Goodyear Directors Re-Elected at 2009 Annual Meeting
Goodyear Tire & Rubber shareholders re-elected 11 members of the company’s Board of Directors at the 2009 Annual Shareholder Meeting, held on April 7. Re-elected were: James C. Boland, retired vice chairman, Cavaliers Operating Company, LLC; James A. Firestone, executive vice president and president, corporate operations, Xerox Corporation; Robert J. Keegan, chairman, chief executive officer and president, Goodyear;
Continue ReadingSnider Tire Joins Michelin Retread Technologies Network
The North America based Michelin Retread Technologies (MRT) network of servicing dealers has grown through the addition of Snider Tire. The retreader, headquartered in North Carolina, is one of the largest commercial tyre dealers and retreaders in the US. At present the company operates eight retread facilities and 31 commercial service locations, primarily in the Carolinas, Georgia and Texas area. Snider Tire has long been recognised for the quality of its people and service to the fleets, said Francois Corbin, COO of Michelin Americas Truck Tires. We are confident that John Snider and his team will help us continue to provide excellent commercial truck services to fleet customers.
Continue ReadingIn Tyres & Accessories, May 2009:
Tyrexpo Asia Review
High-Performance Tyres
Vintage Tyres
Tyrexpo Asia Reports from this year’s Tyrexpo Asia exhibition in Singapore have been positive, with show attendees commenting on a good turnout and definite signs of flourishing business despite current global conditions. Following a full schedule of meetings with industry representatives at the show, Tyres & Accessories is proud to bring you its 2009 Tyrexpo Asia review. A comprehensive report on the Singapore show can be found in our next edition. Born to Perform If any aspect of the tyre business can at all lay claim to coolness, it is the high performance tyre segment. Manufacturers naturally make the most of this when promoting their wider product ranges, yet the performance tyre sector is a very important business in its own right. Healthy profit margins mean companies are keen to see continued market growth, and the production of high performance tyres is increasingly becoming a means of continued existence for plants located in higher cost countries following the flight of mass-market manufacturing to other parts of the world. Don’t miss the May edition of Tyres & Accessories, when we feature the latest news from the high performance tyre world. Enjoying an Active Retirement As we get older we are admonished to regularly exercise our bodies, to – ‘use it or lose it’. Vintage and classic cars are no different. A full appreciation of yesteryear’s vehicles can only be gained by keeping them on the road instead of gathering dust in a static museum display, but for a full and active retired life, these cars require a little more TLC than average – including the correct tyres. Thankfully, number of firms have dedicated themselves to ensuring these tyres remain available long after wider volume production ended. In May, Tyres & Accessories returns to the world of cross-ply and beaded edges to bring you its vintage tyre feature.
Continue ReadingUkraine Women’s Rights Group Wants Vianor Ad Banned
A Ukranian international women’s rights centre, La Strada Ukraine, wants tyre retailer Vianor’s TV commercial banned from the country’s Inter TV channel for apparently insulting children. La Strada says the ad, which reportedly shows parents ironically exchanging children for tyres, is a violent insult of children’s rights: “it represents disrespect towards children, panhuman values and a manifestation of parents’ irresponsibility and exploitation of a kid’s image.” Spokespeople at Vianor’s parent company, Nokian, were unavailable for comment on the news.
Continue ReadingAdvanced ID Announces Wireless Tyre Diagnostics Solution
RFID specialist Advanced ID Corporation has announced, along with information technology provider Pro SAAMYA, the release of a tyre diagnostics solution incorporating Advanced ID/Pneu-Logic’s truck probe and Pro SAAMYA’s TiMaS, or Tire-data Management System. The complete solution includes a Bluetooth-enabled tyre tread depth/pressure probe and the middleware that wirelessly links the most important data on tyres to the fleet operator’s fleet management database. TiMaS software works with mobile phones, PDAs, tablets and laptop computers. Benefits of the system include real-time automated tyre data management, reduced operational costs, fewer on the road breakdowns, elimination of paper-based recording and easy integration with existing software systems.
Continue ReadingContinental to Intensify Cooperation With Partners
A central part of every sales and marketing strategy that is based upon premium products is the guaranteed quality of these products and a highly diversified product portfolio that addresses customer requirements. Continental has in recent times achieved some noteworthy successes in both these strategic areas through the introduction of new products from its truck tyre division, such as the “Continental HTR 2” trailer tyre. The manufacturer has brought together its entire retreading business activities under the “ContiLifeCycle” banner, including its most recent substantial developments, such as an intensified cooperation with the well-known German retreader Reifen Ihle and with the Italian Marangoni Group. All of this helps Continental to literally become a full-line supplier in the sense that it can deliver what premium customers demand: more than just new tyres that are long lasting and help save fuel – instead it delivers a full approach that helps to cut down on costs per kilometre and benefits the environment (although this typically is not the primary goal of tyre buyers). As Eckhard Wilanek, managing director of Continental’s fleet & retread business, points out, all this cannot be achieved without the help of retreading. Like many other new tyre manufacturers, Continental has for a number of years been committed to retreading – a sector of the industry that used to have a “dirty image”, but has now become respectable. As Eckhard Wilanek says, there are primarily two key reasons why its reputation has changed in recent times. The first of these is very simple: By the time the bite of the global financial and economic recession began to be felt last autumn, fleet operators and freight forwarders were experiencing increasingly strong pressure on their bottom lines. Everybody is short of money. In these unprincely times when ‘cash is king’, economic pressures convince fleet managers that lower-priced alternatives make more sense than new tyres. So while one company will then decide to go for cheap imported tyres from the Far East (without investing into a valuable casing), another company may opt for retreading. It is important to note that the obvious advantages of retreading and the inclusion of retreads into a fleet’s tyre management makes sense at all times, whether good or bad.
Continue ReadingConti Acquires Serbian Conveyor Belt Manufacturer
Continental AG subsidiary ContiTech has taken over Serbian manufacturer of mining operation conveyor belts, Univerzal Kolubara. According to ContiTech, the group paid less than ten million euros for the company, which has 250 employees. Investment at the Univerzal Kolubara site is planned in order to take advantage of anticipated growth in the mining of brown coal in Serbia.
Continue ReadingT&A Interviews Cooper European Technical Centre Head
Cooper Tire has launched a new ultra-high performance tyre which, the company claims, offers all the performance of the Zeon range, but with the addition of much improved tread life. The new Cooper Zeon CS6 replaces the Cooper Zeon XTC’s V and W-rated sizes. The product’s enhanced tyre tread life is achieved by virtue of a new silica compound which, thanks to computer-aided design technology, offers enhanced grip in wet weather braking and handling situations. However, arguably the greatest claim the company is making about the CS6 is the suggestion that the new tyre offers up to 12 per cent longer tread wear than the XTC. What’s more, the new tyre has hit the road courtesy of development work at Cooper’s European Technical Centre. Tyres & Accessories recently visited the ETC, which is based on the company’s Melksham tyre production site, and discussed the CS6 and evolution in the company’s tyre development strategy with tech-centre head Marcus Hancock.
Continue ReadingPirelli Reviews Star Driver Inauguration at WRC Portugal
Citroen driver Sebastien Loeb maintained his dominance of the 2009 World Rally Championship with victory on the fourth round of the series, the Rally of Portugal, which ended in Faro on Sunday afternoon (5 April). There’s nothing new there, considering Loeb’s early season form, though the Portuguese WRC stage represented a landmark worthy of note for tyre suppliers Pirelli. The Italian giant’s Star Driver scheme – undertaken with collaboration from the FIA in order to develop new young drivers – inaugurated five new drivers, all of whom will compete at a further five events. Jarkko Nikara of Finland, Nicos Thomas from Cyprus, the Czech Republic’s Martin Semerad, Mark Tapper from New Zealand and South African Jon Williams tackled Portugal as the first stage in their WRC education. Pirelli rally manager Mario Isola said, “We are very pleased with the way this event has gone. We had no problems with the tyres. Okay, there were some punctures caused by accidents, but otherwise the hard-compound Scorpion tyre coped very well with the conditions. This has been another very strong drive from Sebastien Loeb, but once again we saw Ford pushing Citroen hard. This was also a historic rally for Pirelli with the Star Driver Scheme. This association with the FIA to help young drivers in the sport has made us very proud as a company. All five of the drivers have performed well and we now look ahead to the rest of the season with these exciting guys.”
Continue ReadingPirelli Researching the Use of Rice Husk Ash in Tyre Compounds
From an ecological point of view, the new Pirelli Cinturato P7 offers three headline benefits - a CO2 emission reduction of up to 4 grams per kilometre driven, 30 per cent lower noise emissions and a 4 per cent fuel saving. Pirelli’s clincher (particularly aimed at current and potential OE customers) is that it is already in position to meet the targets set by the new EU regulations that are due to take effect from 2011 and that it does this without compromising on wet or dry performance. However, none of this explains how the company is able to achieve these goals. In mid-February, Pirelli gave details of how its 2009 – 2011 industrial plan means the company will have an increasingly “green” focus. In particular Pirelli committed to developing a series of new materials that for use in tyre compounds. One particular silica rich material is rice husk ash (RHA). Pirelli is already (as far as the technological requirements are concerned) in a position to use this material in tyre production this year. However, the material is currently the subject of a large scale viability study focusing on the availability of the kind of tonnages needed for tyre industral scale tyre manufacturing. Tyres & Accessories understands that Pirelli already has research and development teams in place in Brazil and the areas surround Milan, which just happen to be some of the best rice production areas in the world.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Americas Announces Motorcycle Tyre Recall
The recall of a number of Bridgestone tyres fitted as OE to Triumph motorcycles in 2008 and 2009 is currently underway. The tyre in question, the Exedra G850 in size 180/70R16 77H, was shipped with the Triumph Rocket III Touring. This particular motorcycle develops very high torque and can cause torque-induced degradation in a body ply, which may result in cracks forming in the rear tyre’s inner liner, leading to a slow leak. This condition does not affect the front tyre.
Continue ReadingKeegan Outlines Strategies to “Weather the Economic Storm”
In his address at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Companys 2009 Annual Shareholder Meeting on April 7, chairman and chief executive officer Robert J. Keegan said he remains confident in Goodyears ability to drive performance during challenging economic conditions and emerge in a position of competitive strength. This confidence, he said, derives from Goodyears game tested leadership team, a proven track record based on strong strategies and continued new product success, as well as actions the company is taking to improve its cost structure and strengthen its cash position.
Continue ReadingDouble Win for Dunlop Direzza
The winner of the Street Touring Ultra class at this year’s Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) competition, held in California, may have appeared familiar. The man taking the honours at the event was none other than last year’s winner, Richard Jung. At both the 2008 and 2009 competitions Jung attained victory on Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec tyres. “There has been a lot of hype about new street tyres from some of Dunlop’s competitors for this type of competition, so it was satisfying to get a repeat victory as evidence that the Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec is still the tyre to beat,” said Jung. “Enthusiasts are getting the message that this Dunlop tyre is proven to be the fastest in competition. You can feel the difference when you push the Star Specs, which is an advantage, because it allows a more consistent feel and reduced the need for suspension adjustments between runs.”
Continue ReadingMichelin Withdraws From Shanghai Motor Show
The Michelin Group has withdrawn from April’s Auto Shanghai 2009 motor show, reports Chinese news outlet Sina Corporation. The company has attended the show during the past decade and maintained a significant presence there. A member of Michelin’s public relations team stated that the company will cut back on its exhibition presence this year. The whole industry is in difficulty and we also have to do some adjustment and scale-down, the representative explained. Michelin is, however, still scheduled to attend the IAA show in Frankfurt, Germany, in September.
Continue ReadingATD to Sell 37 Retail Outlets
US based tyre wholesaler and distributor American Tire Distributors Holdings (ATD) intends to sell the 37 retail outlets it acquired in 2008 as part of its purchase of Am-Pac Tire Distributors. In a financial filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company states: “The acquisition of Am-Pac Tire also added 37 retail stores, predominately in the St. Louis, Missouri and Southern California areas. As these stores are not core to the Company’s business, management’s intention is to divest of these stores during 2009.”
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