Michelin Announces Replacement Tyre Price Increase
Michelin has released a statement announcing that it will increase the price of its truck and bus replacement tyres in European markets. The increases will range from 3% to 5%, depending on the type of tyre, and will come into effect some time during the first quarter of 2007.
Continue ReadingDick, Wolford Join TBC Board
(Akron/Tire Review) Long-time TBC Corp. executives Ken Dick and Orlando Wolford have been elected to the company’s board of directors. Dick is currently president and CEO of TBC’s wholesale and private brands divisions, while Wolford is CEO of TBC’s company-owned retail stores division.
Continue ReadingAlcoa Launches New Lines for LT Wheel Market
(Akron/Tire Review) Alcoa Forged Specialty Wheels has expanded its off-road light truck wheel line with the addition of the Pro Series and Adventure Series lines. Forged from one-piece 6061-T6 aluminum, both Pro Series and Adventure Series wheels are now available for most ½-ton trucks, full size SUVs and Jeeps. A variety of 17- to 20-inch sizes, with polished clearcoat and chrome finish options, are available.
Continue ReadingMaxxis Launches New Dealer Site
(Akron/Tire Review) Maxxis International has launched a new Web site for its U.S. dealer customers, which the company said features “vastly increased options for online ordering, payments, order tracking, and other key functions.” Available 24/7, MaxxisLink.com, said the company, offers such features as: • Real time inventory checks • Access to financial information, including reprints of invoices and packing lists – plus online payments • Up-to-date shipment history of MaxxisLink orders and an easy-to-use order template that lets customers save often-used info
Continue ReadingSnap-on Tops Frost & Sullivan Awards
(Akron/Tire Review) Snap-on won seven 2006 Technicians’ Choice Awards from global consulting company Frost & Sullivan. The awards, which measure the tool preferences of automotive technicians in the U.S. and the U.K., will be formally presented at Frost & Sullivan’s annual 2007 Best Practices Awards Banquet on Feb. 7 in Anaheim, Calif.
Continue ReadingWatts Tyres Makes New US Acquisition
UK based company Watts Tyres Plc has announced the purchase of Diprima Industrial Tire after reaching an agreement with Diprima Marketing Services Inc. This latest acquisition, combined with Watts’ existing US facility in Valley City, Ohio, gives the firm a strategic position in both the northern and southern US states, putting it in a better position to achieve its ambitious growth plans.
Continue ReadingYokohama Debuts ‘Environmental’ Truck Tyre
The Yokohama Tire Corporation is releasing a new tyre into its Z.environment range at February’s annual Technology & Maintenance Council meeting in the US. The new tyre, the 703ZL, is a truck tyre promoted by Yokohama as more environmentally friendly through being longer lasting and providing greater fuel-efficiency.
Continue ReadingTyres of Tomorrow
We all know that the number of fitments on the market is increasing, but what will tyres - and therefore the tyre market of the future - look like? In a recent media briefing Continental market analyst Eulogio Sanz and product manager Peter Robb predicted that the 28 million-unit strong UK passenger car tyre market will split between those wanting economic and environmental performance and those who just want to go faster.
Continue ReadingGoodyear and Bridgestone – Western Manufacturers in India
Although the Indian tyre market is mainly characterised by its strong growth, it still is a market that is relatively self-sufficient. India still imports tyres, and the volume of imports is forever growing. Nevertheless, the import market still accounts for less than three per cent of the total, although decreasing tariffs and duties over the coming years will certainly facilitate tyre imports. But the question remains why Goodyear and Bridgestone remain the only foreign tyre manufacturers to have established their own production base in India - despite all the talk about how important the Indian market, as part of the so-called emerging BRIC states (Brazil, Russia, India and China), is considered to be.
Continue ReadingFirestone Unit Laying Off Workers
(Akron/Tire Review) The State newspaper in South Carolina has reported that Firestone Building Products is laying off some 52 workers at its Kingstree, S.C., roofing products plant. The layoffs are reportedly due to a downturn in commercial construction. The plant employs 278 workers, according to The State.
Continue ReadingProviding Customers With a Quality Edge
(Rubber Asian, Kerala, India) Pelican Rubber Pvt. Ltd., which began as a small-scale industry just a decade ago in 1996 for the manufacture of automobile butyl tubes, is today one of the most sought after brands across India and abroad.
Continue ReadingDriving ahead with a passion for quality
(Rubber Asia, Kerala, India) The strides made by Mardec RK Latex Group ever since its humble beginning in the 1940s are a typical example of how passion and commitment to quality can take a business to great heights. The group, which started off with large rubber estates in Kerala, the home of Indian rubber, expanded into creamed and centrifuged latex in the 80s and early 90s to emerge as one of the largest processors of these products in India.
Continue ReadingPocket Rocket Tyres from Metzeler
Some motorcycling purists may scoff at the motor scooter with its tiny engine capacity and decidedly un-macho appearance as little more than an appliance on wheels. Perhaps at best an admission of its merit as a cheap means of getting from A to B may grudgingly be granted. But scooters have developed in leaps and bounds since the days of the earliest Vespas and their kin, and today’s maxi-scooters provide a much more comfortable ride and than previous generation offerings, making them suitable, perhaps even enjoyable, to ride both around town and out on the open road.
Continue ReadingHankook Targets 2007 Sales of US$3.6B
The CEO of Hankook Tire, Choong Hwan Cho, has announced the company’s global sales target for 2007 is $US3.6 billion, a significant increase on last year’s realised US$2,5 billion. Hankook are also targeting an operating profit of US$340 million and a recurring profit of US$282 million.
Continue ReadingSapphire Sets Industry Service Delivery Standards
Sapphire Energy Recovery has launched a Service Charter for Sapphire regional collectors. Sapphire and its network of six regional collectors have all signed up to a Service Charter that outlines to new and existing customers, a level of service and commitment that tyre retailers can expect to receive.
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