2009 - Page 168 of 205 - Tyrepress

Marangoni to Restructure “Tyre Retreading” Business Area

“Our company, like other companies that operate in the tyre sector, is not, and has not been, an island in itself.“ With these words, Brenno Benaglia explains the reach of the current economic recession and its consequences, which are shaping up to be structural rather than cyclical. Despite a clear cut in truck and passenger car retread production and sales figures, the sales & marketing director for Marangoni’s Tyre Retreading business area points out that the Italian company is sticking to the growth and expansion strategy it presented two years ago.

27th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone E-reporter Contest Now Open to Part-Time Students

With just four weeks before the closing date for entries, Bridgestone has announced that eligibility for its e-reporter contest has been extended to part-time students. Any student from within Europe studying any part-time course can now submit an entry, the company says.

Students can submit their e-reporter entry online at www.bridgestone.eu/e-reporter anytime before Tuesday 31 March 2009. As part of their entry, candidates will need to demonstrate that they have the journalistic flair required to write a newsworthy story and develop creative interview questions. This year, entries can be submitted in English, Dutch, French, German, Polish, Spanish or Portuguese.

27th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Matrac X3 Tops Marshal 4×4 Range

The ever-increasing range of Marshal 4×4 tyres is available through nationwide, distributor Bond International.

Street Tyres – KL17, KL12 and KL51

The Matrac X3 KL17 range recently introduced for top line SUVs includes most popular sizes for 17 to 22-inch rims, including Y speed rated and XL fitments. The tyre’s key features include stability at high speed, excellent traction, durability and powerful braking performance. The high performance Matrac STX KL12 SUV tyre is engineered to combine extreme wet weather performance with stylish appearance. It is available in sizes from 15-inch through to 28-inch and H, V and W speed ratings. Another relatively recent introduction is the Road Venture PT KL51. Available in sizes from 15 to 18-inches, this all-purpose street touring tyre provides excellent all-season traction, extended mileage performance and a quiet ride.

27th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

EC Approves Automotive Assistance Programme

The European Commission (EC) has given the UK has been given the green light to offer £1 billion of loans and loan guarantees as well as loan guarantees through the European Investment Bank (EIB) enabling funding of up to £1.3 billion. Business minister Ian Pearson said: “We are grateful to the Commission for its swift response and approval of our state aid application. We welcome applications for the Automotive Assistance Programme that’s now up and running…Our package will support both manufacturers and larger automotive suppliers in delivering the new investment that will be vital in ensuring the industry comes out of the current downturn with the skills and technology needed to be competitive in the global automotive market.”

27th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

New Sizes for Toyo Regional Radial

Toyo Tire USA Corp. has added two new sizes to its Toyo M154 regional highway radial. The new sizes are 265/75R22.5 and 245/75R22.5, both in load range G.

Released last year, the M154 incorporates Toyo’s proprietary “e-balance” technology for endurance and irregular wear resistance. Toyo said the tyre is “ideal for steer applications, but well suited for use in any position” and “helps to reduce fuel consumption while delivering reliable operation.” (Tire Review/Akron)

27th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

New Advantage T/A, New G-Force Sizes Coming

Michelin North America has launched the new BFGoodrich Advantage T/A and added H- and V-rated sizes to the g-Force Super Sport A/S. Available on 1 March in 17 different H- and V-rated sizes for touring vehicle fitments, the Advantage T/A features a non-directional tread design with new “g-Grip” interlocking siping for all-weather traction and handling, the familiar BFGoodrich performance tyre aesthetics, “Equal Tension Containment System” for a consistent footprint, and “g-Wedge” sidewall stabilizer for added strength and handling capabilities. The tyre comes with a 60,000-mile limited treadwear warranty.

Coming in May will be 16 new H- and V-rated sizes for the g-Force Super Sport A/S line, covering 14- to 18-inch wheel diameters. Included are four extra load sizes. “We understand that consumers want to drive their performance vehicle in different weather conditions – without sacrificing grip in wet, dry and snow,” said Tricia Linder, MNA brand category manager for BFGoodrich tyres. “The 16 additional sizes to the g-Force Super Sport A/S tyre line will give more drivers the opportunity to experience year-round control through BFGoodrich’s track heritage providing the performance expected from a tyre, regardless of the weather.” (Tire Review/Akron)

27th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Watts Launches Sherpa Industrial Pneumatic Tyre Range

Watts Tyre Group has launched its latest industrial pneumatic tyre, the Sherpa range. According to the company, Sherpa has been designed to outperform other tyres in its class through design, construction and materials. Internal laboratory tests have shown that that range is “highly durable” and “performs exceptionally across a range of applications and environments.”

Watts CEO Jean-Paul Mindermann commented: “We are very pleased to bring this product to market, it is an exceptional tyre and one that we believe will establish us as a true contender in the premium sector with a price/quality ratio which will be hard to beat…Our dealer and OEM partners highlighted to us that they wanted a high performance pneumatic product and so we have produced one.”

27th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Kwik-Fit Warns ‘Eco-Coasters’ Not to Lose Control

What risks would you take to save money? Kwik-Fit has expressed its concern about a growing group of motorists who chance damage to their vehicles (and themselves) do to just that. The fast fit chains calls such drivers ‘eco-coasters’, and its caution comes in response to research that shows some 5.4 million “financially prudent motorists’, 15 per cent of all UK drivers, have taken to selecting a neutral gear when going downhill – just to cut their fuel bills.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone F1 Tyres Go Green

Kermit the Frog sang that ‘it’s not easy being green’, however this year’s Formula One teams may beg to differ. And while we don’t wish to declaim the truth behind Kermit’s musical lament, all race teams must do to be green in 2009 is sit back and await the arrival of Bridgestone’s soft dry weather and extreme wet weather tyres.

On February 26 the Japanese tyre major announced it will supply ‘Make Cars Green’ tyres to every team at every Formula One race this season. Through this initiative, Bridgestone says it aims to further spread the message of the ‘Make Cars Green’ environmental campaign it has been promoting globally with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile since last year.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Autopromotec 2009 Goes Green With ‘Futurmotive’ Feature

The Bologna Trade Fair Centre is set to host the 23rd, biennial Autopromotec show between 20 – 24 May 2009. According to the company behind the show, the 2009 event is set to be the biggest and most future-orientated yet. Show organisers Promotec SpA recently visited London and gave Tyres & Accessories details of what we can expect in May

A key new feature confirmed at Autopromotec 2009 is “Futurmotive,” which the organisers call “an attention-grabbing new feature showcasing environmentally sustainable technological innovations for car servicing companies. One of the show’s highlights, Futurmotive is being coordinated by Autopromotec in collaboration with Polo per la Mobilità Sostenibile (POMOS) (Centre for Sustainable Mobility) at the University of Rome La Sapienza; and the Centro Salesiano di Formazione Professionale (CNOS FAP). The new Futurmotive feature is designed to respond to increasingly widespread interest among consumers towards alternative car fuelling and maintenance, with special attention being given to fuel economy and CO2 emissions.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli to End Tyre Production at Manresa, Spain Plant

Pirelli Tyre is reportedly ending tyre manufacturing at the company’s Manresa, Spain factory on 31 December 2009. According to a Reuter’s report, the company told union officials it hoped to branch into “other activities,” however further details are not expected until April. According to the report 550 workers employees in Manresa may lose their jobs. Headcount at the plant is said to have fallen from 750 after car demand fell in Spain. The concept of establishing a logistics centre for tyre distribution is reportedly being floated as a factory alternative.

According to the Pirelli website, the Manresa factory (located in the Catalonia region of Spain) opened in 1924 and covers 211,000 square metres. Production at the plant totals 41,900 tonnes of UHP passenger and SUV tyres a year. Total employees were numbered at 1009.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Launches Wanderer SUV Tyre

Indian manufacturer MRF has announced the launch of its new tyre series for SUVs, the MRF Wanderer. The range is all-terrain with a cut-resistant compound in addition to a reinforced steel-belt package under the tread and a multi-layered carcass and the sidewall, adding up to a tyre designed for longer life. It also boasts heavy, very visible branding on the sidewall, giving it a striking appearance.

The tyre is to be released onto the domestic Indian market, with a specific focus, according to the company’s press release, on such models as the Mahindra Scorpio, the Bolero, the Xylo, the Tata Safari and the Sumo.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Supports African Charity Success

An expedition of Land Rover enthusiasts, supported by Goodyear, has completed its mission to travel 6,500 miles for a range of charitable causes across Africa. The team set out from Goodyear’s Birmingham head office, as reported on Tyrepress.com in early January, and finished in Timbuktu having donated their vehicles, along with educational and medical supplies, to good causes along the way. The charities included Sightsavers International in the Gambia and Mali, Operafrica in the Gambia and Village by village and Sabre Charitable trust in Ghana. In total eight vehicles were donated to help the charities conduct their work.

Goodyear supplied the vehicles with the brand’s market leading 4×4 tyres, the Wrangler MT/R. For such a dynamic range of terrain from roads and gravel to deserts and flood plains, the vehicles really needed high performing tyres for their journey. Having been used previously on the Land Rover G4 Challenge, the Wrangler’s ability to traverse the toughest of terrains with its reinforced side walls and aggressive shoulder blocks gave the required performance in the vast range of conditions the team encountered.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Reports 2008 Losses of $219 million

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has published losses of $219 million for the 2008 financial year. The company made profits of $120 million in 2007. 2008 group sales totalled $2.88 billion, down slightly from 2007 sales of $2.93 billion. According to a company statement detailing the financials, some of the 2008 losses can be attributed to restructuring charges from the company’s planned closure of its Albany, Georgia, tyre facility.

Cooper’s International Tire Operations division, which includes Cooper Tire & Rubber Europe, reported sales of $176 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with sales of $228 million in the same quarter of 2007. According to the company, this decrease was the result of decreased volume, offset by improved price and mix. Expansion of the facilities in China was partially affected by the decrease in demand globally for tyres. The segment was also negatively impacted by a $31 million charge for impairment of goodwill. For the full year, the segment reported net sales of $975 million, an increase of 11 per cent compared with the year before.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

The Wheels USA Show: Over Sized, Over Powered – and Over Here!

If your idea of ‘proper’ transport involves acres of chrome, a displacement measured in cubic inches and plenty of cylinders, then Santa Pod Raceway UK reckons you’ll love the Wheels USA show, held at the circuit between May 1 and 4. For an entire weekend, the Northamptonshire countryside will echo to the blissful sound of big block Hemis and flathead Fords as the cream of the UK’s American car (or should we say automobile?) fleet and their enthusiastic owners descend on the venue for a weekend of racing, dancing, and enjoyment. And although it’s a Yank-tank lovers paradise, the event is open to all genres of custom, classic and retro cars – and even motorcycles. So if you can’t afford a couple of tonnes of Detroit Iron, there’s no need to borrow or peculate the cash: Santa Pod says you’ll be made very welcome, regardless of whether you show up in a Chevy – or a Chevette.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

« Previous 1 … 166 167 168 169 170 … 205 Next »