Continental unites European tyre services portfolio within Conti360° Solutions
Continental has brought together its range of tyre services for the fleet sector under the banner of Conti360° Solutions. Going forwards, fleet solutions will be offered as an overall package: The Conti360° Solutions contracts comprise both digital solutions such as ContiConnect and ContiPressureCheck, and ContiLifeCycle – including the ContiRe and ContiTread retreading products and casing management.
Continue ReadingGRI supplies Ultimate XT forklift tyres to KION Group
GRI has commenced its supply of original equipment tyres to the KION Group, one of the worlds leading providers of industrial trucks and supply chain solutions. KION selected GRI’s Ultimate XT premium plus tyre for its Linde Material Handling forklift trucks, produced in Germany. GRI manufactures its speciality tyres in Sri Lanka, using some of the latest technology and locally sourced natural rubber. It calls the OE deal a milestone for its product development.
Continue ReadingPoint S celebrates 50 years
The year 2021 is the Golden Jubilee of Point S, the multi-national tyre and car maintenance group and, to mark this milestone, the company takes a look back at 50 successful years – and a look forward too. Back in 1971, the market for tyres, car accessories and repairs was very different from what it is now, with motorists’ choice of brands limited to what the local garage had in stock at the time. Things began to change when 50 French independent garage owners came together with the aim of offering new and higher standards of service, a better choice of products and competitive prices. And so, Point S was born.
Continue ReadingJinyu Vietnam factory produces first truck tyre
Jinyu’s Vietnamese tyre plant has produced its first TBR tyre. The milestone for the new facility caps nine months of intense construction, as the project team of Jinyu (Vietnam) Tire Co, Ltd overcome multiple challenges including the Covid-19 pandemic. The facility includes 19 buildings over 130,000 square meters, containing 894 pieces of equipment. The production of the first tyre at 10:08 on 30 March 2021 marks the completion of the production line and lays a solid foundation for the start of volume production in May.
Continue ReadingFast feet at 50 – Kwik Fit fitters dance to raise awareness of prostate cancer risk
Kwik Fit is marking its 50th birthday by encouraging people to don their overalls and dancing boots and do the famous ‘Kwik Fit fitter dance’, whilst helping to highlight the increased risk of prostate cancer to men aged over 50.
Continue ReadingBridgestone: Sale of Firestone Building Products completed
Bridgestone Corporation reports that its Bridgestone Americas, Inc. subsidiary has completed the sale of Firestone Building Products to Holcim Participations (US) Inc, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim Ltd. (LafargeHolcim). According to the Japanese company, the US$3.4 billion transaction will “advance Bridgestone’s efforts to deliver value to customers and society as a global leader providing tyres and advanced mobility solutions.”
Continue ReadingTransaid picked for project to improve public transport provision in Lusaka
Transaid has been selected by the sustainable transport planning and research consultancy, ITP, to support the development of a road map for providing improved public transport services in Lusaka, in a major new project funded by the World Bank. The Zambian capital is one of the fastest developing cities in southern Africa, with its metro area population growing by nearly five per cent annually for the last 20 years. Yet it remains almost entirely reliant on minibuses for intracity public transport, supported by a smaller number of buses and taxis.
Continue ReadingNokian Tyres ramping up car tyre capacity in Finland
Nokian Tyres is increasing production capacity for passenger car tyres at its factory in Finland approximately 30 per cent by adopting a four-shift production schedule. To accommodate this capacity increase, it will hire around 70 new workers for passenger car tyre production in Nokia, Finland. Recruiting begins immediately and four production shifts will be in action by the start of August at the latest.
Continue ReadingContinental orders new Ansible Motion simulator
Continental has become the first tyre manufacturer to order Ansible Motion’s all-new advanced Driver-in-the-Loop (DIL) simulator, the Delta S3. Simulation technology, which is now capable of modelling tyre performance to an extreme degree of accuracy, is increasingly employed by car manufacturers and original equipment suppliers, such as tyre manufacturers. Conti’s decision to bring in the latest DIL simulation technology is informed by the need to mirror its OEM customers’ development processes, but the system’s most important effect will be the efficiency benefits it delivers, as Dr. Boris Mergell, head of research and development of the Tires business area at Continental, explains. “Developing and testing premium tyres is a highly complex, time-intensive process. By using the new dynamic driving simulator, we will make this development process even more efficient in the future.”
Continue ReadingLesjöfors goes fossil-free and reduces emissions by up to 90 per cent
On April 1, the subsidiary Lesjöfors Fjädrar in Mid-Sweden began the shift to biogas, which is a fossil-free energy source. The green transition will reduce the company’s carbon dioxide emissions by 70-90 per cent. Lesjöfors Fjädrar has previously used propane gas as the energy source, which is a fossil-based fuel. The plant is one of the Lesjöfors Groups top consumers of gas. The biogas system estimates to reduce the companys carbon dioxide emissions by 70-90 per cent (1,600-2,000 tonnes) on an annual basis, calculated “well to wheel”.
Continue ReadingKumho Tire appoints Il Taik Jung as president and CEO
Il Taik Jung has been appointed Kumho Tire president and CEO. Jung joined the company in 1988 having previously held several senior positions. These include head of both the R&D Centre and Quality Division. Kumho states that these experiences are among the strengths that have led to his latest promotion. Jung is tasked with promoting an agile organisation culture that can quickly react to changing tyre markets and consumer needs at Kumho, the company states. Jung says that “R&D technology is the means by which future responsiveness in a competitive environment is best developed.”
Continue ReadingThe “Ever Given” logjam highlights tyre price increase pressures
As the April edition of Tyres & Accessories went to press, the story of the Ever Given – the 400-metre long container ship that got wedged in the Suez canal – was getting a surprising amount of news coverage. The spectacle of a ship the length of four football pitches was enough to capture the attention of many. For others, the anecdotes of tenacious tug pilots and plucky digger drivers trying to free the gargantuan vessel from its unscheduled moorings did the trick. But for those in the tyre trade – and hundreds of other lines of work connected with global logistics – there were solid business reasons for their interest. “How many boxes have you got on the Ever Given?”, one tyre wholesaler asked. “It’s times like this…”, the other comically replied leaving the rest of his reply to the imagination.
Continue ReadingVersalis, Bridgestone co-developing high performance tyre elastomers
Enis chemical company Versalis and Bridgestone EMIA are jointly developing raw materials for high performance tyres following an agreement between the firms to collaborate. Versalis, a leader in the production and marketing of elastomers, had previously formed a strategic partnership in North America. Developing this relationship in the EMIA region, the two companies will research, production and supply of synthetic rubber with advanced properties.
Continue ReadingTest World gearing up for introduction of European Ice Grip Label
Ahead of May’s introduction of the new-style European tyre label, Test World has begun ice grip testing for customers at its facility in Ivalo, Northern Finland. The existing 3PMSF ‘snowflake’ symbol indicates that a tyre is suitable for both Central Europe and Nordic countries, but Test World says that, in reality, the technical demands of these two markets are very different. Nordic winter conditions are typically far harsher than in Central Europe, with more snow and ice on the roads.
Continue ReadingBridgestone discusses ‘multi-faceted fleet customer approach’
Commercial vehicle tyre suppliers are increasingly required to be multifaceted in their approach. Following its acquisition of TomTom Telematics in 2019 (now known as Webfleet Solutions), Bridgestone’s transition from tyre producer to mobility solutions provider with increasingly integrated approaches to fleet services moved up several gears. Demand for fleet-based mobility grows year-on-year, the tyre manufacturer says, with fleet managers demanding reliable and innovative services to maximise their effectiveness and efficiency. Webfleet Solutions has allowed Bridgestone to support business process streamlining with seamless end-to-end systems. These include transport management systems, on-board cameras, and route optimisation.
Continue Reading