Michelin on Top in “Rolling Resistance” Tests
An independent testing organisation has found that the Michelin Energy Saver tyre “has a rolling resistance 20 per cent lower than its direct competitors.” Furthermore, the tyre was also found to have safety features comparable to more roll-resistant tyres; braking distances were found not to increase when using the Energy Saver. The test centre TÜV SÜD Automotive researched the comparative performance of Michelin’s Energy Saver alongside tyres from six other major European manufacturers. Doubts about the grip and braking performance of the Energy Saver have been scotched by the tests, which add to the evidence gathered by the same organisation in September last year that the tyre has greater durability than its nearest rivals.
Continue ReadingPirelli Wins Motoring Euro Press Plaudits in Summer Tests
Pirelli have obtained eight overall victories and two top-three placements in 11 tests conducted by European motoring authorities and the specialist press. The Cinturato P4, designed for medium displacement and city cars (with its ecocompatibility and safety-conscious characteristics) and the P Zero, the high technology tyre developed for the most sporting cars, have been singled out for the highest praise in their categories. In Germany, the P Zero won four overall victories in four tests conducted by Auto Zeitung, Sport Auto, Sport Auto Tuning Spezial and Power Car, which unanimously voted it the top tyre in the reference segment.
Continue ReadingContinental Supplies Euro 2008 Team Buses
Continental AG, an official sponsor of UEFA Euro 2008 and exclusive tyre partner, has equipped all 16 team buses with HSR 1 premium bus tyres on all axles. Continental did something similar during the 2006 FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany, when the team buses also ran on Continental tyres. In addition, almost the entire Continental summer tyre line is used on more than 60 official UEFA vehicles. These include: ContiEcoContact 3, ContiPremiumContact 2, ContiSportContact 2 and ContiSportContact 3, as well as the ContiCrossContact UHP and the Conti4x4Contact for SUVs as well as the VancoContact 2 for vans. Additionally, all Continental shuttle buses are being equipped with the special edition bus tyre HSL 1, which was already issued during the FIFA World Cup 2006, with stylized soccer balls and a Continental colour logo on the side panel.
Continue ReadingBroadening the Base of the Business
Starco GB Ltd has appointed Chris Wilson (who joins from Summit Tyres) to spearhead a new industrial tyre aftermarket sales team. Wilson brings with him almost four decades of experience in the sector, which includes work at the sharp end of running a mobile fitting business. As a result of this - and the recent addition of the GlobeStar forklift tyre range – Starco’s management hopes to develop a real focus on the forklift end of the industrial to complement its growing OEM supply operation. Up till now, Starco GB Ltd has remained relatively quiet about the ins and outs of the company’s generally OE-focused strategy. However, now that the business has made the strategic decision to move more into the aftermarket (while also continuing to develop its business to OEMs), the Europe-wide specialist tyre distributor invited Tyres & Accessories into Starco GB’s headquarters in Rugeley, Staffordshire. T&A met managing director, Bob Cooper and account manager, Chris Royle, who explained that up till now roughly 90 per cent of Starco’s current business is OE related. When Bob Cooper joined the company 12 years ago sales amounted to somewhere in the region of £1.5 million a year. According to Bob Cooper, sales this year will be approaching £20 million, a clear demonstration that the OE-facing part of the business has served Starco well. In the future Starco GB is aiming to generate “very significant growth in the industrial tyre aftermarket” in addition to this, perhaps as much as doubling sales generated in this side of the business. Bob Cooper was keen to stress that the company has no plans to reduce its OE-focus. On the contrary, the strategy is to grow this part of the business too. With offices right across Europe (plus one as far east as Kazakhstan and another in the US), you can’t help wondering if the decision to increase aftermarket focus is part of a pan-European move? In short the answer is both yes and no. Some of the businesses Denmark-based Starco operates around Europe (take the company’s German branch for example) run on quite different strategies to the UK operation. In Germany the OE/replacement breakdown is the mirror image of what it is over here – roughly 90 per cent aftermarket sales and 10 per cent OE supply. So while Bob Cooper points out that there is an overarching drive to broaden the group’s base in general terms, the company is not in any hurry to change what is already working well. Starco takes on GlobeStar forklift range In addition to its existing range of Kenda pneumatic tyres and its own brand offering, Starco recently took on the GlobeStar solid forklift tyre range. With all the leading forklift tyre manufacturers feeling the pinch of increased raw material costs, and most now asking for raw material surcharges the cost/performance balance is as important to customers as ever. Not surprisingly the GlobeStar range is said to excel in this respect, offering good performance for a competitive price. At the economy end of the market, Starco have also brought in the Performer line for those seeking industrial tyres at a lower price entry point. The new industrial aftermarket team, led by Chris Wilson, is comprised of three sales staff with backing from all the other departments of their business. At any given time, Starco’s Rugeley warehouse holds roughly £3 million of stock. Up to a third of this can be described as industrial, including brands such as TVS, Gommasol and Marangoni. The rest of the stock comprises of ATV, wheelbarrow, turf, high speed trailer, small materials handling and other specialist wheels and tyres. Starco GB has also invested in high speed automated tyre fitting machinery, which allows the company to send more 12 to 16-inch tyre and wheel assemblies to OE customers than it ever could with man-power alone. The company has also invested in the construction of temperature controlled curing rooms in order for the company to expand the tyre-fill service it offers it’s customers. Planning for the expansion of the industrial aftermarket side of the business began three years ago and the company has been operating in the wider industrial segment for around eight years now. So, if Starco’s acquisition of a new brand and “very significant” investment in stock is anything to go by, it is clear that the company is preparing for the long-term.
Continue ReadingTitan to Implement OEM Price Increase
Titan Tire Corporation has announced plans to implement a price increase for tyres and assemblies supplied to original equipment manufacturers, effective July 1, 2008. The increase will range from 7 per cent to 37 per cent, depending on the tyre, to offset rising costs for natural rubber, bead wire and oil-based material such as synthetic rubber and carbon black. Overall synthetic rubber shortages have also contributed to rising raw material costs, reports Titan. These OE price increases follow those implemented for the aftermarket, which took effect June 1. Prices for aftermarket Titan, Goodyear and General branded OTR, farm and construction tyres increase between 4 per cent and 34 per cent.
Continue ReadingSino-Indian Trade Increase Leads to Tyre Plant Possibility
Spurred on by the sharp increase in trade between China and India, Chinese Consul General in Kolkata Mao Siwei has told news sources about the attractiveness of a joint venture to set up a tyre plant in West Bengal. Trade between the countries has reached $38.7 billion in 2007, representing a rapid increase from the 1999 figure of $2 billion, leaving Siwei keen to continue the development with collaborative manufacturing ventures. Speaking to journalists on Friday, the Consul General suggested that the Bengalese tyre unit would be a joint venture between a China-based and a Dubai-based company.
Continue ReadingStingers Aim to Curtail Rising Petrol Theft
With fuel costs soaring, petrol stations across the UK in recent months have been experiencing a rise in incidents of drivers pulling off forecourts without paying. “Drive-aways” are said to have cost the industry in excess of £11 million in 2006 (according to The Petrol Retailers’ Association), though that figure is likely to have risen recently, as a result of the higher prices. To combat this, petrol station owners have installed “stingers” – retractable spikes designed to shred the tyres of drive-aways. However, run-flat rubber, with its stiff sidewalls, can counteract the effectiveness of this preventative measure. With this in mind, Birmingham’s Drivestop has developed a system that implants a microchip into tyres running over the stinger, allowing police to track thieves whose tyres are shred resistant.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Expanding Brand Presence Through Licensing
These days there’s much more to Goodyear than simply tyres. The US tyre major has become a major player in the world of product licensing, and in early June, it attended the annual Licensing Expo in New York. Attendance at such shows is, says Goodyear, part of its global licensing strategy to help extend the brand’s reach into new and different product categories. The company already has partnered with nearly 70 licensees worldwide, reports Bob Paciulan, Goodyear manager of licensed products. These licensees, producing products carrying the tyre major’s brand, contribute to a growing stream of royalties received by Goodyear. Paciulan adds that Goodyear, through its presence at shows such as the Licensing Expo, is particularly interested in licensees that produce premium products in the automotive, home/garage, apparel, travel and leisure/recreation areas.
Continue ReadingIndia Facility to Boost Alliance Tire Agri, OTR Capacity
Alliance Tire, the Israel based company purchased in July 2007 by former BKT CEO Yogesh Mahansaria and global private equity company Warburg Pincus, has plans to construct a £50 million greenfield facility in India. The factory will focus on the production of agricultural and smaller size OTR tyres, and is tipped to double the company’s total production capacity. Manufacture at the plant is anticipated to commence in the first quarter of 2009.
Continue ReadingUS Replacement Tyre Market Slump Continuing
Preliminary data collated by Deutsche Bank indicates that in May shipments of replacement tyres in the US were down 9.2 per cent year on year (-5.0% adjusted for one less shipping day). This decline follows a 3.5 per cent fall in April and 5.0 per cent drop in March. Based on such information, the bank estimates that US industry replacement shipments are down 5.2 per cent year to date, with weakness particularly acute in the “broad-line” and private label end of the market.
Continue ReadingTyre Strike Threat to Turkish Automotive Industry
The ongoing Tyre Workers Union strike is threatening Turkey’s automotive industry. Estimates are placing a figure in the region of YTL 10 million (over £4 million) on daily losses for tyre manufacturers since the strike began on 31 May, while the supply losses are starting to hinder Turkish automotive exports that account for 75 per cent of the industry’s total production. Bridgestone’s Turkish-based arm, Brisa – one of the companies affected by the strike, alongside Pirelli and Goodyear – has released statements detailing the losses to the Turkish government in taxes, estimated at YTL 1 million a day.
Continue ReadingMichelin Truck & Bus Tyre Prices to Rise in Asia Pacific
Ever escalating raw material, energy and transportation costs are continuing to make their presence felt with global tyre makers. The latest to announce price increases as a result of these factors is Michelin, who has announced prices for truck and bus tyres sold in the Asia Pacific region will rise by up to 12 per cent. These new prices will be implemented between July and September 2008. The latest price increase follows a number recently announced by the Michelin Group, including up to 8 per cent for numerous US market segments and, in Europe, up to 3.5 and 3.9 per cent for passenger car and truck tyres, effective spring 2008.
Continue ReadingUS Military Acknowledges Michelin Quality & Delivery Performance
The United States military, through its Defense Supply Center Richmond (DSCR) operation, awarded Michelin Aircraft Tire Co. a Best Value Medal Award at an honours dinner held on June 3. The bestowal of this award, says Michelin, is acknowledgement of the company as one of the US governments best suppliers. Brett Carnes, director of North American military sales for Michelin Aircraft Tires, accepted the silver medal on behalf of Michelin from the commander of the supply centre, U.S Air Force Brigadier General Andrew E. Busch. The U.S. militarys Best Value Medal, explains Michelin, is awarded to vendors that have demonstrated exceptional quality and delivery performance as measured by what is called the ‘Automated Best Value System’ (ABVS). The ABVS is a computerised system that collects a vendors past performance data and translates it into a numeric score ranging from zero to a perfect 100. Michelin scored 99.4 on this 100 point scale.
Continue ReadingYokohama Establishes Thailand Sales Office
Only weeks after announcing the start of operations at its new Yokohama Asia facility in Thailand, the Japanese tyremaker has announced the establishment in May of Yokohama Tire Sales (Thailand) Co., Ltd. This new tyre sales company, also based in Bangkok, will begin trading in July 2008 and has been fully capitalised by Yokohama Rubber at a cost of 200 million baht (£3 million). Yokohama reports that sales of its branded tyres, particularly in the high performance passenger car tyre segment, are rapidly increasing. Previously Yokohama Rubber sold its tyres nationwide through local tyre distributors. The company says, however, it has become necessary to establish its own tyre sales company so as to further expand sales of passenger car tyres and also strengthen sales of truck/bus tyres and light truck tyres that are manufactured by Yokohama Tire Manufacturing (Thailand).
Continue ReadingBridgestone Establishes New East Europe Sales Companies
Bridgestone Europe NV/SA has established three new sales subsidiaries in Eastern Europe. Located in Romania, Slovakia and Latvia, the new companies are to be responsible for sales and marketing activities in these regions, with the aim of providing customers with higher quality service. “Our sales in Romania, Slovakia and Baltic countries show a significant growth in recent years,” said Gerry Duffy, vice president Sales & Marketing Bridgestone Europe. “It’s time to get closer to the market, to strengthen our presence, and to better serve our customers and end users. I am convinced that the new sales companies and their teams will provide high quality services and solutions to our business partners.”
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