Goodyear South Africa to Supply OE for New Hummer
Right hand drive versions of GM’s Hummer H3, including those destined for the UK market, will be exclusively shod with products from the Goodyear stable. The right hand drive H3 is scheduled to enter production at GM’s Port Elizabeth, South Africa facility in mid-April, and all vehicles will be fitted with locally produced Goodyear Wrangler tyres. Production of left hand drive export models began last year. The tyre fitted to the H3 is also currently manufactured by Goodyear North America for US built Hummers. According to Goodyear equipment national manager Norman Newcombe, Goodyear’s factory in Uitenhage, South Africa is one of only two facilities in the world manufacturing this particular tyre – the P256/R16 Wrangler RT/S. Mr. Newcombe added he was “thrilled” that the Uitenhage factory had been chosen to supply the H3. “The decision is a vote of confidence in Goodyear SA‘s capabilities and facilities,” Newcombe said. He added that because production of this sort of tyre was new to the plant, significant investment had gone into production equipment and staff training.
Continue ReadingMaxxis to Supply OE for New GM Thailand Models
Starting in May, Maxxis will supply original equipment tyres for two General Motors 2008 models manufactured in Thailand. Tyres produced at the Maxxis International-Thailand plant will be OE for the Korean GM Daewoo designed Chevrolet Captiva SUV and Optra passenger car, both built at the General Motors Thailand assembly centre in Rayong Province, about 120 km south of Bangkok. For the Captiva, Maxxis will supply sizes 215/70R16 MA-707 and 235/60R17 MA-707, with 255/55R18 MA-S2 as an optional size. For the Optra, Maxxis will supply size 195/55R15 MA-P1. The Maxxis tyremaking facility is also located in Rayong Province. The relatively new plant, completed only three years ago, produces passenger car and light truck tyres for both the domestic and export markets.
Continue ReadingUS Shipments Down, But Pricing ‘Robust’
Preliminary US tyre shipment data shows that the North American light vehicle replacement market declined 1.3 per cent year-on-year in first quarter of 2007. This figure is seen as an improvement over the -4.5 per cent drop during the same period of last year, but is not enough for analysts to feel comfortable talking about recovery. However, Deutsche Bank analysts have reported that “pricing appears to be trending significantly better than expected.” Referring to Goodyear’s 4-5 per cent price increase effective1 April, the analysts added: “We believe that Cooper is likely to follow suit. Every 1 percentage point change in price translates to approximately $0.25 in earnings per share for both companies.”
Continue ReadingAnalysts: Continental/Matador Deal “Logical”
Describing the deal as “logical” Deutsche Bank analysts have estimated that the cost of the 51 per cent Matador stake Continental AG recently purchased should be “in the low triple digit million euros.” This is consistent with earlier reports (published in Tyres & Accessories at the third quarter of 2006), which predicted the deal would cost around 150 million euros. Summing up the benefits of the deal for Continental the analysts said: “Via Matador Continental gets a further plant in Russia, access to a 24 per cent stake in its combined venture for truck tyres as well as a small addition to Contitech (Matador also produces conveyor belts),” adding: “Since the tyre industry is global, the group should logically in the future make acquisitions outside Europe if they want to become a more global player in the industry.”
Continue ReadingPositive Feedback from Automechanika Asia
Major Southeast Asian automotive parts and equipment exhibition Automechanika Asia has been staged for the fifth time, and has been praised as a great success. At least 5,480 buyers from 60 countries and regions visited the exhibition, held at the new Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre between 29 March and 1 April 2007. While the majority of the visitors were from Malaysia, the exhibition also attracted many attendees from other Asian countries, most notably China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. The organisers of the exhibition report that attendee feedback was very favourable, with most exhibitors responding positively to the high quality and professionalism of the buyers onsite. As part of the Automechanika global group of trade fairs, Automechanika Asia offers a professional forum where automotive industry suppliers and buyers can meet, create partnerships and build their business in the booming ASEAN region. A total of 151 exhibitors from 18 countries & regions joined the show, including those from Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and the UK.
Continue ReadingNew Commercial TPMS from Mobile Awareness
Transportation safety products company, Mobile Awareness, released a new generation of TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System) products geared toward Commercial Trucks, Utility Vehicles, RVs and Trailers - the MA-TPMS. The system automatically and continuously monitors tyre status, alerting the driver to abnormal conditions with an audible alert and LCD display indicator. It not only warns of low-pressure and high-pressure levels, but also monitors hazardous tyre temperature conditions. All three warning settings are programmable by the user. There are many advantages to monitoring and maintaining properly inflated tyres, the most important being the reduction of fatalities and injuries from tyre related hazards, remarked Gary Rothstein, president of Mobile Awareness. As we expand our offering of transportation safety products, tire monitoring will be a key part of our focus to prevent vehicle accidents.
Continue ReadingTire Society Calls for Papers
The Tire Society has put out its second call for technical papers for its 26th conference that runs 25-26 September in Akron, Ohio. Abstracts are due by 1 June. Final paper manuscripts need to be submitted by 1 August, the Akron-based non-profit organization said. There will be a special award of $500 for the best paper authored by a university student. The keynote speaker will be Tadanobu Nagumo, president of Yokohama Rubber Co. Abstracts in Microsoft Word format can be submitted electronically to conference2007@tiresociety.org and seen at www.tiresociety.org.
Continue ReadingStudded Tyre Ban to be Extended in Iceland
The Reykjavík City Environmental Health and Protection Committee has suggested that studded tyres should be banned for a longer period in winter. Studded tyres are used for driving in snow and, according to an Iceland Review report, are “known to cause air pollution.” Currently, studded tyre usage is permitted in winter from 31 October to 15 April across Iceland. The suggestion is that two weeks could be added to the off season in Autumn and Spring. Despite the fact that there is usually snow in Reykjavík that other areas, there are now plans to regionalise the legislation. Iceland Review quoted government sources as saying that studded tyres are hardly needed in Reykjavík thanks to regularly salting and gritting.
Continue ReadingGive Your Old Phone a New Home
Unipart has joined forces with automotive industry charity BEN to set up a recycling service for unwanted mobile phones. Collection points will be installed across Unipart’s sites and BEN will mail 25,000 pre-paid envelopes to its supporters encouraging them to join in. For each phone received, Unipart will donate £3 to BEN, helping them carry out their work. Unipart Group Chief Executive, John Neill, said: “BEN is a charity close to our hearts at Unipart because of our automotive industry heritage.
Continue ReadingChanges to Beru’s Executive Board
TPMS manufacturer Beru AG has announced that the company’s appointment of chairman of the board of management and employment Marco von Maltzman will not, by mutual agreement, be extended beyond its current term, which is due to end on January 31, 2008. According to a statement released by Beru, the supervisory board “thanks Mr. von Maltzan for his efforts and his successful work for the company over the past four years.” His successor has not yet been decided upon. Beru’s supervisory board has also appointed Marcus Knödler, formerly responsible for finance and reporting, as deputy member of the board of management. Mr. Knödler will be responsible for Finance and IT.
Continue ReadingN.E. Tyre & Exhausts Appoints New Sales & Marketing Director
Following the retirement of incumbent sales director John Hardiman in March, North Eastern Tyre & Exhausts Limited have announced the appointment of Ben Darcy as their new sales and marketing director. Ben joined the company after completing university studies seven years ago and will draw on the experience gained during this time to play a key role in the business’s future development and strategic development. “I am obviously very pleased to have been appointed into the role and will endeavour to ensure that we continue to deliver the best possible levels of customer service,” said Ben. “As a company we have differentiated ourselves from our competitors in the last five years through the pursuit of a strategic development plan that focuses on getting as geographically close to our customers as possible in order to offer ‘industry leading’ delivery standards”.
Continue ReadingThis Side of Eden
Cars on the equivalent real-life grid are capable of producing a staggering 4,000-plus BHP between them. Yet budding Jenson Buttons can experience all the thrills and spills of a competitive F1 race at the Eden Project this month (April), using only pedal power to fire them to victory! An unusual attraction at the Bodelva attraction enables teams of two to go head-to-head on a demanding six-lane slot car circuit. One person pedals furiously on a specially-rigged exercise bike to provide power, while the other uses a controller to guide their car towards the chequered flag and hopefully a place on the podium.
Continue ReadingSegmented Tyre System a Popular Environmental Choice
A Rotherham based firm claims its products are proving popular with businesses concerned about waste tyres and landfill. Hytex Airboss manufactures a segmented tyre system that reportedly reduces waste rubber and maintenance costs plus possesses the added bonus of a lower carbon footprint than regular tyres. Each tyre is comprised of individual rubber segments fitted around a metal rim, and the only parts that ever need replacing due to wear are the segments, eliminating the need to dispose of a whole tyre each time the tread wears. The Airboss tyre system is also promoted as a solution to vehicle downtime due to punctures. Airboss tyre segments can be changed in minutes by machine operators, thus avoiding being put out of action for a long period of time while a tyre is replaced – a frequent occurrence for heavy equipment operators. Furthermore, Hytex Airboss point out that a large proportion of the tyres scrapped each year come from heavy machinery and plant vehicles, and these tyres are often replaced before they are fully worn out because the frequency of punctures they experience reaches an unacceptable level. A user friendly segmented tyre alleviates the pressure placed upon the nation’s scrap tyre stockpile, an important consideration following the UK implementation of the EU Landfill Directive in 1999.
Continue ReadingMichelin Embarks on Truck-Side Adverting Campaign
The Michelin Man is being featured in a new high profile advertising campaign on the side of trucks within the Great Bear Distribution fleet, which are used to deliver more than three million Michelin tyres across the UK. Promoting the message “Michelin, for performance that lasts,” the brightly coloured graphics show a 6ft high Michelin Man running alongside a car tyre, and links with the return of the Michelin Man in 2007 to television advertising. The first stage of the campaign sees the graphics fitted to 22 new Mercedes-Benz Atego rigids, plus a further 50 demountable box bodies. Before the end of the year, they will be joined by a further eight new Ategos and 40 demountable box bodies.
Continue ReadingMan Loses Arm in Recycling Plant Accident
A worker at the Anaxiom tyre recycling facility in Scotland has lost him arm following a conveyor belt accident. Alan Gallagher, 27, had been attempting to remove pieces of rubber from the conveyor belt early on April 5 when his arm became jammed between the belt and a roller, causing the arm to be severed. Ambulance crews took Mr. Gallagher and the severed arm first to Hairmyes Hosptial and then to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, but they were not able to reattach the limb. Mr Gallagher was discharged from hospital on April 10. The Health and Safety Executive launched an investigation into the accident on April 5, instructing Anaxiom not to use the conveyor belt until their examination was completed. Anaxiom, upon the advice of police and the Health and Safety Executive, have declined from commenting on the incident at present.
Continue Reading
