Remember This? – March 2024

Stories from the past 20 years of T&A

Our monthly magazine column looks back at the biggest news events from the tyre industry five, 10, 15 and 20 years ago. This month’s edition looks back to March issues from 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019 for some of the biggest tyre industry news of those months. Click the month and year to access the digital edition of the relevant issue of the magazine from Tyres & Accessories’ expanding digital archive.

March 2004

In Thailand, the Goodyear tyre factory suffered damage by fire.

Kwik-Fit Fleet and LeasePlan signed “a three-year, multi million Pound deal” for tyre management, repair and replacement, covering the UK, the Netherlands, France and Germany.

March 2009

Bridgestone opened a test track facility in Thailand. The 53 hectare facility cost an estimated £36.6 million.

Malaysia said it planned to cut rubber exports in 2009 by five per cent.

March 2014

Goodyear and Sumitomo announced that their fifteen-year-long joint venture would end in the near future.

Hankook and Lanxess signed an agreement to work jointly to develop synthetic rubber technologies.

March 2019

Nokian announced that progress on the construction of a new US manufacturing facility in Dayton has been “significant” and the factory is on schedule to produce tyres in 2020.

Continental said that it would open a Middle East regional office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The project will be a joint venture with Conti’s former distributor in the area, Almutlak Trade & Industries.