North America
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Canada’s Group Touchette completes NTD acquisition
On 7 September, American Tire Distributors (ATD) announced the completion of its Canadian subsidiary’s sale to Groupe Touchette, Canada’s largest locally-owned tyre distributor. By divesting the National Tire Distributors (NTD) business, the wholesaler says it is now “better positioned to serve its customers across the US” and to “invest in the enhanced innovation that is driving its transformation efforts.”
Kordsa investing in North American tyre cord operation
Tyre and construction reinforcement specialist Kordsa is investing US$20 million in its North American facilities with the goal of boosting its cord fabric production for the tyre industry. The company says the investment will enable it to expand the tyre cord dipping line at its facilities to meet increased demand from tyre manufacturers.
ISCC Plus certification for Firestone Polymer facility
The Firestone Polymer Engineering Pilot Center (PEPC) in Akron, Ohio has become the first Bridgestone facility in North America to gain International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus recognition for sustainable raw material transparency and traceability. PEPC is part of the Bridgestone Americas Technology Center, which serves as a hub for Bridgestone’s entire innovation, research and product development within the Americas region.
Goodyear joins quest to commercialise Lunar mobility
This week marks the 53rd anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the surface of the Moon, a date of particular significance for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Goodyear supplied a number of essential components for this history-making mission and later developed non-pneumatic tyres for the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle. The tyre maker is once again looking spacewards and is developing tyres for a lunar vehicle that in future may extend commercialism to the Earth’s rocky satellite.
TireHub hires former Hankook regional president Brison
After a short tenure as president of Hankook Tire North America, Curtis Brison has taken on the role of vice president of sales, marketing and strategic growth at TireHub, the US-based national tyre distributor jointly founded by Bridgestone Americas and The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. The vacancy he leaves within Hankook’s regional operation is being filled on an interim basis by Sooil Lee, chief executive officer of Hankook Tire & Technology.
Toyo Tire names new bosses for US manufacturing business
As of 1 July 2022, new faces will join the management team at Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing, Inc. Shinji Tanabe will become chairman and chief executive officer of the company responsible for Toyo’s tyre plant in Georgia, whilst Patrick Matthew Lenz takes on the roles of president and chief operating officer.
US launch for Goodyear’s soybean truck tyres
This week, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company achieved a further step towards its goal of fully replacing petroleum-derived oils by 2040. Selected products within the Goodyear Metro Miler range, a city transit tyre available to customers in North America, are now produced using a bio-based soybean oil compound that replaces a portion of the petroleum-based materials used.
Bridgestone & LanzaTech partner on ELT solutions
Bridgestone Americas has commenced an exclusive partnership with carbon capture and transformation (CCT) specialist LanzaTech NZ, Inc. to address end-of-life tyre waste. The two companies will co-develop the first dedicated end-of-life tyre recycling process leveraging LanzaTech’s proprietary CCT technology.
Hankook now supplying numerous tyres for Mercedes S-Class
It is the ‘MO’ label on the sidewall that Hankook Tire is particularly proud of. The two letters stand for ‘Mercedes Original’, and only tyres that match strict quality criteria are approved as original equipment for Mercedes-Benz vehicles. These letters appear on the sides of three Hankook tyre models that Mercedes-Benz fits on the S-Class, continuing a supply arrangement that began almost a decade ago.
Continental tyres for Rivian Prime Vans
Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian has selected Continental tyres as an original equipment fitment for the fully electric RPV 500 and RPV 700 delivery vans it developed for online retailer Amazon. For the North American market, Rivian Prime Vans are equipped with size LT245/70 R16 VanContact A/S all-season tyres ex works.
Bridgestone lost some data in Americas ransomware attack
Bridgestone Firestone AmericasThe cyberattack on Bridgestone Americas resulted in the perpetrators gaining access to “a limited number of Bridgestone systems and threatening to make this information public.” However, the Bridgestone Americas statement released in answer to Tyres & Accessories questions on 15 March also explained that the company is: “…working around the clock with external security advisors, Accenture Security, to investigate and understand the full scope and nature of the incident.”
Bridgestone Americas factories getting back online after cyberattack
Bridgestone Americas is currently in the process of getting its systems “back online in a safe and secure manner” following what the company called an “information security incident that recently impacted operations” at the end of February. But tyre production is not yet back to normal.
