Test centre Horiba MIRA has fully converted its facilities into ‘COVID-Secure’ operations in three weeks. On 13 April the company suspended most physical operations at its expansive 850-acre site in Nuneaton and a further facility in Basildon, but safely welcomed the first wave of furloughed employees back to both sites by 4 May, well ahead of the UK government guidelines issued this week.
Horiba MIRA has opened a new Propulsion Test and Development Centre at its UK headquarters in Nuneaton. The centre has been specifically developed in response to the need for OEMs to meet ever-stringent emissions standards since the introduction of the Real Driving Emissions (RDE) test in 2017.
Millbrook is expanding its Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) test facilities. According to the well-known test centre, Millbrook has “the best facilities for testing these cutting-edge technologies in the UK”. In addition to modifications to existing road and test track infrastructure, Millbrook is reportedly making “a significant investment in high-precision instrumentation and soft targets that allow contact without damage”.
A groundbreaking ceremony held today marked the start of construction work on a new testing and technology centre being set up by Nokian Tyres in Spain. Festivities to celebrate the occasion were held at the site in Santa Cruz de la Zarza. Nokian Tyres anticipates the completion of the first test tracks next year ahead of the technology centre attaining full operational status in 2020.
Test World has appointed Andrew Beach as its new business development director. Beach will be responsible for all sales activities at Test World, and play a key role in continuing to accelerate its growth.
Andrew Beach has spent his career working in automotive test and development. He joined Millbrook in 2000 and has been working closely with Test World since its acquisition by Millbrook in September 2015.
Well-known Finnish test centre Test World is expanding its year-round testing options. According to the company, this year it is more than doubling the length of the existing natural snow and ice platforms, and introducing asphalt tracks for wet and dry braking and aquaplaning, all under one roof. The new and extended indoor tracks will be opening from April 2018.
SUVs made up 28 per cent of all European passenger car sales last year, according to automotive market research organisation JATO Dynamics. As research elsewhere in the feature also shows, their phenomenal rise in popularity has created an enormous demand for SUV-specific tyres in larger sizes which still deliver ride comfort, minimal noise and control without sacrificing lifespan.
At the beginning of November Sailun Jinyu International (SJI) appointed Gareth Passmore as its president for Europe. He replaced Martin West, who has been appointed global president of the SJI Speciality Tire Group. Passmore, who started on 1 December 2016, is now responsible for all operations throughout Europe across all of the Sailun Jinyu Group brand portfolio – Sailun, Jinyu, Black Lion and Rovelo. Passmore brings with him over 25 years of tyre industry experience, including time with Continental, Apollo (in South Africa) and latterly with Sumitomo Rubber Industries where he headed up the Falken brand’s European export operations. During a recent brand and winter tyre product demonstration event in Sweden, Tyres & Accessories caught up with Passmore and at the same time we were introduced to Sailun’s ambitious goal of becoming a top 10 tyre manufacturer in the years to come.
The Spanish municipality of Santa Cruz de la Zarza, some 50 miles southeast of Madrid, has been selected as the location of Nokian Tyres’ new technology centre for the testing of summer and winter tyres. The Finnish tyre maker will invest approximately €16 million to build the facility on a site of some 300 hectares. Construction work will begin early in 2017, and while the facility will not be finished until 2019 the first project stage is expected to be completed next year.
The official opening of Continental’s newest test centre took place last Friday, and the tyre maker and automotive supplier says this facility, which is located in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, will “provide Continental with a more solid foundation for technical support and product development in China.”
Horiba MIRA is strengthening its cyber security capabilities by offering full vehicle Tempest testing, as a result of its partnership with Secure Systems and Technologies (SST), a CPTAS accredited body.
The Tempest standard enables First of Type Platform tests to be carried out at MIRA for military manufacturers looking to understand the susceptibility of computer and telecommunications devices in their vehicles to hacking. These devices include computers, cables, telephones, radio signals and operating systems, which all emit electromagnetic radiation (EMR) that can be used by dishonest interceptors to reconstruct intelligible data.
Sami Toljamo has been appointed managing director of well-known Finnish test centre Test World effective 3 November 2014. According to the company, Toljamo has strong background in international business and in managing test facilities.
On 1 July Linglong Group signed a strategic agreement with IDIADA to partner in the construction of a central Asian tyre proving ground. The agreement was signed between Josep-Maria Farran, COO (chief operating officer) of IDIADA, and Wang Feng, vice president of Linglong Group, marking the start of this strategic cooperation.
Test World Oy, the well-known winter tyre and vehicle test operation in Finland has announced plans to build a year-round winter test centre which to fulfil the needs of vehicle and tyre manufacturers. According to the company, the first phase of construction will start in May 2012 and this part of the site will be in operation before the end of the year. The three-phase project to create the 30,000 square metre test centre will be completed by the end of 2015.
HORIBA MIRA