2009 - Page 29 of 205

Micheldever Feature on BBC Breakfast TV

Micheldever Tyre Services and the AA, teamed up with the BBC to produce almost 18 minutes of BBC news coverage on Saturday 31 October. The coverage began on BBC 1, centring on the estimated 3.6 million illegal tyres running on UK roads, and was repeated on BBC News24 and the BBC website.

The BBC Breakfast news team filmed at the Micheldever’s Hampshire site, interviewing CEO Paul Fox, Marc Ainslie and a customer and pointing out the very real dangers of driving on bald or defective tyres.

2nd November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

CTNA, Hoosier to Pool Performance Tyre Know-How

Company News

A partnership initiated between Continental Tire North America and Hoosier Racing Tire carries the hope of taking the convergence of the high performance street tyre and racing tyre industries a “significant step forward.” On October 30 the two companies announced their intention to invest “substantially” into a strategic alliance involving marketing, business and research and development. Specifically, the two companies have assembled a “team of industry veterans” who now become the driving force behind the collaborative marketing, product development and implementation process.

2nd November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone to Hang Up F1 Tyre Supply Hat After 2010

News

Tyre supply to the FIA Formula One World Championship series is up for grabs as of 2011 following Bridgestone’s decision not to enter into a new supply contract when the current arrangement expires next year. Bridgestone Motorsport director Hiroshi Yasukawa expressed “deep regret” upon announcing the decision reached by the tyre major’s Board of Directors, a decision he notes was only reached after “considerable and lengthy evaluations.”

2nd November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama to Cut Leaks with Airtex

Product News

A new inner liner material developed by Yokohama Rubber is hoped to further improve the fuel saving properties of the company’s eco-tyre products. The ‘Airtex advances liner’ adheres to the inside of the tyre and features what Yokohama describes as a special resin, which when added to the conventional inner liner can “substantially reduce the volume of air naturally leaking from a tyre.” The material, says the Japanese manufacturer, is both highly impermeable and flexible. The company says that products employing Airtex have already been marketed in Japan, North America and some European countries, and the quest is now on to produce what Yokohama calls the ‘next generation Airtex’, a product that delivers near zero air leakage.

2nd November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama to Expand Expansion Plans in China

News

Yokohama Rubber has announced its decision to “beef up” the fourth phase expansion of its Hangzhou Yokohama Tire Co., Ltd. tyre production facility in order to increase production capacity from current 3 million to 5.1 million passenger car tyres a year. Planned investment in the phase four expansion as a whole is approximately seven billion yen, and production in the expanded facility is scheduled to begin in January 2011.

30th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Falken Distributing Ohtsu Truck Tyres in USA

News

Falken Tire Corp. is back in the medium truck tyre business in the USA, Tire Review reports, once again becoming the North American distributor for Ohtsu brand medium truck radials. Falken will take over marketing, sales and distribution of the Ohtsu brand as of 1 March, 2010. The Ohtsu brand is owned and produced by Sumitomo Rubber Industries, which also controls the Falken brand.

30th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Mighty Wight Duo Completes Mongolian Rally on Avon Tyres

News

A pair of Isle of Wight adventurers have crossed a third of the world – from the UK to Mongolia – on a single set of Avon Tyres. Ross Smallcombe and Seb Cnossen, whom together are Team Mighty Wight, travelled 8,230 miles on the Mongolian Rally on Avon’s ultra-durable CR322 rubber, taking in some of the world’s toughest terrains, including potholed, unmade roads, waterways and off-road areas.

30th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Kevin Howard Moves to Liftmaster

News

Liftmaster (previously known as Ranger Products UK) recently announced that the company is expanding is Commercial Workshop Equipment department. Kevin Howard, a founder member of MAHA UK, has accepted a position with the Alton based company to promote its commercial vehicle test equipment.

30th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Avon Tyres Names National Tyre Staff ‘Best of British’ Winners

News, Premium

National Tyre’s staff members Ted Midgley and Dan Taylor have been named as the winners of Avon Tyres’ Best of British promotional campaign. Dealers from across the UK were encouraged to display posters featuring the Aston Martin DBRS9 racing car from the Avon Tyres British GT Championship, and invited to enter a draw for the prizes. National Tyres’ Harrogate branch got the nod, and Midgley and Taylor presented with exclusive watches.

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30th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

BERU f1systems Reports Successful F1 Season for Innovative Infra-red TPMS

News

2009 saw the launch of a radically new technology for acquiring true tyre carcass temperature. BERU f1systems announced their DigiTyre Infrared Tyre Temperature and Pressure Monitoring System (IRTPTMS) as the first opportunity to monitor internal tyre carcass temperature. The system offers excellent resolution (0.25ºC) and accuracy (0.5ºC) across an extended temperature range (-40 ºC to 215ºC). The wheel sensor transmits pressure, air and tyre temperature at 1Hz, via antennae to the ECU. The introduction of slick tyres in 2009 meant engineers were keen to gain a greater understanding of accurate tyre temperature unaffected by heat soak.

30th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pro-Align Offers Specialist Alignment Lift

News

The emergence this year of the FS40LT four post alignment lift, distributed exclusively by Pro-Align, has reportedly created “a wave of interest in the UK market.” Fresh from winning the NTDA innovation prize for its Hunter SmartWeight system at this year’s TAFF awards, Pro-Align are now offering what the company calls specialist alignment lifts.

“The FS40LT has been developed by Provac, Hunter’s distributor in France,” Pro-Align’s Paul Beaurain explains: “Utilising years of alignment experience, they have brought together the best features to make an extremely high specification ramp, providing…the ultimate alignment service, at a price that’s no more expensive than a standard four post alignment lift.”

30th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Cruden Simulation “Offers Huge, Cost-Effective Potential to Tyre Industry”

News

The use of simulation technologies by tyre manufacturers and race teams to improve performance is not new. The perennial challenge is validating tyre models to the required level of accuracy to allow a reliable simulation of reality. To gather the vast amount of data required to make a tyre model, manufacturers can acquire tyre performance during the race and then desktop simulation tools can help to validate it – but this is often not enough. The challenge is compounded now that data for thermal modelling is required in conjunction with structural models. Driver-in-the-loop simulators, such as Cruden’s latest generation 6DOF Hexatech model, allow experienced racing or development drivers or to inject a significant dose of reality; data based on actual feel.

30th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Scorpion Launches Audi S3 2.0T Exhaust System

News

Scorpion has released its latest exhaust design, a cat-back system for the Audi S3 2.0t Quattro model introduced in 2007. While the S3 is already fast car in its original guise, Scorpion believes that the addition of its latest system will noticeably improve mid-range grunt and throttle response, plus give the car the sound that punters want.

30th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Princess Royal Thanks Transaid Volunteers

News

HRH The Princess Royal, Patron of Transaid, joined leading figures from within the UK transport and logistics industry yesterday (29 October 2009) for a celebratory buffet lunch and presentation. The event, hosted by Barclays in Canary Wharf, was held to recognise the input industry volunteers have given to the Transaid Professional Driver Training Project in Zambia.

Guests heard from several professional volunteers who have been seconded to the project over the past year, including John Cook, sponsored by Norbert Dentressangle, Nigel Williams, Training Instructor for Michelin and Jon Aspden, Regional Driver Trainer for Bibby Distribution. Each spoke of their personal experience of Zambia and how they contributed to the project, in addition to how much they learned while on their placement.

30th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

OTR Tyre Specialist Qizhou Diversifying its Range

News

In the past ten years Qingdao Qizhou Rubber Co. Ltd. has striven to expand its business in export markets and to facilitate this invested approximately US$14 million in the construction of a OTR tyre new factory in 2003. Since the completion of the facility in Qingdao (Shandong Province) in September 2004 the OTR tyre specialist Qizhou has been able to produce around 100,000 tyres per annum. Central to the company’s range is the “Marcher” brand, through which the manufacturer of the “world’s largest OTR tyres” (59/90 R63) is represented in most corners of the globe and in the original equipment market, delivering to, as an example, LeTourneau Technologies for fitment to its dump trucks. The US firm utilises crossply “Marcher” OTR tyres in size 70/70-57 84PR with a L4 tread; deliveries to Australia and North America are made and even involve the largest available LeTourneau dumpers, disclosed Qingdao Qizhou export manager Gavin Liu.

30th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

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