The recent opening of a plant in Serbia testifies that Shandong Linglong Tire has big plans for Europe. One of its key markets within the region is Germany, and the tyre maker has now found a new distribution partner for this country, as well as for Austria and Switzerland – the ‘DACH’ region. German tyre wholesaler and retailer Reifen Straub has taken on this role.
Linglong Tire has provided further details of its original equipment partnership with MAN Truck & Bus, which it first announced at The Tire Cologne in May. The world’s 12th largest tyre maker will equip the MAN TGL with the Linglong KLS200 steer axle tyres and KLD200 drive axle tyres in sizes 245/70 R17.5 136/134M and 265/70 R17.5 140/138M.
Falken has paid homage to its first aftermarket tyre for electric cars in a short video. The clip, just under a minute long, focuses on the Falken e.Ziex, which debuted at The Tire Cologne in May. Falken says the new tyre is “one of the best tyres in terms of energy efficiency ever developed and manufactured by the Sumitomo Rubber Group.”
Midlands-based wholesaler GB Tyres has grown rapidly despite the challenges of lockdown and logistics during the last couple of years. Indeed, GB Tyre’s annual turnover has skyrocketed from £3 million in 2016 to full-year 2022 predictions of £50 million. Considering the company was only established in 2013, it is fair to say the business has grown to become one of the fastest growing importers and exporters of commercial vehicle tyres in Europe. Tyres & Accessories met up with commercial director Graham Hutchinson to find out more.
Even if you aren’t familiar with the name Kabat Tyre, chances are that you’ve owned or used products that have a Kabat connection. This is because the Polish company isn’t just the largest manufacturer of inner tubes in Europe and a manufacturer of tyres for the off-highway segment – it also supplies rubber compound to big-name tyre makers.
With its sizeable exhibition presence at The Tire Cologne, Netherlands-based wholesaler Van den Ban not only had space to display products from its broad selection of private and exclusive brands, it was also well equipped to reforge face-to-face bonds with its many international contacts following the recent two-year pause. Speaking with Tyrepress.com on the trade fair’s final day, commercial director Cyril Versteeg stressed the importance of events such as this as a meeting point for existing and potential customers.
When the going gets tough, diversify. This strategy helped storage systems specialist Arcom weather the storms of the past two years. The Polish company is once again enjoying strong demand, both within the tyre industry and beyond. We caught up with sales manager Marcin Smulski during The Tire Cologne to find out more.
Netherlands based, family-owned OTR tyre manufacturer Magna Tyres returned to the Tire Cologne show last month with a determined agenda to meet once more with their growing worldwide customer base.
Stephan van Leeuwen, Magna’s sales director (Original Equipment), with additional responsibility for the Italian, UK and Eire markets commented: “We have always considered international tyre shows as a strong priority to meet new companies and obtain new sales leads so being at a ‘live’ show’ once more is a very positive move forward again.”
Grupo Alves Bandeira representatives report that they were “impressed by the support and positive atmosphere at the recent Tire Cologne Show in Germany after three long years of cancellations due to Covid.” Now, the company is aiming to take the marketing of its Matrax range of car and SUV tyres up a gear following Tire Cologne and other trade show investments.
Giti Tire was “delighted” to reengage with its business partners and exhibit its revised product line-up at The Tire Cologne 2022. For the company’s European operation, the show represented the end of “a four year vacuum”, allowing employees and customers from around Europe, the Middle East and Africa to assemble, building “a platform for future success”.
Wholesaler Inter-Sprint has added a new truck tyre brand to its portfolio. Manufactured by Sentury Tire in its 4.0 smart factory in Thailand, Groundspeed debuted at The Tire Cologne and is available in a launch range that includes steer, drive and trailer dimensions, 13 SKUs in total.
When Nexen Tire first threw its hat into the ring of Europe’s all-season tyre market a decade ago, most motorists – and most tyre makers – considered these products best suited to smaller cars with just a handful of horses under the bonnet. Product development has brought all-season tyres a long way since then, and attitudes have changed too. So it was that when Nexen recently launched its latest tyre for this segment, there wasn’t a single dimension for runabouts or city cars to be seen.
Visitors to The Tire Cologne had the opportunity to see to Giti Tire’s growing product portfolio. Highlights included Giti Radial’s latest UHP tyre, the SportActive 2, as well as extensions to the GT Radial FE2 performance range. The Giti brand was well represented, too, with the Giti4x4 AT71 heralding a return to the all-terrain segment in the UK.
Prinx Chengshan is rolling out a new range of European market truck tyres under the Austone and Fortune brand names, and its efforts recently gained a boost when TÜV SÜD awarded the DR606 drive axle pattern its test mark. The tyre maker officially received this distinction during The Tire Cologne, when the head of the TÜV SÜD tyre testing team presented Prinx Chengshan its certification.
It doesn’t suffice for a product to be sustainable. The processes used to manufacture this product must be sustainable, too. This is the thinking behind EcoPoint³, the innovation in compounding technology that Sailun Group highlighted during The Tire Cologne. Arriving soon in tyres sold in the UK and Europe, EcoPoint³ results from more than a decade of development.
Magna Tyres
Giti Tire