Federal Puts Feddi Out Front
Federal Tire’s cartoon ambassador Feddi will be getting greater exposure by the Taiwan tyremaker. Beginning this year, Feddi has gained his own website – www.feddi.com.tw – and will grace a host of promotional materials from Federal. Now available are such Feddi-oriented promotional items such as sport bottles, pens, note pads, memo sheet cubes, and plush Feddi dolls. (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingYokohama Geared Up for Success at Isle of Man TT
After a week of practice racing in the Isle of Man TT gets underway on May 31, and Yokohama is proud that its tyres will see plenty of three-wheel action in the coming days. It reports that, once again, it is by far the dominant tyre brand in the sidecar class, with no less than 41 of the 58 entrants running on Yokohama products, serviced by Yokohama HPT dealer Express Tyres. The favourite for the two race wins has to be Dave Molyneux, the third most successful rider ever in the history of the Isle of Man TT in terms of race wins, behind John Surtees and Joey Dunlop. He holds the position as the most successful sidecar racer, with 13 wins to his credit and giving Yokohama an outstanding record of 14 consecutive years with a win on the island. Other top runners in the class have also chosen to ride on Yokohama, with last year’s early leader Nick Crowe looking to heap the pressure on Molyneux once again. Crowe also has the island lap record under his belt, an accolade he took from Molyneux at last year’s event, with a stunning lap averaging 116.667mph over the 37-mile course. On top of this, Yokohama regular John Holden is tipped to put up a strong showing, as he, Crowe and Molyneux were the main protagonists in last year’s event.
Continue ReadingA Little Bit Different: Vogue Follows Its Own Path in Industry
Founded in 1914, Vogue Tyre has always been a little different, a bit more upscale. Best known as “that Cadillac tyre,” Vogue catered to top-end cars and sold what was touted as the industry’s first whitewall, a stark contrast to the day’s solid black tyres. Later, it added its now trademark white/gold sidewall stripes. A family-owned company then as it is now, Vogue has never aspired to be a major tyre player, but rather wants to be known as a quality company with quality people (180 of them) offering quality products. The Mt. Prospect, Illinois-based Vogue is also a quality customer, celebrating its 70th anniversary as a Goodyear customer – and as Goodyear’s oldest private brand account.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Receives Record Entries for “dreams at heArt” contest
The number of entries for Bridgestone’s “dreams at heArt” children’s drawing contest received during 2008 set a new record. A total of 40,700 entries were received from children in 20 European countries, and in mid-May a panel of judges in Brussels selected the 90 winners for this year’s contest, their decisions based upon the originality, creativity and impact of the work. Combining the issue of ecology with that of road safety, this year’s theme was “Safe Travel on Planet Ecopia”. Primary school children throughout Europe were invited to draw, colour or paint their dreams of how this planet might look. As in previous years, winners were selected in each of three age categories: up to 7 years, 8 to 9, and 10 to 11. The top three winners in each category receive a Bridgestone bicycle and safety helmet; the 4th to 10th placed receive a Bridgestone tennis set of racket and balls; and the 11th to 30th placed in each category win a safety bag. The top nine winners are also acknowledged in a special way – their work will be painted onto a Bridgestone GP2 Series racing car. In addition, a digital camera will be gifted to their school.
Continue ReadingMichelin Announces Tyre, Oliver Rubber Tread Price Increases
Michelin in North America has announced price increases for some of its own tyre lines and for products manufactured by the Michelin owned Oliver Rubber Company. Continuing increases in raw material, energy and transportation costs are said to be behind these latest price rises. Michelin North America will, effective July 1, 2008, increase prices between 6 and 36 per cent on Michelin, BFGoodrich and Kléber brand agricultural and compact line tyres and tubes sold in the US and Canadian markets. The company adds that back orders of record as of June 30 will benefit from price protection until July 31, 2008. The Oliver Rubber Company will increase prices for its retread rubber products by 5 per cent, effective June 1, 2008.
Continue ReadingMAI Group Acquires Jinyu OTR Facility
The Mai Group has announced the acquisition of a manufacturing plant and the related technology owned by Shandong Province, China based Jinyu Radial OTR tyres. The Italian company, founded in 1953 as a retreading business, has named the newly acquired manufacturing company “Mai (Shandong) Radial Tyre Co., Ltd.” and described the China facility as a ‘technically advanced radial tyre manufacturing plant with a highly skilled workforce.’ Mai Group also operates a new tyre factory in Turkey, opened in 2005. The Maitech tyre brand is produced at this facility.
Continue ReadingIndustrial Tyremaker Established New US Warehouse
Solideal USA recently took over a 122,596-square-foot warehouse space in Joliet, Illinois. The warehouse, originally constructed in 1969 for Caterpillar, underwent a full renovation to accommodate its requirements, Solideal said, and now features 10 new exterior truck docks, a new drive-in door, and 10 trailer parking stalls. The new facility consolidates separate facilities Solideal operated in Harvey and Rockford, Illinois. (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingBrenno Benaglia Appointed New BIPAVER President
BIPAVER, the European federation of tyre retreaders’ associations, has named Brenno Benaglia as its new President. The decision was made on 23 May during the Reifen 2008 exhibition in Essen, Germany. During the meeting, a number of changes were made to the Board of the Federation, in line with the organisation’s constitution. Brenno Benaglia, represents both AIRP (Italy) and the Marangoni Group and replaces Peter Hülzer of BRV (Germany), who becomes one of the Federation’s two Vice-Presidents. Also appointed Vice-President was Jan Driessen, Chairman of the Retreading Sector in VACO (Netherlands). Retiring from the board was Richard O’Connell, representing the RMA (UK). BIPAVER Secretary Ruud Spuijbroek thanked O’Connell for his services as President between 2006 and 2007 and as a Vice-President during the past year as well as for his valuable contribution to the Federation’s Technical Committee. During the General Assembly BIPAVER members approved a change in the Federation’s Constitution, which will allow Federation officers to serve two years in office as opposed to one year, as was previously specified in the constitution. This means that Brenno Benaglia will now serve as BIPAVER President from 2008-2010. In his acceptance speech Brenno Benaglia commented: “Retreading is going through a complex period and BIPAVER now needs to carry on what it’s doing through strong co-operation with those new tyre producers, who are committed to producing retreadable casings. BIPAVER is an open and independent association and the ideas we have developed over the past year will be framework for our future work together.”
Continue ReadingConti Exec Discusses Success, Future Plans
After nearly a decade of decline, Continental Tire North America finally got into the black in 2007, success driven by a new focus on products, delivery and dealer relations. At its recent Gold Dealer meeting, held during a Caribbean cruise, Continental Tire North America outlined its expansion plans for the program. Andreas Gerstenberger, executive vice president of sales and marketing for CTNA’s consumer tyre group, sat down with Tire Review to discuss the company’s turnaround and future growth plans. Since Continental bought out General in 1987, there have been numerous management changes. Now things seem to be clicking. What do you have in place now that you didn’t have before? “The first thing that’s important, if you want to have stability in a team, is figuring out together what your strategy is in a given market. For a long time it wasn’t completely clear within the Continental group what the position of Continental Tire/General Tire should be in the US market.
Continue ReadingApollo Opens First India CV Tyre Outlet
Apollo Tyres has opened its first full-service branded commercial vehicle tyre outlet in India. Located in Salem, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the new outlet is called Apollo Trust, and is the first of a number of outlets that will be established in large trucking halt points outside city limits and along India’s national highways. Apollo reports the Salem centre is equipped with the latest commercial vehicle wheel aligning, tyre balancing and nitrogen gas inflation equipment and staffed with highly trained employees. Therefore, the company adds, Apollo Trust is best positioned to cater to the unique and demanding needs of India’s commercial vehicle operators and drivers, who currently utilise both cross ply and radial tyres. Plans are underway to gradually increase the Apollo Trust network to five locations in the next few months, offering tyres and tyre-related services, alongside the sale of retreaded tyres and retreading materials. Apollo Tyres states in a press release it felt the need to introduce such service-oriented outlets to “assist customers move up the value proposition, enabling them to chose the appropriate application for their vehicles and operational needs through informed decision making.”
Continue ReadingThe Oldies are Getting Younger
It’s enough to make you feel old, really. Every year cars considered classic get just that bit newer, and before long we find ourselves all misty eyed about vehicles that sat fresh on the showroom floor just a handful of seasons ago. The day when we get nostalgic over the Ford Focus is perhaps not too far off. But despite their relative youthfulness, obtaining the right tyres for classic cars could pose a problem were it not for the likes of Vintage Tyre Supplies, a company dedicated to tyres that have slipped out of the mainstream. While remaining true to its name by stocking one of the most comprehensive ranges of vintage tyres available anywhere, VTS is also moving with the times and expanding its range to include fitments for these ‘modern classics.’ As VTS managing director Chris Marchant comments, “our range moves on as each year goes by, a new set of classics emerges.” He adds that “as a tyre becomes discontinued, which occurs as evolution within the motor industry takes place, we are offered the possibility of taking it on. We have to decide whether the particular style and sizes are those that are viable for us to produce.” One range that has in particular grown of late as a result of such activity is the Avon line-up offered by VTS. “We now supply some fitments for Rolls Royce and Bentley up to the 1990s,” says Marchant. “Today we have reached a situation where we are selling 17-inch low profile tyres such as the 255/55R17 for Rolls Royce cars.” Vehicles such as this are becoming quite collectable, he adds, and as VTS as a company majors on authenticity, the need to expand the range has been inevitable. “Our relationship with Avon originally began 15 years ago, and since then it has grown stronger and stronger. So if we have a customer that owns, say, a later model Bentley, and they want the right tyre for it, its only natural that we approach them about supplying such a product.” In Cooper Tire’s UK operations VTS has found a company willing to go the extra mile; vintage and classic tyres are not, after all, volume products. “All products are made by Avon racing,” the VTS managing director comments. “Like those used in racing, tyres for vintage and classic vehicles are fairly low volume and the quality of finish is important. They are hands-on low volume products. This is also the case with the Dunlop tyres we sell – they are made by Dunlop’s motorsport division in Birmingham.” Speaking of Dunlop, Chris Marchant reports that VTS is currently working towards the introduction of a new 220/65 R90 tyre. “This is a size originally fitted to the Jaguar XJ40,” he says. “This tyre was originally made by Dunlop but discontinued, and although the car remains fairly common there is no tyre available. We are trying to get this tyre re-produced.” Another prominent range offered by VTS, for both vintage and more recent classics, is that supplied by Michelin. “The Michelin range also has tyres for 70s, 80s and sometimes even 90s vehicles such as Mercedes, BMW, or the Pilot Sport (in 225/50 ZR16 and 255/50 ZR16) as fitted to the Ferrari Testarossa.” But although some classic vehicles are relatively new, their status as cosseted treasures perhaps driven only on sunny weekends means that the tyres fitted to some are not so fresh. Tyre ageing is an issue that has been discussed for some years, and increasing attention is being directed towards the owners of classic vehicles. “We have seen owners of vintage and classic cars keeping tyres for a long time, on occasion up to 20 or 30 years,” comments Marchant. “Our advice would be to ensure tyres are regularly inspected. The BTMA recommends tyres be replaced after ten years, and we are very happy to repeat this advice to our customers.” For VTS, however, another age-related tyre phenomenon is seen as posing a greater safety risk. Chris Marchant explains: “From our perspective an issue of greater concern is the development of internet auction sites; here it is not unknown for tyres to be sold as new but in fact be fifty years old. Unfortunately a fatality occurred last year, when a man unwittingly purchased tyres manufactured many years ago and fitted them to his vehicle. The tyres failed badly after a short period of use, resulting in his death.” “We need to address this problem,” Marchant emphasises. “During the last month I wrote a letter and sent it to several magazine editors about this very issue – old stock described as new. A lot of the problem is that people want authenticity, and tyres we sell that are made today look the same as those made 40 or 50 years ago – in fact, they are often manufactured in the same moulds. A tyre that has sat in someone’s garage for up to half a century may sell for a good price online, but there is a reason for the low price tag.” Like everyone involved in the tyre business, VTS has not been immune from the upward rush of raw material prices. “Recent increases in raw material prices mean that car tyre prices have been going up six or seven per cent,” comments Marchant. “But if you’ve got a car sitting in the garage worth £40,000, you’re going to do it. You’re going to get the tyres you need. I think people are resigned to these price increases to some degree.” Fortunately for VTS, the other issue plaguing a number of UK based suppliers has posed less of a headache. “The exchange rate and the lower value of the sterling has not been such an issue for us. That is one of the advantages of being an international company, Europe is a big part of our business and we can both buy and sell products directly from Euro accounts.” And in spite of unprecedented raw material costs and other industry-wide concerns, VTS is thriving and steadily expanding. Indeed, right now the company is looking to make new additions to its team. “We are looking for new staff at the moment,” says Marchant. “I think you could describe vintage tyres as an interesting business, and it’s definitely a growing one, hence the vacancies. We are looking for two people; one in our warehouse area, a person that would be involved in fitting and balancing plus warehouse duties, along with attending the occasional show. The other vacancy is in our sales office – we seek a person with language skills in a role that would involve travel throughout Europe.” Anyone interested in a career with a company that has strong connections with the past but is also forward looking is encouraged to contact VTS for further information.
Continue ReadingFormer Kwik-Fit Boss is New Deputy Mayor of London
Tim Parker, the former Kwik-Fit and AA boss has been as a deputy mayor of London. His track record led to the trade unions dubbing him “the Prince of Darkness” after he departed from Kwik-Fit £25 million richer and the AA over £40 million better despite thousands of job cuts. Tim Parker’s deputy mayor role will see him become chief executive of the GLA Group, which comprises the authority itself, the London Development Agency and Transport for London, which he will chair. It is widely reported that Parker became a multimillionaire after implementing often painful cost cutting programmes such as at the AA where he cut 3,500 jobs in the first 100 days following its take over by CVC Capital. However, on this occasion the Porsche driving multimillionaire has agreed to work for Boris Johnson for just £1.
Continue ReadingMAK Releases the Corsa
At the recent Reifen Essen show Italy’s MAK released its latest wheel product, the Corsa. The company has designed the Corsa with young customers in mind, hence its sports design and appearance at a price within the budgets of its intended market. As MAK says, the wheel is a good solution for those who looking for a good quality/price ratio. The wheel’s 20 spokes give the Corsa a light and modern look: the spokes are slim and tapered, and the wheel is presented in a finish known as Ice Titan – dark grey for the rims, high sheen diamond for the spokes. The Corsa is available for 4 or 5 stud fitments, maximising the number of 15-inch and above fitments the wheel is suitable for. The MAK Corsa is available in the following sizes range: 6,5J15”, 7J16”, 7J17”, 8J17”.
Continue ReadingGetting Closer to Number One
Just over a year after Tyres & Accessories reported that a newly rejuvenated Michelin two-wheel department was aiming to lead the market, T&A met up with department head, Dr Olivier Gros and Jonathan Brett, manager of the new two-wheel Michelin Business Programme to find out how much progress has been made. The short story is that Michelin is definitely moving towards its goal of becoming the UK’s number one motorbike tyre manufacturer. Last year, the company gained a six-point share in the sports/sport tyre segment compared with the other leading premium brands (such as Pirelli/Metezler, Dunlop and Bridgestone). And what’s more, because the total market size has remained relatively static, this means that the French manufacturer has actually been gaining sales from its competitors. Looking forward, Michelin is just as confident about next year and Olivier Gros predicts that the company will achieve a further six-point growth next year. In Olivier Gros’ words, 2008 will join 2006 and 2007 as “very successful years” for Michelin motorbike tyres in the UK. When you consider that 2006 and 2007 were both sales records for the company, its demonstrates just how confident the team is that they will achieve their stated aim of becoming number one.
Continue ReadingYokohama Reaches Settlement in Patent Suit
Yokohama Tire Corp. and Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. have reached a final settlement agreement with Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. Ltd. pertaining to design patent infringement, with Hangzhou agreeing to destroy the manufacturing moulds and remaining inventory of its Westlake H280 tyres. In September 2006, Yokohama Tire Corp. and its parent company initiated legal proceedings against Chinas Hangzhou alleging, among other claims, a violation of Yokohamas tyre tread design patent which protects some of its best-selling lines, including the Geolandar A/T+II.
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