To support the digitalisation of tyre solutions, production processes and business workflows at Continental Tires around the world, the company has assembled a team of IT and related specialists at a new facility in Portugal. This Solution Center is located near the Continental tyre plant in Lousado and employs around 80 people, with plans already in place to double the workforce by 2026.
Kinross independent garage Tyrefair is integrating CAM’s Fitter-Force into its business. The platform will allow the business to introduce connectivity options with the four major tyre manufacturers participating on the network and to digitise its operations principally through its adoption of e-jobsheet. The company will also use the software to manage its busy retail operation.
Garage Management System, TechMan has launched a new website. The company says the new site represents its growing list of features developed to improve day-to-day tasks in a busy garage environment. The firm has invested in new head office premises and additional staff appointments in addition to the ongoing development of the Garage Management System. In the past 18 months, more garages have been using Techman’s software to enable increased digitalisation of their businesses, prompted by pandemic operating conditions.
Groupe Michelin’s Capital Markets Day presentation, conducted via webcast on 8 April, set out its agenda for the next decade, putting its plans in front of leading global banks and financial firms. Circling around a central theme of sustainability, the group executive committee, led by managing chairman Florent Menegaux and general manager and chief financial officer Yves Chapot, showed how Michelin intends to “diversify while strengthening” in order to achieve its key economic and ecological targets. Chapot and Menegaux stated that expanding “non-tyre revenue” up to more than one-fifth of the group’s turnover by 2030 would make the group more agile and robust in the face of future crises. The current global health crisis has been instructive in this regard; the committee credited the development of the group’s non-tyre portfolio with assisting in its resilience over the difficulties of 2020, and now intends to continue the acceleration of its diversification. Its digital and materials innovations will simultaneously “deliver new growth,” while contributing to the overall strength of the group: a leitmotif of the committee’s presentation.
Solutions provided by Tableau Software are driving digitalisation within Hankook Tire. The tyre maker shares that thanks to Tableau’s data-driven analytics platform, it has gained “next-generation business intelligence.”
Good news stories have been thin on the ground of late, but when ZC Rubber describes 2020 as a “remarkable year,” it means it in the very best sense of the word. The tyre maker elaborated on why the previous 12 months were so positive at its China Distributors Conference, which took place on 30 December. As well looking back on its achievements, ZC Rubber presented its vision for further digital innovation and gave a sneak preview of products arriving in 2021.
The tyre industry today faces many unprecedented challenges. Along with a crowded and constantly shifting market, companies are scrambling to keep up with paradigm shifts such as the advent of electromobility and changes to the supply chain. At Tire Technology Expo 2020, Rockwell Automation will be showing visitors how they can master these challenges and digitalise their operations – including the transition process of bringing the design stage of a plant or machine through to maintenance and repair.
UVeye is a provider of artificial intelligence (AI) based solutions for automatic external inspection of vehicles within the security industry. Initially developing systems to detect dangerous conditions like weapons, explosives, or other threats in some of the world’s most high-security locations, the company saw the opportunity to use its technology to solve challenges in the automotive industry to detect potentially hazardous mechanical issues. Its suite of products includes its original undercarriage application (Helios), its revolutionary 360 solution (Atlas), and its targeted tyre application (Artemis). The company explains why it believes AI technology will help shape the future standard for vehicle inspection, increasing the speed, efficiency and accuracy of tyre checks at every stage of a vehicle’s lifecycle.
Colchester-based Shaikly Motor Company has used garage management specialist TechMan to improve efficiency as the business expands. Established in 1977, the family run business has grown to be the largest independent Bosch car service, MOT and repair centre in Colchester, employing 22 members of staff.
Bridgestone is investing 36 million euros into the digitisation of its manufacturing operations. The company states this smart factory project will enable Bridgestone to respond faster and more flexibly to evolving customer demands, while enabling production to use less energy and produce less waste. The investment will also fund training fo4r Bridgestone employees to operate industry-leading digital technologies. The tyre manufacturer says this will subsequently help to improve resource efficiency and job satisfaction.
The automotive industry is in the midst of a digitalisation process. Connectivity and autonomous driving developments offer wholesalers and workshops additional sales potential. However, anyone whose job it is to efficiently and reliably diagnose, calibrate, and maintain a large number of different vehicles requires a competent service partner. This is where digital solutions provider Mahle Aftermarket comes in, the company states, offering up-to-date interconnected service and diagnostic tools.
The Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) has lent its voice to a broad industry coalition, including automotive industry and mobility services operators, insurers, motorist consumers and SMEs, calling upon the EU Commission for fair and equal access to in-vehicle data and resources.
Innovation platform Plug and Play, the world’s largest start-up accelerator, has presented Hella with its Corporate Innovation Award 2017 in the Mobility category. The award recognises the automotive supplier’s commitment. Plug and Play aims to promote exchange among established industrial companies, investors and mentors, as well as agile start-up companies. Hella’s focus areas include questions regarding digitalisation, autonomous driving and electric mobility.
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