Arko-Gum, the Polish distributor of Vipal’s line of tyre repair products has launched a new e-commerce website. The company said the new site is “a way of increasing contact with its target audiences and overcoming social isolation,” The website targets B2B sales of its product lines, including the full range of materials from Vipal’s repair line. Arko-Gum has been Vipal’s partner for 10 years, nine of which have been exclusive.
In 2018, Bridgestone Europe announced that three of its tyre plants in Spain – Bilbao, Puente San Miguel and Burgos – had begun sourcing 100 per cent of their electricity from renewable sources. This programme has been extended to other facilities in the region, and the company shares that the Tatabanya plant in Hungary and Stargard and Poznan plants in Poland will be moving to 100 per cent green electricity.
Bridgestone EMIA will either temporarily close or reduce production plants across its European manufacturing network in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its Béthune plant in France and the Bari plant in Italy will be closed until 6 April.
Almost 18 months ago, Bridgestone announced it would invest at least 160 million euros in its passenger car tyre plant in Poznań, Poland. A stage in this factory expansion project began on 20 January with the laying of a foundation stone for additional production buildings.
The European Commission has approved 3.2 billion euros of battery research and development support under EU State aid rules. The funding comes as the result of an Important Project of Common European interest (IPCEI) application jointly notified by Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden to support research and innovation in the common European priority area of batteries.
Michelin is the most search tyre brand on Google in Europe, according to price comparison site Rezulteo. Rezulteo studied the popularity of tyre brands in Europe using Google search volume data for tyre manufacturers in each country from 1 August 2018 to 31 July 2019. The study took “brand name” + “tyre” queries in the official languages of each European country into account.
Construction work on a project to expand STARCO’s operation in Poland officially commenced last week. STARCO says the addition of new warehouse and fitting facilities at the Mielec site, around 50 miles east of Krakow, will increase floorspace from 2,500 to 5,500 square metres. The new facilities should be operational early next year.
Vipal Rubber, one of the world’s top manufacturers of tyre retreading products, has participated in the ProfiAuto Show 2019 (8-9 June in Katowice, Poland) in partnership with exclusive Polish distributor, Arko-Gum. The partnership between the companies, vital in ensuring Vipal provides the most relevant solutions for the Polish market, has been in effect for nine years.
VMI is opening two additional manufacturing halls in Poland following the “unprecedented success” of its original project in the city of Lezsno. In addition, the company announced the appointment of Magda Sadowska as general manager of the Lezsno facility.
Lighting and electronics specialist Hella has concluded the sale of the Danish and Polish wholesale businesses FTZ and Inter-Team. After approval by the antitrust authorities responsible, both companies were transferred to the Swedish wholesaler Mekonomen. Subject to the terms of the transaction, the purchase price amounts to 395 million euro.
Approximately £145 million will be invested in the Bridgestone tyre plant in Poznań, Poland over the next half a decade in order to boost production capacity by around 30 per cent. Quoted in a Bridgestone press release, Roman Staszewski, plant manager and managing director of Bridgestone Poznan, said close to PLN 700 million would be invested and, by 2022, new technology would be added and current production lines upgraded in order to increase daily production capacity from 31,000 to more than 40,000 tyres.
On 5 September VMI opened a new factor in Leszno, Poland. The location was officially opened by Lukasz Borowiak, mayor of Leszno and Alexander van der Lof, chairman of the executive board of TKH Group.
Avon Tyres’ Storm 3D X-M has helped Polish stunt rider Maciej “DOP” Bielicki set a new world record for the longest recorded rolling burnout on a motorcycle. Using a specially closed road near the Harley-Davidson dealership in the city of Rzeszów, south-east Poland, Bielicki set the record on his Street Rod bike, spinning the rear wheel for just under three miles. Watch the video below on Tyrepress.com.
Poland’s electromobility market is ripe for growth. Favourable government initiatives such as the Electromobility Plan and Electromobility and Alternative Fuels Act are reshaping local mobility and igniting innovative clean technologies to achieve higher competitiveness and energy optimization. Growth will be augmented by consumer incentives and the simultaneous development of infrastructure, energy distribution, and product offerings. Players should look for opportunities in charging point infrastructure development, automotive supply chain transformation, and public transport modernisation to gain a competitive advantage.
Arko-Gum