The UK’s largest aftermarket manufacturer of exhausts has announced the opening of a dedicated distribution centre in France. The new Klarius Products site near Lille will enable next-day deliveries to stockists and distributors in the majority of France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, as well as 48 to 72-hour deliveries to other parts of the EU.
They are a stoic bunch and nobody has come forward to seek professional help so far, but participants in the Tour de France 2022 may be forgiven for wondering if they’d experienced a collective hallucination during the gruelling 2,081-mile race. For at a strategic location along the 21-stage route between Copenhagen and Paris, cyclists were confronted by the looming presence of an oversized agricultural tyre.
After four years as chief executive officer of German tyre and car service network ATU, Matthieu Foucart is returning to parent company Mobivia in France. There he will assume overall responsibility for the group’s workshop and specialist dealer business, which includes the Norauto, Midas, Auto 5 and ATU brands. His successor heading the four-person ATU management team is Sascha Bopp, who will take over as chief executive officer on 1 October 2022.
Seven-time French Elite Drift FFSA champion, Benjamin Boulbes has commenced the 2022 season on new rubber with GT Radial Champiro SX-R tyres on the rear axle. Available exclusively for Boulbes in Europe, the ultra-high performance, semi-slick sport tyre features a professional racing grade canopy, a special tread formula and unique casing structure for maximum performance and integrity at high temperatures and extreme forces.
Michelin is growing its non-tyre activities with the debut of Michelin AirProne, an air cushion kit designed for patients suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Made by AirCaptif, a French start-up that Michelin acquired in 2021, the kit will soon be available throughout Europe following its initial launch in France.
Hopium, France’s first manufacturer of hydrogen-powered vehicles, is partnering with Bridgestone to develop tyres for its Hopium Machina saloon. Bridgestone will create the tyres using its proprietary Virtual Tyre Development technology, working to a remit of minimising rolling resistance in order to enhance the car’s 1,000-kilometre range.
Bridgestone has confirmed a second year of partnership with the Hawkers European Talent Cup (HETC). As of this year, the tyre manufacturer is also official partner of the Federation Française de Motocyclisme (FFM) and sole supplier for the Objectif Grand Prix (OGP), the French national championship dedicated to promising young riders. Bridgestone says it shares the passion for competition and performance that are the basis of motorcycle racing.
Following its 100 per cent acquisition by the Michelin Group, French online tyre firm Allopneus has a new chief executive officer. Michel Vincentelli succeeds Mathieu Blaise, who launched the Allopneus site in 2004 together with father Didier and brother Antoine.
French competition regulator the Autorité de la concurrence has approved the Michelin Group’s move to acquire sole control over French tyre e-tailer Allopneus SAS and its subsidiaries. In a statement published on 28 December, the Autorité said it cleared the deal unconditionally in the belief that it is “not likely to harm competition.”
After recently selecting Bridgestone as exclusive tyre partner for its upcoming Ocean all-electric SUV, Fisker Inc. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that covers Bridgestone’s provision of comprehensive aftersales and related maintenance solutions, beginning in France and Germany. Bridgestone will leverage its retail and service network to provide aftersales services to Fisker customers in these countries through the Speedy, Pitstop and Reiff-ABS networks.
French software and online applications company CrossID is integrating its point-of-sale (POS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) technologies into CAM International’s TiDaeX online hub. By leveraging CAM’s open- e-jobsheet tyre service app, CrossID’s 320 tyre dealer customers will be able to update their stock in their core systems while offering automatic data sharing with their customers.
Michelin and labour unions have signed various successive telework deals covering its workforce in France since 2019 and worked together since the start of the Covid-19 crisis to develop a teleworking vision, strategy and arrangements. On 2 December, senior Michelin management and representatives from four unions signed a new telework agreement.
Michelin has boosted its non-tyre business portfolio with the 100 per cent acquisition of French start-up AirCaptif, a firm with “unique know-how in the field of ultralight inflatable structures for protection and insulation.” Announcing its purchase of AirCaptif, Michelin notes that it has been “developing renowned expertise within the field of inflatable structures and highly technical materials” for the past 130 years and the acquisition of AirCaptif will now “allow for much faster development of activities on new markets.” It adds that the acquisition falls within Michelin’s “beyond the tyre” sustainable growth strategy.
Bridgestone
CAM