Kumho’s Euro Motorsport HQ Continues to Strengthen
Kumho’s ever-expanding European Motorsport Division has been based on the Stanmore Industrial Estate in Bridgnorth, Shropshire for ten years. Having long since moved from its first building on the site, it has now taken possession of still bigger premises that will allow ongoing growth for some years to come. At any one time the Bridgnorth warehouse is home to thousands of competition tyres. They are manufactured to order in the company’s Korean factories, shipped to Bridgnorth and then supplied to teams and events throughout Europe. The seven-strong team at Bridgnorth have a pair of fully-equipped trucks with which they provide on-event support to many of the company’s top race and rally competitors. Others are supported by the comprehensive European network of specialist Kumho motorsport tyre dealers. Adjoining the new 28,000 sq ft warehouse is 4,000 sq ft of smart, modern office accommodation for the benefit of both the permanent staff and visiting Kumho executives. There is also a large, state-of-the-art conference room on site. An integral part of the division’s activities is providing the R&D department and factory with the information they need in order to keep designing and developing winning products. In turn, all the lessons learnt in the heat of the racetrack and the often damp, muddy conditions of the rally stage are incorporated in the design of Kumho’s UHP road tyres, helping to provide them with greater levels of performance.
Continue ReadingConti Team Runs for Charity
On your mark! – Get set! – Go! October 11 was ContiRunning Day 2008, a day on which some 10,000 Continental employees in sixty different locations ran or walked for a good cause. Events were staged under the motto “Fit for the Future” and Conti reports the day was a huge success. Employees from twenty countries took part in the event, which started in Asia, then continued in Europe and finished off in America.
Continue ReadingNew Counterfeiting Law Will Bolster Protections, SEMA Says
Congress passed sweeping legislation to strengthen intellectual property protections for American businesses. The Pro-IP Act increases civil and criminal laws against counterfeiting and piracy, and establishes permanent programs in which the U.S. government works with industry and foreign governments to fight global piracy. “Lawmakers have taken an important step in helping combat the scourge of counterfeiting,” said Chris Kersting, SEMA’s president and CEO. “Our industry is all about innovation, technology, and quality. Counterfeiters rob our companies of those valuable assets. This provides the U.S. government with new tools and resources to fight intellectual property thieves.” Automotive components, tyres and accessories have long been a target for illegal counterfeiting, SEMA pointed out.
Continue ReadingStrong OTR Tyre Demand Continues Despite Glum Mining Outlook
In spite of a less than rosy outlook for global raw metal sales, orders for mining tyres and other items of equipment continue unabated. And manufacturers of these items are wagering that, in the long term, demand for their products will remain strong. Everybody agrees that in the long term, five to ten years, the Chinese, the Indian and the Brazilians will grow and they will need more minerals and more energy, Luc Minguet, president of Michelin North America’s Earthmover and Industrial Tires division told Reuters. We have not seen any slowdown yet, but what could happen nobody knows.
Continue ReadingHankook’s Enfren Wins 2008 Green Product Award
Hankook Tire has stated that its enfren tyre, which the company says is Korea’s first fuel-efficient, environment friendly tyre, received a Korea Green Management Excellence Award in the green product category. The award was presented by the Korea Management Association Registration & Assessments (KMAR). Attending the October 7 awards ceremony were South Korea’s vice minister of Environment Lee Byung-wook, Korea Management Association chairman Shin Young-chul and officials from Hankook and the other award-winning companies.
Continue ReadingUS Tyre Safety Week Moves to June
US based tyre trade representative organisation the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) has announced that its Annual National Tire Safety Week will, as of next year, be held in June instead of April. In 2009 the campaign will be held between June 7 and 13, and the June date will be kept in future years. The annual event is an initiative of the Rubber Manufacturers Associations Be Tire Smart - Play Your PART program, a year-round effort designed to help drivers learn the simple measures they can take to ensure their vehicle’s tyres are in good working condition. For the campaign, the RMA will provide tyre retailers, auto dealers and automotive repair shops with free Be Tire Smart brochures and other materials. More than 19,000 tyre dealers, auto dealers and automotive repair shops participated during this year’s National Tire Safety Week.
Continue ReadingNew Machine Makes Headlight Testing Easier, Reports Beissbarth
Traditionally, headlights have been an area of low priority for the motoring public, noticed only when the bulb has failed. All too frequently at night or during poor visibility daytime conditions, the ‘motorcycle’ travelling behind or coming the other way turns out to be a car with only one working headlight, a potentially dangerous illusion. Other headlights, instead of illuminating the road, light up the night’s sky or blind oncoming motorists. Headlights are a matter of great safety interest and consumer awareness could definitely be higher in this area. In this spirit, Beissbarth has issued garages and fast fit outlets a challenge – why not include headlights as part of your sales package? Make it a popular sales topic, it says. It could be just the item in a company’s sales performance that shows it to be innovative, and helps to create a point of difference between it and others in the fast fit or repair business. After all, Beissbarth adds, businesses offer tyres, wheel alignment, wheel balancing, tyre repairs, brakes and possibly also diagnostics – but headlight services? For many the answer will be ‘no – never thought about it.’
Continue ReadingChina Tyre Production 630 Million Units Annually by 2010 – Report
According to a recently released report, tyre output in China enjoyed a growth rate of 20 per cent per annum between the years 2002 and 2007, with annual growth in radial output an even higher 33 per cent. It is expected, states the report, that tyre output will reach 630 million units per annum by 2010, with radial production accounting for 530 million units.
Continue ReadingStapleton’s to Buy Central Tyre
Stapleton’s (Tyre Services) Limited has agreed to buy 56 Central Tyre stores from Pirelli UK Limited. The deal, with a price-tag to be determined when the transfer of Central’s properties is completed, sees the tyre retailer and distributor expand its retail operation from 45 stores to a new total of 101 throughout the UK. The proposed transaction includes both retail and commercial tyre fitting outlets and the existing Central Tyre workforce is expected to transfer across to Stapleton’s upon completion of the sale. Initially Stapleton’s plans to concentrate on integrating the new stores into its network, meaning the company will be responsible for STS Tyre Pros, STS Tyre & Exhaust and now Central Tyre-branded outlets. It is not clear if and how this might change in the future.
Continue ReadingThat’s a Mighty Fine Looking Vehicle Yer Got There, Pardner…
You would be forgiven for thinking the ride qualities on the Hummer H3 were a little wooden….One particular specimen, parked in London during October, is equipped with wheels and ‘tyres’ not commonly seen in these parts for the best part of a century. But this vehicle doesn’t represent a backwards step from the manufacturer of plus-sized 4x4s – the wooden wagon wheels fitted to the Hummer parked in the Old Burlington road are there for art’s sake.
Continue ReadingWins for Yokohama-shod Runners in Tour of Mull
The 2008 Tour of Mull Rally proved a successful event for Yokohama, with Paul MacKinnon’s Advan A006T tarmac tyre-shod Subaru Impreza winning the event outright and Tristan Pye’s Impreza N11 winning the Group N class of the event. The Tour of Mull is one of the most iconic events in British club rallying. Running on the abrasive asphalt roads around the remote Scottish island, changeable weather conditions typically make tyre choice extremely difficult. Drivers are often forced to compromise when it comes to selecting the ideal pattern and compound for stages that may be wet in parts and dry in others, or where the weather can change part-way through a stage. This year, both MacKinnon and Pye were using the latest specification of Yokohama’s moulded slick tarmac tyre. It would be the second time Pye has used the Japanese manufacturer’s products, as he clinched this year’s Production Cup in the BTRDA rally series, which included two asphalt events.
Continue ReadingSchaeffler Buys More Conti Shares
Schaeffler Group today bought a further batch of stock already under its control in an effort to reduce the cost of the deal Continental takeover deal. It was the fourth time Schaeffler has done this. The group reportedly bought 1.05 million shares yesterday. According to Bloomberg, Schaeffler has bought 3.17 million tendered Continental shares since the company’s offer expired on 16 September – equal to roughly 2.43 per cent. The average price paid was about 61.50 euros, which would amount to a savings of almost 43 million euros ($58 million) versus the price due under the offer. Schaeffler spokesperson Detlef Sieverdingbeck said the recent move is not likely to be the last purchase: “If further purchases make financial sense, we will continue to buy.
Continue ReadingCooper Makes Marketing Promotions
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has promoted David Craig to director of channel marketing. In his new role, Craig will be responsible for developing marketing programs to support Cooper brands in various distribution channels. Most recently, Craig was in charge of Cooper’s North American advertising. Concurrently, Cooper promoted Steve Sawyer to director of brand/product management, with responsibility for aligning products and brand strategy. (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingBridgestone Presents Safety Award at Paris Motor Show
For the third consecutive year, Bridgestone has sponsored the “Best Safety Innovation” prize in the international competition for automotive design students organised by Interior Motives magazine. The award was presented by Benoit Raulin, managing director Bridgestone France, at the Interior Motives Design Awards 2008 ceremony, held during the Paris Motor Show. The audience of leading motor industry professionals attending the motor show saw the safety award and cash prize presented to French student Pierre Sabas for his design of a futuristic protective shell that wraps around each occupant of the vehicle and protective side panels integrated in the roll bars. This imaginative concept also won him the top Interior Motives Student Designer of the Year award.
Continue ReadingFalken Promotes Pair
Falken Tire Corp. has promoted two of its staff to marketing and product planning posts. Andrew Hoit was promoted from division manager of retail sales to director of marketing. Tim Widener was promoted from product engineer to manager of product planning. (Tire Review/Akron)
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