2009 - Page 38 of 205 - Tyrepress

Chris Mullins Tyres Supports ‘Lifesaver in Your Pocket’ Campaign

Gloucester tyre retailer Chris Mullins Tyres has thrown its weight behind TyreSafe’s ‘lifesaver in your pocket’ tread depth awareness campaign this October. “Anything that helps drivers become more conscious of their tyres has to be a good thing and this campaign is ideally timed to get that message across in the run-up to winter“ said Chris Mullins, who runs a busy independent business on Gloucester’s Bristol Road. “We’ve used the TyreSafe posters and leaflets in the centre and they’ve definitely created a talking point with customers,” he added.

19th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Techking Introduces Service Centre Concept

During the CITExpo exhibition Techking Tires focused upon presenting its new “Techking Service Centers” (TSC) to interested parties. TSC is a training and educational facility for customers through which can gain information on topics such as tyre repair and maintenance from Techking specialists. Just recently the Qingdao, China based OTR tyre specialist inaugurated the first TSC as its head office location; it serves as a model for further centres, explains Techking Marketing’s Benjamin Zhang. The first TSC outside of China, located in the vicinity of a local customer will soon open in South Africa. This is, incidentally, an essential component of the TSC concept – the service centres will typically be built in partnership with customers, with all essential equipment and operations supplied. “Our goal is to supply the highest quality tyre solutions possible,” Zhang continues. And, according to Zhang, this is a “key point of difference between us and the competition.”

19th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Reports: Continental May Sell Bonds in Refinancing Move

Continental AG, is reportedly planning to sell bonds to refinance its debt. Bloomberg quoted two people “familiar with the situation” as saying the move follows HeidelbergCement AG’s so-called junk-bond sale. In this case demand outstripped supply and HeidelbergCement raised 2.5 billion euros selling its bonds. At the same time, Morgan Stanley made “large upward adjustments” to its earnings for Continental, its 2010 earnings per share predictions by 128 per cent to 2.74 euros. The analysts also raised their 2011 and 2012 estimates to 5.14 and 6.35 euros (up 52 and 32 per cent respectively). The bank’s new price target is now 37 euros, up 131 per cent from its previous position of 16 euros.

19th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Peter Taylor Picks Up OBE

Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) secretary general and Imported Tyre Manufacturer’s Association (ITMA) director Peter Taylor received his OBE during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Thursday, 15 October. The award was presented by Her Majesty The Queen. Taylor received the award for services to the tyre industry and for his contribution to the businesses ground breaking tyre recovery and recycling programme.

19th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Nankang Presents New Winter Tyres

For the last few years CITExpo has been a fixture in the Nankang Rubber Tire Corporation’s annual events calendar. And the tyre maker, one of Taiwan’s largest, does not head to Shanghai each year just to give the exhibition an international flavour – as Eric Shih, marketing and project manager for Nankang’s export department, explained to Tyres & Accessories, the CITExpo show offers a “good chance to do tyre business.” Hence Nankang is always pleased to return to the exhibition. Admittedly, the Taiwanese company didn’t have far to travel to reach CITExpo: Nankang has an office in Shanghai and since 2003 has operated a factory in nearby Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province.

19th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Hasta La Vista, Scrap Tyres…

In a move that is perhaps a faint nod to his former career, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill permitting usage of a portion of the state’s scrap tyre recycling funds to “terminate” the presence of scrap tyres on the Mexico side of the California-Mexico border. The money will be used to reduce scrap tyre levels and encourage the establishment of recycling projects.

19th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Wincanton Establishing Direct Imports Capability for Micheldever

Micheldever Tyres has appointed logistics services provider Wincanton Plc to set up a direct import and trunking solution for the business. This arrangement will see a portion of an existing Wincanton site in Kettering, Northamptonshire set aside as a ‘direct import centre’ for Micheldever. From here more than 50,000 tyres will be shipped to wholesale distribution centres throughout the UK, which in turn will supply 22 per cent of the national tyre market. According to Wincanton, the new solution will reduce lead-times onto site following arrival at the port plus reduce product movement and handling across the network.

19th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook Tire Seeking Engineers for ETC

Hankook Tire has announced plans to top up the talent pool at its Europe Technical Center (ETC) in Germany. The Korean tyre maker intends to take on three new engineers before the end of the year, increasing the number of developmental team specialists at the Langenhagen site near Hanover to 36. These new additions follow three other new appointments at the centre this year; in total, the developmental team will grow by more than 16 per cent during 2009 – a growth rate, as Hankook notes, that meets the company’s economic growth.

19th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Steven Zhou Named New Cooper Chengshan General Manager

Chuck Taylor’s time in the role of general manager at Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Co. Ltd. (CCT) is drawing to a close, and Cooper Tire has named his successor. On December 11, new general manager Steven Zhou will take over responsibility for planning, directing and coordinating the manufacturing operations at CCT. Zhou will report directly to Asian Operations Vice President and General Manager Allen Tsaur.

19th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bandvulc to Keep Yuill & Dodds Fleet on the Move

Scottish haulage specialist Yuill & Dodds Ltd has appointed Bandvulc Tyre Contracts to manage its hundred-plus strong fleet of vehicles. Bandvulc will provide support for a diverse vehicle range including long distance articulated units and off-road eight wheel vehicles, and the operation will be supported by Bandvulc Tyre Contract’s 24/7/365 Tyre Support Unit, which offers a network of over 500 service providers. Coverage and response times across the UK will be optimised by Bandvulc Tyre Contracts’ independence and ability to select from a number of service provider options, the company comments. The agreement also sees Bandvulc’s drive and trailer axle tyres fitted as policy fitments across the fleet.

19th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Tire Test Driver Wins Westfield Series

Cooper Tire’s development test driver, Chris Davison has won the 2009 Westfield Sportscar Series. Davison’s day job involves driving quickly and consistently so that Cooper can evaluate the development of new tyres, giving him a significant amount of practice that was clearly put to excellent use. The title was decided between Sutton-born Davison and title contender Simon Pryke, from Leicester.

16th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Passenger Car Registrations Up in September

European passenger car registrations in September received a boost from markets with government sponsored scrappage schemes in place, particular those countries where the schemes are winding up. The whole European market rose 6.6 per cent and the Western European by 9.6 per cent during the month compared with September 2008, the largest leap since 1999. In absolute figures, however, September 2009 registrations stayed below the levels reached since 2002.

16th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear to Sell Luxembourg Steel Cord Plant

Goodyear has openly stated its desire to sell the company’s Luxembourg steel cord factory. As it disclosed to the “Luxemburger Wort” newspaper, talks with “four potential buyers” are underway, including with Belgium’s Bekaert, global top supplier of steel cord. The newspaper adds that the wire plant’s sale could be interpreted to be part of “Goodyear’s new management policy, one it wants in future to focus as far as possible concentrate upon the core business of tyre production, a change in strategy that Goodyear’s employees were recently informed about through an internal notice.” A company spokesperson told the newspaper that no contracts have been made and no offer as yet given. A buyer has also not yet been selected.

16th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Aufine Presents an Extended Truck Tyre Range

International News, News

Ever since the Aufine Group owned factory in Dongying, Shandong Province entered operation in 1986, it has specialised in truck tyres. Nevertheless, the company has considered broadening its range. As general manager David Sun explained during the CITExpo exhibition, Aufine – whose name was chosen due to its phonic similarity to the words “all fine” – has recently mulled over the idea of a passenger car tyre factory. According to Sun, Aufine calculates an RMB 700 million investment (£63.6 million) is required to establish a planned factory capable of producing five million passenger car tyres per year. These plans, admittedly, have been laid on ice indefinitely due to the global recession. If and when the Aufine Group finally presses ahead is a decision heavily dependent upon the future development of global markets, not least the US market. Should the decision be made to press ahead with the new factory, the company’s aim is to produce “high quality tyres in China,” David Sun emphasises.

16th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin OE on New Renaultsport 250 Cup

The new Megane Renaultsport 250 Cup, due out in January 2010, will come fitted with 235/40 ZR 18 Michelin Pilot Sport 2 high-performance tyres as standard. The new car will be available with the standard Sport chassis with the Cup chassis option for even more track-focussed performance. In addition to Michelin tyres, the Cup chassis will also feature different springs and dampers, a thicker anti-roll bar and a limited slip differential to help push track performance to the highest levels. According to the company, the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 is Michelin’s high-performance road tyre and is inspired by the Company’s past experience in Formula 1, it is also fitted as standard to the Bugatti Veyron.

The tyre features a Variable Contact Patch that increases the area of tread in contact with the road as cornering force increases and an asymmetric tread pattern which has a rubber-to-groove ratio close to that of an F1 tyre. Michelin’s Pilot Sport 2 is available in various sizes to suit most high-performance cars and the Megane Renaultsport 250 will be available to order from November, with customer deliveries starting in January 2010.

16th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

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