Announcing a second partnership in as many weeks, Kenda and official UK importer Cambrian Tyres are pleased to confirm the brand’s status as official tyre of the Mick Extance Off-Road Experience Centre. As part of the new arrangement, Cambrian will supply the centre with Kenda motocross and enduro tyres.
Kenda and the brand’s official importer Cambrian Tyres tell us that they’ve started the year as they mean to go on, getting 2023 underway by announcing an exciting new partnership with the Lee Walters Off-Road Training School. Thanks to this new partnership, Walters will now be able to rely on Kenda’s wide range of enduro and trail tyres, which can be carefully matched to the type of riding or training he is undertaking.
Israel’s Galileo Wheel Ltd., the firm behind the CupWheel tyre, and Japanese trading firm Marubeni Corporation have entered into a strategic partnership. As part of this partnership, Galileo reports that Marubeni has become a “significant stakeholder.” Marubeni will utilise its global sales and marketing network and become the distributor of CupWheel tyres in multiple geographic markets.
In September, Stapleton’s Tyre Services became the exclusive Great Britain distributor of Triangle passenger car and van tyres. The deal, which has been in the making for the last couple of years, will build on the strengthening relationship between Triangle Tyre and the UK’s largest tyre wholesaler. It was finalised after comprehensive testing of the Triangle range by Stapleton’s and its ultimate parent company Itochu. In recent years, the company has become the largest distributor of Triangle products in Europe. Stapleton’s states that Triangle is a “strong strategic fit in the economy segment” of its portfolio. It will make the brand available to “all customers in every channel.” Unveiling the deal, Stapleton’s hosted key dealer customers and European representatives of Triangle at PalmerSport at the Bedford Autodrome. Tyres & Accessories also attended the event, taking the opportunity to speak to Stapleton’s managing director Andy Fern, who took the reigns in the first quarter of 2020 just before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted business as usual, about the new deal and the evolution of the Stapleton’s business under his leadership.
Midas, the tyre fast fit and automotive service network owned by French firm Mobivia, is expanding in Africa through three new partnerships. Mobivia believes this trio of partnerships will potentially result in around a hundred new centres within ten years.
MAN Truck & Bus and Michelin have announced a new training partnership at Hanover’s IAA Transportation show. From January 2023, Michelin will begin a three-year global cooperation with MAN ProfiDrive, the driver training programme from the Munich-based firm. MAN said that Michelin’s commitment to sustainable motoring made the tyre manufacturer a good choice of partner. The programme trains commercial vehicle drivers in the safe operation of safety and assistance systems, fuel-efficient driving, and the use of telematics services, as well as other topics relevant to fleet managers and entrepreneurs in the transport sector.
Through a new partnership agreement with the Siemens technology group, Pyrum Innovations AG anticipates the further promotion, optimisation and scaling of its pyrolysis plants for processing end-of-life tyres (ELT). Pyrum will utilise technology from Siemens’ digitalisation and automation portfolios, with Siemens supporting Pyrum and its customers in the selection of optimal process automation, process analytics, drive and digitalisation technologies, amongst other things.
Bridgestone Mobility Solutions has become and “anchor partner” of Startup Autobahn, a mobility-focused innovation network. Moderated by Silicon Valley global open innovation platform, Plug and Play Tech Center. Startup Autobahn brings together industry-leading companies and startups to identify new ideas and develop cutting-edge technologies in the mobility sector. The Stuttgart-based platform brings together more than 30,000 start-ups and around 30 corporate partners, of which the Bridgestone EMIA data-driven fleet, tyre and mobility solutions business unit is now one. Startup Autobahn provides workshops, events, business development and investment opportunities to facilitate innovative networks in mobility technology.
Singapore-based tyre firm Omni United has commenced a partnership with GFG Style, an Italian automotive design house founded in 2015 upon the design experience of Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro. Under the partnership, GFG takes on the remit of designing Omni’s flagship brand, Radar Tyres. Omni anticipates that GFG’s influence will “take Radar’s product offering to the next level” and enhance the brand’s consumer appeal.
A decade after the first agreement, Pirelli, Milan Polytechnic and Polytechnic Foundation have signed off a three-year continuation of their ‘Joint Labs’ programme, which centres upon research projects that advance tyre-related technological innovation.
Polyphony Digital Inc., developer of the Gran Turismo series for Playstation consoles since 1997, has chosen Brembo as the official technical partner in braking systems for Gran Turismo 7. The new video game will be available for PS4 and PS5 consoles from 4 March 2022.
The latest in our ‘Torque from the Top’ series of interviews with leading tyre industry executives features David Seward, MD of Yokohama’s UK distributor, Yokohama HPT. As you will read later, the company was established in 1988 and Seward has been with the company from the beginning, which must make him one of (if not the) longest-serving MD of any UK-based international tyre company. But first, a brief look at the history of the parent company.
Michelin has partnered with Stratford-upon-Avon deluxe coffee house and motoring destination Caffeine&Machine on the venues first ever dedicated electric vehicle weekend (25-26 September, 2021). The event will focus on electric vehicles and will welcome visitors who want to view the next wave of automotive innovation, regardless of their current motors.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has entered into a strategic relationship with UFODrive, and going forwards will work together with the all-digital, all-electric car rental company to integrate their complementary mobility solutions. The two firms intend to pair Goodyear’s intelligent tyre monitoring system and proactive solutions suite with UFODrive’s eMobility software as a service platform.
Michelin has entered into a partnership with German-based digital road freight forwarder sennder to provide carriers with greater access to the Michelin range of tyres on special terms as well as retreading services. The collaboration will initially focus on Northern Europe and Iberia, with plans to scale it across other European markets throughout 2021.
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