Brazilian retread materials manufacturer, Vipal has announced plans to launch a couple of new tread products at this year’s Autopromotec. The 25th edition of the show coincides with the fact that Vipal itself turns 40 this year, making it something of a double celebration for the company.
Bridgestone UK’s tyre monitoring app is now being rolled out across other European markets. According to the company, the sales force assisting ‘Challenge’ app works by calculating the true cost of tyres over time and shares the performance data with all other users, before providing performance comparisons against competitors’ tyres – all on the user’s tablet.
Deployed in 2012, the technology has revolutionised Bridgestone’s sales process and is now regarded as a strategic tool, after being created by RNF Digital. Bridgestone’s product and marketing manager Andy Mathias said: “We are proud of our innovative use of technology to help serve our customers and sales force. The application that we developed in the UK is now being used across Europe and is even being trialed in North and South America.”
Triangle and TYM International have jointly announced the Chinese tyre manufacturer’s purchase of a 10 per cent share of its UK distributor’s business. TYM International general manager, Steve Eke and Triangle Group board chairman, Ding Yuhua exchanged documents during the Triangle Group’s 2013 Global Business Summit at the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel, Shanghai on 18 May. The purchase is currently subject to ratification by the Commerce Department of the Chinese Government, though both parties are confident that the deal will proceed smoothly. This year marks the tenth anniversary of TYM’s distribution of Triangle passenger car, truck and bus, and off-the-road products and Eke told Tyrepress.com that he was very pleased to have converted “the customer-supplier relationship into a partner relationship.”
Johnson Controls, whose product portfolio includes the Varta, Optima, LTH and Helia battery brands, has appointed Kim Metcalf-Kupres to the newly-created position of vice-president and chief marketing officer (CMO). In this role she will report to vice-chairman Alex Molinaroli.
Many tyre makers are involved in motorsport activities, and a racetrack presence can indeed do wonders for a brand’s public profile. Yokohama Rubber has announced its participation in a technical partnership with a difference – it recently became the first tyre manufacturer to serve as official technical partner to the popular ‘Gran Turismo’ series of motor racing video games. Yokohama lent its expertise to the latest version, Gran Turismo 6.
High levels of grip and traction are not just important in vehicle tyres, and to emphasise this Continental has shed some light onto an oft-overlooked part of its business. In addition to manufacturing commercial, consumer and off-road tyres, the German manufacturer has supplied rubber compounds to adidas for the past few years. These compounds are used to produce non-slip soles for more than 30 models of men and women’s running and trekking shoes. The tyre maker says the Continental sole has extremely effective non-slip qualities.
“We are delighted that the adidas running shoes with our rubber compound technology developed in Hanover are helping many professional athletes to achieve new personal best times and break course records,” comments David O’Donnell, head of R&D for passenger car and light truck tyres at Continental. “This shows the potential long-term benefits of looking beyond your immediate industry for new technology and solutions. During the development of our premium products, which stand out primarily due to exceptionally good grip in the wet, we even looked at gripping mechanisms from the animal kingdom – cats and polar bears in particular – and also focused on the production of rubber from dandelion plants.”
Johnson Controls, the world’s leading supplier of automotive batteries, will provide its Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) battery technology to Chery Jaguar Land Rover for fitment in vehicles manufactured in China for the domestic market, including those with Start-Stop technology.
In March, Bridgestone Europe launched its new consumer segment website, auto.bridgestone.eu. The site, produced together with UK-based digital communications agency Amaze, and Belgian ICT group Cegeka, was initially only available in English. The tyre maker has announced that the website is now available in four further languages – French, German, Italian and Spanish. These lingual additions mean the auto.bridgestone.eu now caters to consumers in the five major European tyre markets. Bridgestone Europe says additional country sites will be rolled out in the coming months.
As part of Heuver Tyrewholesale’s plan to create country-specific sales teams, the Netherlands-based wholesaler has hired Marjolein Dangremond as sales representative for its earthmover tyres business. Dangremond began in her new role on 1 April and will be the ‘right hand woman’ of manager Bert van ´t Holt. Her focus will be on international markets, particularly French-speaking ones.
Apollo Tyres’ Chennai facility in southern India has won the Platinum prize in the large size category of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FICCI) Quality Systems Awards for Manufacturing 2012. This highest-level award was presented to Apollo Tyres by Saurabh Chandra, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India.
A new Government-backed car MOT and Service business has been launched online offering great savings for car owners nationwide. Approved Garages has over 350 industry approved garages throughout England, Scotland and Wales, with more garages joining every day. The simple online service allows customers to quickly find their nearest reputable garage for all their vehicle requirements, specialising in competitive MOT and Services for all car makes and models.
TRACKER, the stolen vehicle recovery (SVR) company, warns people not to save their home address into their SatNav system, as it could lead car thieves right to their front door. Thieves in stolen vehicles are using the in-car technology to find an owner’s home and burgle their house, as well as stealing their car.
On Saturday 29th June 2013 over 200 outstanding vintage and classic cars and motorcycles will set out from Ascot Racecourse on a 20 mile Rally Tour via beautiful Windsor Great Park en route to Broomhall Recreation Ground, Sunningdale. There they will be displayed as a focal point for the Lynwood Summer Fete starting at 12.30 pm.
The Road Haulage Association welcomes the news that Transport Minister Patrick McLoughlin is considering increasing the fine for dangerous driving offences, including texting or making a phone while behind the wheel, by 50 per cent.
This means that the fixed penalty for using a handheld device while driving would go up from £60 to £90, while other offences like running a red light, driving without a seatbelt and speeding will also fetch a higher charge.
Almost precisely seven years after Edouard Michelin’s fatal accident, his father and legendary head of the Michelin-clan, François Michelin (87), has granted French weekly magazine Paris Match a rare interview and divulged a glimpse into his emotional life. François Michelin, whose daughter-in-law, Edouard’s wife, Cecilia died of cancer in 2011, today lives in retirement home in Auvergne, free from every luxury.
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