Highway to hell – Motoring association warns about fake roadside assistance
No, the legendary Australian band isn’t touring Europe – so if your car breaks down and an ‘ACDC’ truck stops to help, there may be some Dirty Deeds afoot.
No, the legendary Australian band isn’t touring Europe – so if your car breaks down and an ‘ACDC’ truck stops to help, there may be some Dirty Deeds afoot.
The largest tyre retreader and distributor in Croatia is celebrating 50 years in business. Located in the city of Varaždin (81 km from the Croatian capital, Zagreb), Gumiimpex’s achievement was recognised by retreading materials manufacturer Vipal Rubber, which has supplied the firm since 2010, with a plaque in recognition of the milestone. Presenting the plaque to Gumiimpex, Vipal said it recognises the importance of building a history; it has almost 47 years on the market itself.
When tourists visit Croatia, they don’t come to Beli Manastir. The sleepy town of around 8,000 inhabitants is about as distant as you can get from Croatia’s bustling beach resorts and still stay within the country’s borders. But Beli Manastir’s lack of package holiday cred doesn’t matter a jot to STARCO – instead of bringing the world to Beli Manastir, it is taking Beli Manastir to the world.
Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation have jointly invested 80M Euros in Rimac Automobili (Rimac) – the Croatian high-performance electric vehicle technology and sportscar company. The companies have announced a strategic partnership to collaborate on the development of two high-performance electric vehicles by 2020.
A 7.2-million-euro investment will lift capacity at the STARCO wheel manufacturing facility in Croatia by 75 per cent over the coming four years. This demand-driven increase covers a range of wheel types, including pressed, spun, made-to-measure and dual wheels. The company comments that most of the investment will take place during the first year.
Around €150,000 (£131,000) is being invested in STARCO’s tyre and wheel production facility in Crewe as part of a €2.5 million project to strengthen manufacturing capabilities in Europe. The Danish company’s site in the UK will receive new equipment that will automate the polymer wheel and puncture-proof polyurethane tyre production that takes place there. A STARCO representative told Tyrepress.com the installation of this new machinery will lift capacity and will also facilitate the development of new designs that ensure the plant’s continued competitiveness.
Some two years after Swiss firm Gebrüder Schaad was acquired in its entirety by Denmark’s Starco and relaunched as Starco GS, production of the former Schaad range has ended at the Sübingen site in Switzerland. Starco GS wheels are now produced at the Starco production facility in Beli Manastir, Croatia. Starco states that while this transfer of production “marks the end of a proud era of special wheel manufacturing in Switzerland,” it will also result in the Starco GS product range reaching an even wider market than before.
Starco’s Croatia-based rim manufacturing operation, Starco Beli Manastir, has been voted the best mid-size company in Eastern Croatia and as such honoured with a “Business Fly” award. The company was nominated for the award by the Croatian Ministry of Economy based upon its track record in recent years, including growth of turnover, number of employees, operating profit and export achievement. Starco BM managing director Mario Biscan received the accolade on behalf of the company from the President of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, at a ceremony in the regional capital, Osijek. The operation will compete for the national title of best “Business Fly” company in a couple of weeks’ time.
With Cooper, Mitas and most recently Michelin all upping production capacity in Serbia, you can understand the Serbs have invested in communicating the benefits of locating tyre production in the area during the course of 2014. But that’s not all. They have also invested in travelling all the way to Grungrao, Shandong provice, China in order to court the attentions of up-and-coming Chinese tyre manufacturers too.
Croatia has been cleared to join the European Union (EU) as earlier as July, according to online news reports including BBC News.
However, the process is not yet complete. It won’t be until all 27 member states have ratified the agreement that it can go ahead. That said 19 member states have reportedly signed off on the Balkan state's EU accession. But it was not without criticism. A commission monitoring report is quoted by theparliament.com as saying the country needs to take further steps to tackle organised crime and corruption. Nevertheless Deutsche Welle cited an EU report as saying: "The commission concludes that Croatia will be ready to join the EU on 1 July 2013.”
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