Yokohama Rubber to Expand OTR/EM Tyre Production
Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., has announced that it will expand its off-the-road production capacity by about 50 per cent by building a new facility at its Onomichi Plant to provide the additional capacity. Work will begin on the new facility this month, and Yokohama’s plans call for production to get under way there in November. The project will increase Yokohama’s monthly production capacity for off-the-road tyres incrementally to 1,620 tons - as measured in rubber consumption - by 2009, from 1,100 tons today. Yokohama has earmarked 5 billion yen (almost £25 million) for the investment project.
Continue ReadingNew Tomahawk T3 Tyre
Tomahawk, the UK manufacturer of retread radial motorcycle tyres, has launched a new pattern tyre for the 2006 season. The company’s new T3 tyre is said to be sport biased “with a large contact patch that puts more rubber on the road.” The tyre offers Z-rated performance in a choice of three compounds; Road, for every day use and good rates of wear; Sport, for spirited riding on road or track; and Sprint, for track day use.
Continue ReadingVarta Warns of Further Battery Price Increases
Varta has warned the UK aftermarket to expect further steep rises in automotive battery prices later this year. This is the result of the high price of lead on global markets, which has been steadily rising since mid-2003, driven by demand for base metals from China and other emerging markets. The price of lead is the major factor governing the cost of a car battery and, while increased material costs were initially absorbed by the manufacturers, this is no longer tenable, with lead costing 80 per cent more than it did two years ago.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Promotes Two in Technical Group
(Akron/Tire Review) Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has promoted William Hopkins and Joseph Zekoski to new positions in its technical group. Hopkins, formerly vice president global product marketing and technology planning, was named to the newly created position of vice president of technology and strategic initiatives. He will be responsible for global strategic initiatives, tyre engineering, materials, performance prediction and global vehicle systems.
Continue ReadingKelly Navigator Touring Gold
In response to continued growth in the H/V speed-rated auto tyre segment in the USA, Kelly Tyres is introducing the Navigator Touring Gold in 17 initial sizes. The Navigator Touring Gold is a premium-touring tyre that carries a 60,000-mile tread life limited warranty. The new tyre’s tread design provides a consistent footprint for a quiet ride and long, even wear. Three-dimensional tread elements near the centre rib in the five-rib tread design help to evacuate water on wet days. An optimised footprint shape distributes pressure to allow more of the tyre to maintain contact with the road at any given time.
Continue ReadingPirellifilm Set to Make an Impact
Pirellifilm is a unique new communication tool that intends to launch high quality short films through several media channels. The films will centre on stage and screen stars’ interpretations of the famous Pirelli claim - “Power is nothing without control” - in a different way each year. This extraordinary project, which has been in the planning for several years, is intended to support the Pirelli image and positioning and to maintain brand leadership. Pirelli has chosen the Web as the main channel for these films. The Internet, with its endless possibilities, has evolved to become an entertainment channel and, in this case, also a movie theatre. As the long-term experience of the Calendar has shown, Pirelli has always been able to attract up-and-coming talents, to communicate in a more effective and original way, and to go beyond traditional advertising channels.
Continue ReadingNew Goodyear Tyre Has Carbon Fibre
Carbon fibre is part of the construction of the new Goodyear Eagle(R) featuring ResponsEdge Technology™, which will be available to consumers in May. With threadlike strands of carbon that are strong and flexible, carbon fibre is a substance that weighs much less than steel of similar strength. As a woven composite fabric, it is increasingly used in high-tech racecars and jet planes. In the new Eagle featuring ResponsEdge Technology, the outboard sidewall of the tyre is reinforced with a high-tech carbon fibre insert that provides stiffness for responsive handling and steering precision. Combined with conventional tyre construction on the inboard sidewall, the ResponsEdge tyre delivers a smooth, comfortable ride.
Continue ReadingUK Fulda Challenge Team ‘Best Ever’
The 2006 Fulda Challenge UK team is heading back to Britain after its best Arctic performance yet. Kate Balchin (26) and Martin Yardley (38) travelled to the breathtaking Yukon Territory at the end of January to take part in the annual extreme sports adventure. The UK team finished in fourth place, 30 points behind the winning team. Kate finished third overall in a field of world-class female athletes and was presented with a cheque for $1,000 (Canadian). Belgiums Liesbeth Buytart and Germany’s Martin Hollerbach were the top performing woman and man respectively and they received a cheque for $3,000 (Canadian) each. The final results meant that the German Lowa team won the 2006 Fulda Challenge after leading the event from start to finish. They were awarded a Klondike gold nugget each.
Continue ReadingIndian Tread Rubber Producers Raise Prices
The All Kerala Small Scale Tread Rubber Manufacturers Association has decided to increase the price of tread rubber by 8 rupees (10 pence) per kilogram, India’s Business Standard reported. The association general secretary, George Varghese, said the increases were necessary to counter high raw material costs and protect tread rubber producers’ livelihoods.
Continue ReadingYHI Looks to Eastern Bloc and South Africa for Expansion
Automobile tyre-maker YHI International started its aggressive overseas expansion only in the 1990s and yet it already has presence in nearly every continent. Not content with its achievements, it is now focusing on faraway reaches like South Africa. Up until the 80s, YHI could claim only Singapore and Malaysia as the markets for its tyre distribution business. But the company realised that it had to expand beyond these two markets for further growth. That’s why, in the early 1990s, YHI started to make inroads into China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australasia.
Continue ReadingHangzhou Yokohama Tire Secures ISO 14001
Yokohama’s Hangzhou Yokohama Tire Co. Ltd. Chinese subsidiary has secured ISO 14001 certification. The company achieved the standard in January, Yokohama reported. Established in December 2001 and financed by Yokohama Rubber (90 per cent) and YHI Holdings Pte, Ltd (10 per cent), Hangzhou Yokohama Tire manufactures and sells radial tyres for passenger cars.
Continue ReadingApollo Acquires Dunlop International – Update
Further details of Apollo Tyres’ acquisition of Dunlop International (also known as Dunlop South Africa) have emerged. Firstly Dunlop Nigeria (estimated turnover of $65 million, £40 million) is not included in the sale. Apollo representatives gave no reason for this. Furthermore, the Indian company confirmed it would keep the troubled Dunlop Zimbabwe business. “Dunlop is the only tyre manufacturer in Zimbabwe and it is a profitable operation,” Apollo spokesperson Kankana Das told Tyres & Accessories. However in light of inflation rates as high as 800 per cent any profitability must be difficult to maintain. “Any operation can be profitable as long it is able to pass on price increases to cover the cost push. The Zimbabwe operations have been able to do this,” Das added.
Continue ReadingMaxxis Named One of Shanghai GM’s Best Suppliers
Maxxis International’s Shanghai plant has been honoured by Shanghai General Motors for the sixth consecutive year. Named a Best Supplier for 2005, the company received the award at a ceremony in Shanghai. Of the nearly 200 suppliers eligible for this award, only six were chosen. Shanghai GM’s selection criteria included technology, quality, price, delivery, and service. Maxxis International said it “is proud to provide outstanding tyre products to Shanghai GM and expresses its gratitude for this recognition.”
Continue ReadingB3081 Named Bendiest Road in Britain
Continental tyres has named the B3081 as the bendiest road in Britain. Continental commissioned research to find out which of Britain’s 6,300 classified roads sets the toughest task for car tyres. At a steady 30 mph, a one-mile stretch of the B3081 between Cann Common in Dorset and Tollard Royal in Wiltshire exerted lateral forces of a magnitude a car would experience on a racetrack like Brands Hatch. Researchers tested a shortlist of 10 roads, as nominated by Auto Express readers, from across the UK. A standard Vauxhall Astra 1.4 with Continental ContiSportContact2 tyres was fitted with state of the art measuring equipment and an on-board computer to record forward speed and lateral acceleration.
Continue ReadingAmtel-Vredestein Aims to Raise 100 million euros
Amtel-Vredestein N.V. has announced plans to issue credit linked notes (CLN) for 100 million Euros during the first quarter of 2006. The CLN issue will be used to finance the company’s retail expansion and to refinance debt. The term of the security will be four years with a two-year put option. The coupon will be paid twice yearly. According to the company, the issue lead manager is Alfa-Bank, Russia.
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