OTR tyres that last longer save users money, observes Monaflex Repair Systems. An important factor determining tyre lifespan is the quality of repairs made to tyres. The company behind the Monaflex system thus poses the following question – how do you achieve the best possible tyre repairs? It encourages everyone undertaking OTR tyre repairs to consider six key points.
TECH Europe’s channel sales manager, Jon Bartholomew and VP of sales and training, Walter van Loon, have visited distributor, Altaroda, SA. Based in Paredes, Portugal, Altaroda has been a key player in the tyre repair industry for more than 12 years, building its customer base through customer service and product development.
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.
After almost eight years, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. (SRI) has won the lawsuit it filed against Italian manufacturer TEK Automotive S.r.l. concerning the infringement of SRI’s patents on emergency tyre puncture repair kit technology.
Motorists from Oxford are the unluckiest drivers in the country – picking up the most punctures, dents, scrapes and parking tickets than anyone else, according to a new study. Researchers polled British drivers and discovered that people from the university city, home to Jaguar driving Inspector Morse, consider themselves to have the least luck when it comes to motoring.
Tyre Industry Awards 2015 winner Rema Tip Top has opened its new tyre repair and garage equipment training centre following significant investment in Leeds headquarters. Hosting Tyres & Accessories at a launch event in October, immediately after its NTDA 2015 Tyre Industry Award for Tyre and Aftermarket Supplier of the Year, the company showed how the site has been entirely refitted, having lain derelict for around half a decade before the acquisition of Doncaster’s Ace Conveyor Equipment in 2008 and subsequent consolidation of the industrial business. The new centre will provide accreditation for the new generation of tyre technicians, with an expanding variety of courses delivered over one or two days. Rema Tip Top chief executive Mark Insley stated: “We recognise the importance of education and training to an industry which is responsible for the safety of millions of people on our roads on a daily basis. With this well-equipped and highly professional facility we will provide an invaluable resource for our customers.”
If you’ve needed to change a tyre lately, you may have been confronted by a space saver in the boot – or no spare tyre at all. Pressure to reduce vehicle weight, combined with increasing tyre reliability and a growing reluctance (or inability) amongst motorists to actually change a flat tyre, has seen the number of new cars equipped with a full-size spare fall dramatically in the past few years. Previewing a new market research report during last month’s Tire Technology Expo conference, Notch Consulting Inc president Paul Ita noted that while 68 per cent of cars produced in 2008 came with full-size spares, this number had slid to 48 per cent four years later, and he projects that by 2017 only 41 per cent of new cars will still be sold with a full-size spare.
A jury in the US state of Georgia has ordered Michelin North America to pay $16.5 million in a tyre blowout case that killed a 50-year-old Bhutanese immigrant in 2011, reports Tire Review. The man was killed when the rear tyre allegedly suffered a sudden failure, causing the large van to lose control and flip over on I-75 near Macon, Georgia. Two people were killed and 12 more were injured in the single-vehicle accident.
Marangoni Tread North America has been named as one of latest companies to join the Retread Tire Association. The company is one of four firms whose membership was made public on 15 August; the others are Crown Worldwide Industrial, Intercontinental Marketing and Otrusa.com.
European retreading industry organisation Bipaver is one of the five latest entities to join the Retread Tire Association. Membership in the US-based retreading association has now passed the 300-mark and, upon announcing the latest additions, Retread Tire Association managing director Harvey Brodsky commented that “we continue to be very pleased and gratified at the amount of support our exciting new association continues to receive from retreaders and others in the retread and tyre industries.
In the US, Michelin Earthmover is partnering with tyre repair provider Tech International and leading Michelin Earthmover dealers to launch the ‘Michelin Earthmover Repair Accreditation Program’, an initiative the tyre maker says will provide “consistent and quality earthmover tyre repairs in Michelin’s accredited repair shops.” The new programme will be rolled out this year.
Italian family-run business Salvadori SRL, which was established in the 1980s, reports a growing global demand from customers. In order to satisfy this, and to combine its retreading and tyre recycling activities in the one location, the firm recently moved to new, larger headquarters and warehouse buildings. Furthermore, Salvadori has announced details of its investment in two brand new production projects, both of which are expected to boost the company’s competitiveness and the quality of its product/service portfolio. The stated primary aim of this investment is to offer customers retreading and tyre repair accessories that are both competitively-priced and, through the application of production and quality controls, products that the customer can rely upon.
US distributor of the Double Coin brand, the China Manufacturers Alliance, is one of the latest companies to join the Retread Tire Association. Reporting this new addition, RTA managing director Harvey Brodsky commented “We continue to be very pleased and gratified at the amount of support our exciting new association continues to receive from retreaders and others in the retread and tyre industries. Since our beginning in 2010, 298 members have joined our association and we are grateful to every one of them for their support in our ever growing association.”
The Retread Tire Association reports a membership list approaching the 300 mark. The US-based retreading association has announced the addition of a number of new members, including Chilean retreading association Asociación De Renovadores Y Recauchadores De Neumáticos De Chile, Malaysian companies Eversafe Rubber Works, P Tread 1 Rubber Company and Sun Rubber Industry, plus – closer to home – Illinois-based firm Salem Tire Center. According to the RTA, the association has also gained several other new members, however they have opted to remain anonymous.
Kwik-Fit Fleet says a £600,000 investment in its telecommunications system has resulted in an increase in the number of ‘same day’ jobs being undertaken by the company’s mobile tyre repair and replacement technicians. The introduction of new technology has more than halved waiting time for fleet drivers, the company reports. It also allows Kwik-Fit Fleet to better control the quality of calls, and the company states it will “lead to even greater process improvements designed to improve driver experience over the coming months.”