Obituary: Frank Welton
Frank Sidney Welton, born 4 December 1931 died 24 October 2008 after a battle with Lewy Body Dementia. Frank Welton was born in Coventry in 1931. He used the springboard of an academic scholarship to Bablake grammar school, where he became captain of the school for two years running, to propel himself into Magdelen College, Oxford. There he captained the college rugby XV and gained a master’s degree in modern languages with which, after first fulfilling his commitment to National Service, he launched himself with typical dedication into the executive training scheme of Goodyear Tyres. http://www.lewybody.org/
Continue ReadingUK New Car Sales Drop More than 35% in November
Sales of new cars in the UK plummeted in November to 100,333 units, a decrease of 36.8 per cent on last year’s figures. These dismal results, released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), represent the greatest monthly drop since June 1980. During the year to November, car sales totalled 2,023,104 units, down 10.7 per cent on the first 11 months of 2007.
Continue ReadingBARC Saloon Car Champion Wins on Toyo Tyres
Toyo Tyres is congratulating Richard Brent for becoming class champion and overall champion in the 2008 BARC Dunlop Motorsport News Saloon Car Championship. The championship takes place at some of Britain’s most renowned race tracks including: Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Snetterton, Castle Combe and Lydden Hill. Brent competed on Toyo tyres throughout the 2008 season and has had a 100 per cent record, with class wins in all 18 rounds of the championship using the Proxes RS1 (slick), Proxes RR1 (wet) and also the Proxes R888, the semi-slick, in intermediate weather conditions.
Continue ReadingChina Exported 140 Million Tyres in 2007 – Report
A newly released report into China’s tyre industry – states that the country, the world’s largest tyre producer since 2004, manufactured a total of 330 million tyres in 2007; of this number, 70 per cent were radials. Some 40 to 45 per cent of total output is exported, with 140 million units leaving China in 2007.
Continue ReadingFormer Michelin Man Carlos Ghosn Elected 2009 ACEA President
The Board of Directors of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), has elected Carlos Ghosn as its new president. Ghosn, CEO of Renault, will take over from Christian Streiff, CEO of PSA Peugeot Citroën, on 1 January 2009. Ghosn, whose extensive experience in the industry includes some two decades with Michelin, has held in current position as president and CEO of Renault since 2005. “The global automotive industry is facing two significant challenges with a severe financial meltdown twinned with an economic recession, and a major transition to low-emission vehicles. In this context, an effective dialogue with EU institutions and governments is more important than ever”, said Ghosn, reflecting on the expected priorities of his term as ACEA president. He reiterated the automotive industry’s call for normalisation of credits markets, financial support to strategic investments and a range of national incentives to boost the market. “It is vital that our industry can keep fulfilling its key role in Europe in terms of growth, investments, employment and technological leadership.”
Continue ReadingLanxess, Tokyo Zairyo Form Chinese Sales Alliance
Special chemicals group Lanxess AG has announced the formation of an alliance with Japan-based Tokyo Zairyo to sell rubber chemicals to Japanese companies engaged in the industrial rubber product sector within China. This cooperative agreement took effect on December 1, and the German company expects that the partnership will also help its sales in Japan and other Asian countries.
Continue ReadingFire Burns Through Cooper Tire Warehouse
An Arkansas, US warehouse containing 100,000 tyres and used by Cooper Tire has caught fire. The frame of the 200,000 square foot warehouse is said to have collapsed and fire spread throughout the building. The fire is believed not to have spread to other buildings or a nearby forested area.
Continue ReadingPCL Release New Digital Tyre Gauge
PCL has launched a new digital tyre tread depth gauge designed to offer “simplicity at its best, in a robust yet lightweight design with 3 different read settings.” The DTDG1D04 Gauge’s toggle allows the user to set to metric, decimal inch or faction inch according to their preference, with results displayed on a large, easy to read LCD display. The fraction inch setting operates to a display accuracy of 1/64” and for those who are still not used to metric. It allows easy calibration (0-25mm / 0-1) for zero reset and features a zero setting in any position.
Continue ReadingITC Aims to Beat the Recession in Prague
The International Tyre Club Ltd is aiming to beat the recession blues when it meets in Prague next February. “The best opportunities usually come early so make sure you are one of next year’s early birds in these difficult times,” ITC said announcing the dates. The next member summit will take place at Prague’s Radisson Alcron Hotel from 18 – 20 February 2009.
Continue ReadingTesting Times
Need the services of an independent tyre testing laboratory? There are several big names in the business (TUV SUD and Smithers Rapra immediately spring to mind), but Standards Testing Laboratories (STL) claims it operates as the world’s largest independent testing facility for tyres, wheels and related automotive components. Through its four divisions, STL provides the rubber and automotive industries with dynamic laboratory testing, static and physical testing, fleet testing, test machines, specialized photographic and video services and consulting services. Founded by R.L. Fuller in 1971, the company began as an independent laboratory with one roadwheel machine, operating from a trailer office adjacent to the Fabricated Machines Company. Today, STL runs more than 100 test positions 24 hours a day, 365 days a year through its four testing divisions:
Continue ReadingThe House That Tyres Built
A Canadian family in Gravenhurst, Ontario is making ready to build a new family home with a distinctive new twist; it will be made from recycled tyres. “Tyres absorb the heat all day long, then release it at night as it gets cooler on the outside,” an excited Paul Punshon told local news sources. The architect of the scheme says that the used rubber has been easily sourced – people have paid him to get rid of them. The tyres will be stacked and covered in concrete, which should allow them to provide the heating Punshon suggests they can. The entire home will be made from recycled objects and will attempt to reach self-sustainability. As for the building work, Paulson appears to have a willing and eager pool of potential helpers: “We are getting e-mails from all over Canada, the East Coast, (and) West Coast that say they will work for free, they just want to learn how to do it.”
Continue ReadingCooper Reaches Tentative Agreement with Findlay Union
A tentative agreement between Cooper Tire & Rubber and the United Steelworkers Local 207 regarding the company’s Findlay, Ohio facility has been reached. If this agreement is ratified, a new three-year contract may be implemented. The Findlay plant manager has said the agreement places the facility in a position to be more competitive, something seen as a major step towards maintaining operations at the site in light of Cooper’s plans to close one of the company’s four US factories.
Continue ReadingStandard & Poor’s ‘B+’ Rating Affirmed for Giti Tire
Standard & Poors Ratings Services said it has affirmed Giti Tire’s B+ long-term corporate credit rating with a negative outlook, based upon the company’s weak financials going into 2009. It also affirmed Gitis B- foreign-currency issue rating on the companys unsecured notes. Furthermore, Standard & Poor’s says all Giti’s ratings have been removed from CreditWatch, where they had been placed with negative implications in September.
Continue ReadingReifen China off to a Successful Start
The organisers of the Shanghai based Reifen China 2008 exhibition have reported a successful first day. On December 4 more than three thousand trade visitors attended the show at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, an increase of 25 per cent on the previous year. Show hosts CURC (China United Rubber (Group) Company) and Messe Essen, along with major sponsor BRV (Bundesverband Reifenhandel und Vulkanisieur-Handwerk - the Federal Association of the Tyre Trade and the Vulcanisers Skilled Trade) expressed their satisfaction with this result, particularly against the background of current global economic unease.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Concludes Anti-Vibration Rubber JV Agreement
Bridgestone has concluded an agreement with India’s Sundaram Industries to establish a joint venture to produce anti-vibration rubber for use in vehicles. The Tamil Nadu based company is a member of India’s Prominent TVS Group, and a leader in the field of anti-vibration rubber in that country. Bridgestone first concluded a technical assistance agreement in anti-vibration rubber for automobiles business with Sundaram Industries in 1996, and the two companies have built a close relationship over the years. Bridgestone believes the joint venture will enable the production and sale of high-quality products boasting technical superiority at a competitive cost in the expanding Indian market, and lead to an enhanced global supply chain.
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