle tyres may decline to 1.32 billion units in 2009 from 1.41 billion last year, said No Dock Moung, an analyst with the Singapore based International Rubber Study Group. The drop of almost 6.4 per cent would be the steepest since at least 1975, he said. And according to a Singapore based trading manager from Marubeni Corp., Japan’s largest rubber trading company, this could lead to natural rubber prices weakening by as much as 35 per cent.
Continue ReadingMalhotra Growing in the Radial Business
Not many companies successfully negotiate the transition from retreading to the new tyre industry. India’s Malhotra Rubber Ltd., however, is one such firm. The company began producing cold cure retreading materials more than fifty years ago, but it was only in the late 1970s that it began the manufacture of new tyres. Much later, some five years ago, the Indian company entered the radial market with a commercial vehicle tyre intended for the domestic market. Despite this, the company’s offering in European markets continues to focus on the supply of cold cure retreading materials, which are sold under the ‘Malhotra’ brand name. The company stressed at Tyrexpo Asia that it also supplies materials for the as-yet not widespread Indian mould cure retreading industry – a line-up that includes bonding rubber and repair patches.
Continue ReadingProviding Integrated Solutions
During the planning of a factory’s layout and manufacturing processes, the integration of process automation solutions and software at an early stage maximises cost and time savings for the customer. Rockwell Automation, a global leader in the supply of industrial automation power control and information solutions, is collaborating with German company TTC (Technical Tire Consulting) in order to do just that – deliver reduced integration costs, optimised capacity availability, safe product quality and ensured traceability. When Tyres & Accessories met with representatives from both companies during February’s Tire Technology Hamburg exhibition, they explained exactly how tyre industry customers stand to benefit.
Continue ReadingMulti-Platform Promotions Coming from Toyo
Toyo Tire USA has launched its new brand awareness advertising and promotion push for 2009. The effort includes all-new TV and print ads, as well as POS kits dealers. Toyo’s new 30-second TV ad, entitled “People Who Know,” features a Toyo dealer explaining the value of Toyo tyres, including the brand being voted the number one overall tyre brand for seven of the last nine years in Tire Review’s annual Tyre Brands Study. The spots will run during NASCAR events on ABC and ESPN2, NHL playoffs and Stanley Cup finals on NBC, and the shows Pinks on Speed, Modern Marvels on the History Channel, and American Chopper on TLC. The commercial is also online at http://toyotires.com/about-us/tv-commercials. The new print ads will run throughout the year in publications like Motor Trend, Car & Driver, Road and Track, and Automobile, as well as niche publications like Truckin, Dirt Sports, Car Craft, Hot Rod, Modified, and D Sport. The new dealer POS kit entitled “Natural Selection” is “loosely based on the Darwinian theme ‘only the fittest survive,’” said Toyo, and touts its light truck, high performance and luxury touring products. As in previous Toyo POS promotions, dealers can submit a photo of their store display to enter a contest to win prizes such as a mini HD video camera. (Tire Review/Akron)
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