Big and Hungry
The lab-coated boffins at Jurassic Park may have produced one on the big screen, but it is not every day that one gets the opportunity to deal with a real Tyrannosaurus. But Cape Machinery International did so, and magnificently, in mid-2007 when they brought a fine specimen from Finland and delivered it to Credential Automotive. Okay, so the Tyrannosaurus we’re talking about here may not be a predatory prehistoric carnivore – this particular specimen is sustained by steady diet of tyres – but it is nevertheless impressive. “It’s a unique machine,” comments Cape Machinery’s managing director David Hennessey. Manufactured in Rauma, Finland by materials handling systems specialists BMH Enviro, the Tyrannosaurus is a machine whose design has strongly drawn upon the experiences of equipment operators. “The story behind it,” he elaborates, “is that the company took current machine designs, looked at what was good and what was bad, and addressed feedback they had received from operators.” The result was a 90 tonne behemoth that attracted the attention of the UK’s largest tyre recycler.
Continue ReadingJK Tyre BOD Recommends 27% Dividend
Shareholders in JK Tyre & Industries look assured of a healthy return on their investment after the company’s board of directors recommended a dividend of 27 per cent on equity shares for the year 2006-07. Company net profits for the quarter ending December 31, 2007 were Rs 217.4 million (£2.8 million), an impressive increase of 166 per cent on results for the same quarter a year earlier. Net sales were Rs 7,228.8 million (£92.4 million, an increase of 9.9 per cent.
Continue ReadingPotholes Endangering Lives
The latest statistics show that 12 per cent or 120,000 out of all of the UKs one million potholes are not being filled by local councils, which means that repair bills are now soaring every year because of the lack of maintenance by government authorities. Since 1996, the number of claims has soared by 78 per cent in London alone, by 42 per cent in England and by 70 per cent in Wales. TyreSafe recommends that one method of reducing damage to tyres caused by potholes is to maintain them at the levels of pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. If any level of damage is suspected, motorists should visit their nearest dealer or tyre retailer for their tyres to be examined for any faults.
Continue ReadingMichelin Putting a Better Smile on Employees’ Faces
Michelin has reportedly began to provide its UK employees with a part-funded dental plan intended to counter ever-increasing National Health Service costs. According to the publication Employee Benefits, the company reviewed its existing cash plan last year, and asked staff whether a dental plan would be of interest. The response from employees was, Michelin decided, sufficient to implement such a scheme. The survey was to gauge how much interest there would be” said Michelin’s benefits manager Julie Lovett, “and we didn’t get a fantastic response but it was enough to get us a meaningful set of results, so that’s the route we are going down. Employees have already been sent information about the dental plan.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Prices on Way Up in North America
North America market prices for Bridgestone and Firestone brand tyre lines, plus all Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire (BFNT) associate brand tyres, are to increase by up to 8 per cent. These increases, which commence March 1, 2008, will apply to OE, replacement and export market tyres in the passenger, light truck, TBR, OTR and agricultural tyre segments. “The continuing unprecedented upward spiral of energy and raw material costs makes this action necessary,” said Asahiko “Duke” Nishiyama, vice chairman and president of BFNT. “This unrelenting escalation of costs is simply not a situation that can be managed through the enhanced efficiencies and increased productivity that we are continually implementing at all levels of our company. As a result, we have no choice but to implement this price increase.”
Continue ReadingMichelin to Double CV Show Stand Size this Year
Michelin has reported that the stand it has booked (8-340) for this year’s CV Show in April will be twice the size of last year’s. Michelin’s stand will publicise the UK launch of its new 255/60 R19.5 and 205/65 R 17.5 MaxiTrailer tyres as well as a range of other products. The firm says that all of the tyres on show will include its patented Durable Technologies, which it describes as a series of innovations that set new performance standards for customers. Tyres & Accessories has also seen a preview of ATS Euromaster’s, the French manufacturer’s retail equity, show stand. The ATSE stand represents another significant investment and is apparently taking on a “green” theme this year with carbon neutral invitations and recycled tyre-based flooring.
Continue ReadingPolish Firm Buys Colway Brand
The Colway brand and equipment owned by County Durham-based C-Tyres have been bought by Polish retread company, Mark Gum. No details of how much Mark Gum paid for the company have been made available. According to local news reports, equipment from the factory on the Littleburn Industrial Estate will be now be transported to Poland. C-Tyres managing director Gary Oliver had previously spoken of his hope that a British company would take ownership of the assets, allowing tyre production to start up again from within C-Tyres leased premises in Langley Moor. There were several UK people that I know were interested and I was hoping there was a chance we could get things back up and running here, but that hasnt happened. Colway tyres will no longer be made in the UK, which is very disappointing,” Gary Oliver commented.
Continue ReadingCooper Tyres to Receive Ultimate Wet Performance Test
In July 2007 T&A reported news of a Chinese man who navigated the Yangtze River perched upon a truck tyre inner tube, and now a Yorkshire farmer is preparing to cross the chilly waters of Bering Straight – in a Land Rover. But do not fear, unlike our intrepid friend Mr. Cheng, who set off on his 3,000 kilometre trip without even the most basic safety equipment (you can read about Mr. Chens adventure here), the adventurers from Blighty have planned well for their journey, and can rely on the buoyant assistance of Cooper Tire. Steve Burgess and his partner Nicky Spinks set off on their 30,000-mile journey from England to South America on January 29. While most of their travels will see them traversing solid ground, when they reach Russia’s east coast their trusty Land Rover 110 Pickup, shod with Discoverer STT tyres, will be fitted with ‘floats’, and driven into the sea towards Alaska, 50 miles away.
Continue ReadingCIMS Discusses NHTSA E-Registration Plan
Calling it a “win-win situation for tyre manufacturers, tyre dealers and more importantly for the tyre purchaser,” CIMS President Paul Kruder offered his endorsement of NHTSA’s plan to formally allow electronic tyre registration. NHTSA revealed last week that it would undertake changing tyre registration regulations to permit direct registration via the Internet or other electronic means. While not preventing such in recent years, NHTSA had not formally included non-paper registration means. In a letter to the media, Kruder said, “These proposed changes will give tyre dealers the option of providing a paper tyre registration form to every customer or completing the tyre registration process electronically on behalf of the tyre purchaser. By improving tyre registration levels everybody wins, especially the tyre purchaser because of the safety protection registering tyres offers them and their families.
Continue ReadingSnap-on Release New Entry-Level Diagnostic Tool
Snap-on has announced the introduction of Ethos, its new entry level diagnostic tool. The Ethos is described as a compact, fast, accurate and versatile tool, designed for either the first time user or to complement existing competitive products. According to the manufacturer, Ethos has the same controls as the two other members of the Snap-on ‘family’ of diagnostic tools – Solus and Modis – and features a large easy to read display. Ethos also includes onboard memory that allows the technician to store and retrieve details of the last 20 vehicles connected to, saving even more time when reconnecting to the vehicle to verify and confirm the repair. In addition, the CF (Compact Flash) medium can be used for data storage, now standard across the Snap-on ‘family’.
Continue ReadingFrom Tyres to Playgrounds With Charles Lawrence
Towards the end of last year Michelin signed a deal with Newark based recycling firm Charles Lawrence International, guaranteeing that, each year, a minimum of 6,000 tonnes of its truck tyres will be used to make childrens play and sports surfaces. Each week some 200 tonnes of material are to be shipped from Michelin in Dundee and Ballymena to the Nottinghamshire recycler. The deal is a mutually beneficial one, as Charles Lawrence International managing director Roger Hicks explains: The formal agreement to take 6,000 tonnes of Michelin tyres per year comes after extensive trialling and a lot of discussion. We needed to be sure we could take a consistent amount of tyres each week so that we had a secure supply of materials and so Michelin could find other uses for the old tyres we cant use – which I know they have done. The figure is a minimum standard and we would realistically expect to be taking at least 10,000 tonnes per year.
Continue ReadingThatcham Give LaserTyre Quality Accreditation
At the end of 2007, Laserline Direct Limited celebrated the news that its LaserTyre product became the first device to gain the Thatcham Quality Accreditation (TQA) in the new Automotive Innovations category. Lasertyre is an optical direct tyre pressure monitoring system designed and manufactured in Italy by Laserline Group and replaces the original vehicle tyre valve dust caps, providing visual indication if the tyre pressure is correct or low. Products that are submitted to Thatcham’s TQA scheme are subject to rigorous testing coupled with an assessment of the manufacturing process to provide an objective evaluation of the capabilities of the product alongside the claims of the manufacturer. All products that successfully gain the TQA accreditation are provided with a valid certificate of conformance and can then display the official logo on any associated packaging.
Continue ReadingKumho US Plant a Step Towards Global Leadership
The president and chief executive of Kumho, Oh Sae-cheul, has described plans for his company’s $165 million factory in the US state of Georgia as being part of Kumho’s efforts to become a global tyre manufacturing leader. The signing ceremony for the new 123.6 acre facility took place on January 29, and was attended by Mr. Oh and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. “With this plant in the United States, the worlds biggest tyre market, we want to save shipping costs to that market and to emerge as a global leader,” said Mr. Oh to South Korea’s JoongAng Daily newspaper. The establishment of a facility in the US marks Kumho’s first step out of Asia in terms of production; currently the company operates three facilities in China and one in Vietnam in addition to its three South Korean factories.
Continue ReadingAnalysts: High Raw Material Prices Protect Tyre Manufacturer Margins
Following Bridgestone’s recent decision to increase prices in North America, Deutsche Bank analysts have observed that high raw material prices are allowing the leading players to indirectly influence market prices. In their words, Bridgestone’s recent 8 per cent price hike is a “good indication that the oligopoly is working.” The market watchers continued: “Prices are, paradoxically, a good protection on margins.” Assuming that only 50 per cent of these price increases are being sustained within the market, this would allow the manufacturers to offset a 12 per cent synthetic rubber or natural rubber price increase, according to Deutsche Bank.
Continue ReadingThe Other Recycling…
In January the Tyre Recovery Association announced that Devon based retreading specialist Bandvulc had signed on as its latest member. The company’s entry into the TRA marks the first occasion in which a company specialising in retreading has held membership in the recycling and waste tyre organisation. And so, when looking at the latest TRA membership list and noting the retreader amongst a host of members engaged in producing tyre crumb for various end uses, one may be tempted to ask why a retreader has joined a recycling organisation – but perhaps a more pertinent question would be this: despite the presence of 29 precure and 15 mould cure retreaders in the UK market, why doesn’t tyre retreading more readily spring to mind when the issue of tyre recycling is mentioned?
Continue Reading