Falken Tyres has formed a new partnership with the European Handball Federation. As part of the deal – brokered by Infront – it will benefit from a tailor-made partner package for the 15th edition of the EURO tournament, which is scheduled to take place in Hungary and Slovakia between 13 and 30 January 2022.
Falken Tyre Europe has further expanded its warehousing in Germany by becoming an anchor tenant of tyre wholesaler Tyroo GmbH. Located near the centre of Germany, the Tyreoo site in Neuhof enables Falken to continue developing its retail strategy, expand its customer base amongst car dealers and increase its presence in the German market.
On 10 November, Falken Tyres Europe formally opened a new 40,000 square metre logistics centre and warehouse at Gengenbach, Germany. The new facility can house 450,000 tyres and is strategically located close to the Derman/French border, making it ideal to service customers in both countries, as well as those in Switzerland. It will be run by logistics partner FIEGE and Falken will be its largest customer. 6,000 tyres arrive at the complex each day and are distributed to OE and aftermarket customers.
In July, Falken Tyre Europe announced that its Falken Ziex ZE310A Ecorun was an original equipment tyre for the Audi A3 TFSI e hybrid. This supply agreement has now been extended to other Audi A3 models. Falken is shipping Ziex ZE310 Ecorun tyres in size 205/55R16 91V to the Audi plant in Ingolstadt, Germany. All such tyres will bear the AO – Audi Original – mark on the sidewall.
Seat has selected one of Falken’s most popular tyre models, the Ziex ZE310 Ecorun, as a factory fitment. Seat Leon models rolling of the line at the car maker’s plant in Martorell, Spain will wear the tyre in size 205/55 R16. An additional ‘A’ in the product name will set these tyres apart as original equipment Seat tyres – the OE tyre is thus known as the Falken Ziex ZE310 A Ecorun.
The complexity of the UK tyre wholesale sector has certainly ramped up considerably thanks to what may be termed an almost perfect storm of external factors relating both to the Covid pandemic and Brexit. With retail margins on consumer tyres already very fine, the wholesale sector has been key in keeping price increases under control, especially considering the spiralling cost of shipping. But as those in the sector know, the value wholesalers add within the distribution chain is a considerably wider subject than purely price. Arguably, the service dimension has never been more important than in the last 18 months, as retail businesses adapted to a market transformed by externalities. Tyres & Accessories asked Graham Mitchell, Micheldever Tyre Services wholesale director, about how the business is faring in 2021, starting with its performance this year.
Falken has been awarded the Best Event Film at the 2021 International Motor Film Awards. The film ‘Whatever Comes Our Way’ was shot in September 2020, during what was probably the most unusual race in the almost 50-year history of the Nürburgring 24-hour race, with hardly any spectators lining the Nordschleife circuit. Another Falken production, ‘Pass the Wheel’, starring Peter Dumbreck in a classic Porsche 911 was also nominated for Best Journalistic Film.
Falken has received two nominations for its films at the “International Motor Film Awards 2021”. The series #passthewheel (Best Journalistic Film), released in summer 2020, and the annual film about the Nürburgring 24-hour race (Best Event Film), are both on this year’s shortlist for the prestigious awards. Last year, Falken’s film, “20 Years in 20 Stories”, created to mark two decades of the tyre brand at the Nürburgring, was the first from a European tyre brand to be nominated for “Best Documentary Feature”.
The first Falken tyre to feature Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ proprietary Coreseal puncture sealant technology goes on sale in Europe this month. Coreseal will initially be available on two sizes of the all-season Falken Euroall Season AS210 pattern.
Falken has donated 5,000 euros to the Offenbach-based organisation “von Herzen zu Herzen gemeinnützige GmbH” (the “Heart to Heart” charity). The donation has been shared between two charities supporting children: Theresien Kinder- und Jugendhilfezentrum e.V. (St. Teresa Centre for Aid to Children and Young People) and Förderverein der Mathildenschule (Foundation of the School of Saint Matilda).
A win for Michelin-shod Manthey Racing in the shortest ever 24-hour Nürburgring race in history. Thanks to a 14-and-a-half-hour interruption, last weekend’s event was little more than a sprint, with the quickest competitor completing just 59 laps of the Nordschleife before the close of play.
Falken Motorsports will continue its unbroken run of appearances since 1999 at the ADAC TOTAL 24h Race on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in two identical Porsche 911 GT3 R. On 3-6 June 2021, the tyre brand’s motorsport team will contest the formidable endurance race with a top-class line-up of drivers. Lance David Arnold, Klaus Bachler, Thomas Preining and Dirk Werner will compete in the #33 car. Sven Müller, Alessio Picariello, Martin Ragginger and Klaus Bachler (again) will compete in the #44 car. Bachler is anticipating a busy weekend as he takes stints in both Falken cars.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) has become one of the first industrial sector users to access the world’s most powerful computer. SRI is using the new ‘exascale’ Fugaku supercomputer to expand its materials simulation capabilities at the smallest particle level. The manufacturer has previously tapped into supercomputer technology to assist with the development of its tyre technology. Its tyre engineers previously used Japan’s K-supercomputer to launch its 4D NANO Design process. SRI credits the resulting step change in performance with the increasing number of accolades and original equipment deals subsequently achieved by its Falken tyre range list.
Tomohiko Masuta has been named as managing director of both Falken Tyre Europe GmbH and Sumitomo Rubber Europe GmbH. Masuta joined Sumitomo Rubber Industries in 1985, first gaining experience in the Product Development department. In the 1990s, he moved to the Original Equipment (OE) area of the business before being dispatched to support the development of the Dunlop brand in European countries. In 2015, he was appointed general manager of OE Tyre Business for SRI, with his most recent role being general manager of the Automotive System Division. In his new appointment, Masuta will oversee the SRI group companies in the EMEA region and Falken businesses in Europe and will drive the growth of OE customers within the region.
Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS) reports that it is offers a “gripping” SUV proposition for retail customers in 2021, with a range of new products available to its tyre retailer network. According to the company, MTS supplies SUV tyres to over 6,000 customers, including a national network of over 250 independent 4×4 and SUV tyre specialists. Changes include new upgraded patterns, helping to bolster MTS’s range of SUV tyres – for both for on and off-road usage.
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