Tag: featured
Goodyear extends commitment to FIA European Truck Racing Championship
Goodyear has extended its partnership with the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) as the exclusive tyre provider for the FIA European Truck Racing Championship for a further three years. The announcement, which will see racing trucks run on specially developed Goodyear Truck Racing Tyres, coincides with the beginning of the 2019 season, which takes place in Misano, Italy on 26 May. 1,500 horsepower, 5.5 tonne trucks will race at speeds of up to 160 km/h with acceleration similar to a high performance sports car.
Nokian Ground Kare – a “good compromise” for excavator applications
A single tyre solution is seldom optimal for all excavator applications, and that is why Nokian Tyres aims to offer a range that covers different surfaces and demands. The latest addition to its line-up is the Nokian Ground Kare.
MWheels launches SOE CPD approved CV wheel training course
MWheels has launched the Wheel Awareness and Security Fleet Training programme. The classes will be delivered by renowned industry instructor, Phil Thirsk. The Manchester-based wheel services provider said that the new programme represents a new phase for its approach to commercial vehicle wheel safety. For many years, MWheels (formerly known as Motor Wheel Service Distribution) has campaigned for greater legislative support in ensuring the safety of wheels fitted to commercial vehicles, culminating in a change to EU law, which saw wheels categorised as a safety critical item. It has also collaborated with Michelin Training Centre to improve wheel safety knowledge within the industry. The announcement of the programme coincides with a wheel-loss incident receiving front-page coverage on the BBC website, in which a loose lorry wheel collided with a vehicle on the opposite side of the M6 Motorway in Lanacashire.
Menegaux succeeds Senard as Michelin CEO
Florent Menegaux has succeeded Jean-Dominique Senard as head of the Michelin Group. He officially took on the role of chief executive officer at the company’s 2019 Annual General Meeting, which was held last Friday.
Hexpol growth driven by compounding and exports
Almost 10 years after Hexpol embarked on a prolonged growth-by-acquisition strategy, here Tyres & Accessories examines the company’s overall progress as well as the particular example of UK-based Hexpol Group member, retreading compound supply specialist Berwin Polymers.
Vaculug promotes VMS Mobile at CV Show
With the UK commercial vehicle and fleet business congregating in Birmingham for the Commercial Vehicle Show at the start of May, Vaculug took the opportunity to demonstrate the latest addition to its bespoke fleet tyre management system called VMS - VMS Mobile. For the company, which is now the only non-new-tyre manufacture-owned retreader in the UK, fleet growth and retreading business growth go hand in hand. And that’s why having the right fleet tyre management system in place has become more important than ever.
Continental targets full solutions provision for port industry alongside new tyre portfolio
Continental will introduce its new radial port tyre portfolio at this year's TOC Europe in Rotterdam. Developed to meet the demands of vehicles used for terminal operations, the newly expanded port portfolio is specifically designed for load and carry applications. The company also emphasises its service provision and aim to become a full solutions provider for port operations, referencing its slogan, ‘Every move you make’. Continental Commercial Specialty Tires (CST) will show its complete port product range at the trade fair, including V.ply tyres, radial tyres, and digital solutions on 18-20 June at booth D72 in Hall 1 at Rotterdam Ahoy.
Falken Azenis FK510 wins Porsche Macan approval
Falken has won original equipment approval from Porsche, demonstrating the increasing premiumisation of the Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ brand. Falken is supplying the current generation of the Porsche Macan with the SUV version of the Falken Azenis FK510 in sizes 235/60R18 and 255/55R18. The tyres are rated W for speed (up to 270 km/h) and have load indexes of 103 and 105 respectively.
Paolo Roversi to shoot 2020 Pirelli Calendar
Paolo Roversi has been given the remit of snapping pics for the 2020 Pirelli Calendar. The Italian-born, Paris-based photographer brings half a century of experience to the role. Pirelli comments that Roversi is “considered one of the most talented contemporary photographers, above all for his style which is personal and highly recognisable.”
Formula 2: Pirelli supplying 18” tyres from 2020
In 2021, Formula 1 will bid farewell to 13-inch rims and tyres with chubby sidewalls, with the switch to an 18-inch dimension taking place that season. The onus falls upon exclusive tyre supplier Pirelli to develop rubber for the 2021 F1 cars, and Pirelli says its development will be greatly aided by the adoption of the 18-inch tyre size in ‘feeder’ series Formula 2 from 2020.
Goodyear announces $36M investment in OTR production
Goodyear highlighted its latest off-the-road (OTR) products and solutions for the construction machinery industry at BAUMA, including the public debut of its recently launched OMNITRAC ranges of steer and drive tyres for mixed service trucks. At BAUMA, Goodyear highlighted its EMTrack OTR tyre performance monitoring system and the TL-4A OTR tyre for articulated dump trucks and scrapers. The company also announced that it will make a $36 million investment at its manufacturing plant in Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg.
Bridgestone exemplifies premium full-service approach at BAUMA 2019
Bridgestone’s approach to BAUMA, a leading global trade fair for the construction and mining markets, exemplified the current megatrends prevalent among premium tyre brand manufacturers in the OTR sector – indeed in most tyre segments – highly specialised products with a range of services developed to support end users; or to use Bridgestone’s own term, solutions. The manufacturer said that it is committed to support customers by identifying and solving the challenges of a business, and world, in rapid transformation.
Michelin provides XTRA benefits with new articulated dump truck tyre
Michelin has launched its new XTRA DEFEND premium E4 deep tread tyre. The new product for articulated dump trucks with payloads between 25 and 45 tons boasts improved levels of damage resistance and reliability, while maintaining a better Tons Kilometre per Hour (TKPH) level compared to its premium competitors, Michelin claims. It has been designed particularly with improved robustness to minimise damage and machine downtime and offer 15 per cent more tyre life that the predecessor, the Michelin X-Super Terrain+, to optimise operating costs.
Giti Fleet SMART TPMS launched at CV Show 2019
Giti Tire has launched Giti Fleet SMART, its first ever tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) at CV Show 2019. The acronym SMART stands for Smart, Monitoring, Air pressure, Real time, Technology. The system, created in partnership with TyreWatch.com, delivers continuous monitoring and analysis of a fleets’ tyres. Fully connected to the web and Giti’s own GitiAssist network, it is designed to inform workshop technicians and fleet managers of maintenance requirements, while predicting and preventing potential tyre failures.
Can artificial intelligence reduce warranty claims?
At the start of April 2019, Bridgestone formally completed its billion-dollar acquisition of TomTom Telematics. The goal – as ever – is to capitalise on the benefits of big data, leveraging its usefulness in the cause of better tyres and greater efficiency for all stakeholders. Of course, Bridgestone is not the only tyremaker seeking to make the most of tyre data. Many have invested significantly in developing cyber tyres over the course of the last 10 to 15 years, harnessing the fact that tyres are a vehicles’ only point of contact with the road and therefore the only means of generating real-time road surface:vehicle contact data. This same approach also yields tyre condition and performance data, which can be used for everything from motorsport to commercial fleet applications. But what about in the manufacturing process itself?
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