Industrial Tyres
At the end of February, Trelleborg invited key dealers to the company’s Swedish homeland in order to further develop connections with its UK distributors and share the details of recent developments at the well-known agricultural and off-road tyre and wheel manufacturer. Tyres & Accessories spoke with Trelleborg’s Agricultural Segment Leader – EMEA, Bruce Lauder in order to find out more.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems reports that it has moved to general remote working in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Writing in a letter to customers sent by email, the company affirmed that employees will still be available by phone and email and that “availability of agricultural tyres is still assured”.
Magna Tyres Group has appointed Elie Sleiman General Manager of its Singapore office, effective 1 March. Sleiman will lead sales within the Oceania & South East Asia region and has responsibility for extending the Magna brand presence, distribution network, and will focus on developing strong customer relationships.
Petlas has released a new industrial tyre that focuses on traction and life time. According to the company, the PtxND33 is designed and developed at Petlas’s R&D base to offer “perfect traction and long life for compact industrial vehicles such as compact loaders, backhoe loaders and telehandlers”.
Sri Lanka’s Global Rubber Industries (GRI Tires) has acquired Australian tyre supplier Tradefaire International’s industrial tyre business, Axis Tyres Pty Ltd. The acquisition includes Axis locations in Melbourne (Altona and Braeside), Sydney and Adelaide. Together with GRI’s existing branch in Brisbane, the company now operates five sites in Australia.
Camso has launched the Solideal PON 555 NM and PON 550 NM, two new non-marking additions to the Solideal PON series. These new and improved non-marking press-on tyres were developed to deliver increased energy efficiency and thermal performance.
Jörg Wörner has been named the new customer solutions engineer for earthmover tyres within Continental’s Commercial Specialty Tires (CST) business area. His arrival boosts the technical customer service operation in the EMEA region, which Continental says is “instrumental” in its drive to “focus directly on customers.”
Rubber industry news sources have confirmed earlier reports that Yokohama Rubber is in acquisition talks with Prometeon.
Japanese tyre and rubber manufacturer Yokohama is planning to invest into and even buy Prometeon, the new name for the former Pirelli commercial and industrial tyre manufacturing operation, according to a range of sources. Tyres & Accessories first heard this news in July and then the Italian financial press subsequently suggested that Prometeon’s shareholders were considering restructuring Prometeon’s ownership. Yokohama is understood to be leading the suitors. The official Yokohama/Prometeon investment announcement is expected during the course of the next week or so.
Sri Lanka-based speciality tyre manufacturer GRI reports that it has acquired the Estonia-based Nortire Group. Headquartered in Estonia, with a branch in Latvia and two branches in Lithuania, Nortire is a speciality tyre distributor. According to GRI, the acquisition will further expand the GRI’s global tyre service network, while attaining a significant foothold in the North European tyre market. The news follows a non-acquisition Middle East strategic partnership with Al-Dobowi in April 2019.
As of 1 July, Brussels-based Continental subsidiary Continental Benelux has taken over exclusive distribution of Continental car, van and industrial tyres in the Netherlands from Continental Banden Groep (CBG). Continental Benelux is already responsible for the Continental commercial vehicle tyre range in this market, having taken on direct distribution five years ago.
Two awards from Toyota have been added to Camso’s silverware collection. The off-highway tyre specialist has received the Core Value Award: Respect for People from Toyota Material Handling and the Global Contribution Award from Toyota Industries Corporation.
Alliance Tire Group (ATG) has announced that, as of this month, Europa Tyres is its main wholesale distributor for the Galaxy tyre brand in mainland UK. Europa Tyres will distribute the complete Galaxy range, including radial OTR and solid tyres.
