ITMA joins Germany’s BRV
The International Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ITMA) has joined Germany’s association of tyre, wheel and car service specialists, Bundesverband Reifenhandel und Vulkaniseur-Handwerk (BRV) as an associate member
The International Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ITMA) has joined Germany’s association of tyre, wheel and car service specialists, Bundesverband Reifenhandel und Vulkaniseur-Handwerk (BRV) as an associate member
idverde, Europe’s largest provider of green services, has adopted a joint Michelin and BFGoodrich tyre policy across its entire UK fleet as it strives to streamline operations on the road.
The French-owned grounds maintenance and landscape construction company runs contracts from the Isle of Wight in the south to Wick in northern Scotland and has a 1,200-strong fleet ranging from 3.5 tonne light commercial vehicles (LCVs) travelling short distances – including panel vans, crew cab tippers and machinery transporters – to company cars operating nationwide.
Following on from last week’s announcement of the respective appointments of Michael Schwöbel und Michael Borchert as chief financial officer and chief commercial officer, London-based platform company European finTyre Distribution has announced the hiring of a new chief executive officer for its recently-acquired operations in Germany. As of 15 November, Claudio Passerini has taken on this role at European finTyre Distribution Germany Holding GmbH, Reiff Reifen und Autotechnik GmbH and tyre1 GmbH & Co. KG.
Under a cooperative deal signed with Hyundai Motor, Michelin will work together to develop a new all-season tyre for electric vehicles, and will also collaborate in the development of a bespoke tyre for a successor model to the Genesis G80 saloon. Representatives from Hyundai Motor recently visited Michelin’s research and development centre in Clermont-Ferrand, France, to sign a technical partnership agreement.
Marty McCormack drove his Kumho-shod MKII Ford Escort to a memorable outright victory in last weekend’s Roger Albert Clark Rally, a drive some have called the toughest British special stage event of the last 20 years.
The Michelin Man can perhaps be seen as the Doctor Who of the tyre world. Not only has his appeal endured over the decades, every so often he changes his physical form and habits while retaining his core values. So far Bibendum, as he’s also known, has represented Michelin in eight guises. Now he has morphed once again, and the 9th Michelin Man is ready to show his face to the world.
With sods of soil sliding from shiny shovels, work on the Continental ‘Taraxagum Lab Anklam’ research and test laboratory officially began on Monday. Construction of the facility will now begin in earnest, and Continental Reifen Deutschland anticipates that the lab, based near Germany’s Baltic coast, will be operational in autumn 2018. Continental is investing a total of 35 million euros in the project, a sum supported by a subsidy of 11.6 million euros from the Ministry of Economics in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
A new mining solution base has been set up in Western Australia to provide Bridgestone mining tyres, conveyor belts, and hydraulic hoses, as well as related services, to mine and port customers in the region. Bridgestone says the technologies and expertise accumulated at this base will be employed as the company systematically establishes new mining solution centres in areas near major mines worldwide.
The General Tire Grabber AT² will be fitted to G-Class 4x4s ex-works in the Mercedes-Benz plant in Graz, Austria. A size LT265/75 R16 tyre was chosen for original equipment supply, and the approved OE Grabber AT² can now also be ordered for replacement fitment via Mercedes dealers.
TyreSafe has announced substantial support for the national roads policing initiative to increase awareness of tyre safety to motorists on Britain’s roads. This will begin with the charity’s handover of 2,000 digital tread depth gauges for use by traffic officers across the country when they conduct stop checks at the roadside.
It’s the first time tyres will be included on the list of recommended visual vehicle checks carried out by police officers, and is considered as a significant step forward in carrying the tyre safety message directly to motorists. With accurate digital gauges to precisely measure the tread depth, drivers can immediately be made aware of the amount of tread remaining on their vehicles’ tyres. All those drivers will be reminded of the 1.6mm minimum legal limit for tread depth.
Tyre and wheel fitment data companies Fitment Group and Size It Up have announced they will merge and operate under the Fitment Group brand. The value of the merger was not disclosed. The expanded business is based in Duluth, Minnesota.
Four ATS Euromaster branches from across the UK are among the first to join BFGoodrich’s new Off-Road Centre programme. The ATS Euromaster centres – in Perth and Forfar, Scotland; Abergavenny, Wales; and Tavistock, England – have been selected to become BFGoodrich specialists based on their locations in popular off-road parts of the country to offer all-terrain tyres and services. The four ATS Euromaster centres are joined by independent North Yorkshire retailer, and NTDA Tyre Centre of the Year 2017, Ian Brown Tyres in the new Off-Road Centre initiative. BFGoodrich states that it carefully selected tyre retailers recognised by enthusiastic off-roaders as leaders in the field to become ambassadors for the company.
Firestone has announced its shortlist of six unsigned acts for its latest Battle of the Bands competition. Around 300 acts have been whittled down to six and voting is now open to the public on the tyre manufacturer’s website to decide the final three. When voting closes on 23 November, the chosen acts will go onto play in the overall grand final on 14 December in Birmingham.
Davanti Tyres has hosted a group of 40 key UK and Irish customers on a three-day driving experience through the south of France and Monaco. Driving on some of Europe’s most scenic roads, including stages of the historic Monte Carlo Rally in a fleet of classic sports cars, guests experienced the Riviera lifestyle with stays in Cannes and Nice before a final night in Monaco. Cars including Porsche 356 Speedster, Ferrari 308 GTS, AC Cobra and the Jaguar E Type Roadster.
A joint project by Trelleborg and AGCO tractor brand Valtra brings customisation to tyre sidewalls. By adding the Trelleborg YourTire service to the Valtra Unlimited Configurator, customers can personalise their Trelleborg tyres when they configure their Valtra tractor, adding their own name or the Valtra logo to the sidewall. The YourTire collaboration was unveiled at Agritechnica 2017.
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