Test World gearing up for winter testing
Test World, the Millbrook-owned tyre and vehicle testing facility based in Northern Finland, is poised for re-opening with a full programme of outdoor winter testing as the first snowfalls signal the onset of winter. Located 300km north of the Arctic Circle, Test World’s outdoor facilities include a 20km track at its Airport Proving Ground and 80km of track at the Mellatracks Proving Ground.
Continue ReadingChanging European vehicle mix ‘vital to meet 2020-21 EU emissions goals’ – Scope
Europe’s car makers are mostly on track to meet more stringent 2020-21 EU carbon emission targets, helped by a subsidy-fuelled boom in electric vehicle sales, pooled carbon-dioxide emissions credits and incremental gains in conventional engine technology. European credit ratings agency Scope Ratings says that the chances of any of original equipment manufacturers incurring heavy fines for missing the EU’s carbon-dioxide target of 95g/km for 2020-21 are low, even though not all OEMs will meet the regulatory threshold for average fleet emissions.
Continue ReadingMichelin accused of Indonesia natural rubber deforestation “cover-up”
Campaign group Mighty Earth has published a report alleging that Michelin “covered up industrial-scale deforestation of over 2,500 hectares of rainforest in the run-up to the launch of its flagship ‘eco-friendly’ sustainable natural rubber joint venture project in Sumatra, Indonesia”. The project is currently seeking an additional $120 million in investment from green financiers. Michelin’s joint-venture Indonesia natural rubber project Royal Lestari Utama (RLU) robustly denied the allegations.
Continue ReadingMichelin signs €2.5b credit facility
Michelin has entered into a new 2.5-billion-euro revolving credit facility with a group of 19 banks. The agreement, signed by Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin and the banks on 16 October, replaces the existing 1.5-billion-euro facility dated 12 July 2011 and amended in 2012 and 2014. Michelin describes the new facility as a “back-up facility” that, jointly with the company’s euro commercial paper program, has been increased to take the group’s growth into account.
Continue ReadingA Layered Journey – Bridgestone’s new rubber sustainability campaign
Bridgestone has announced a new campaign that invites its partners to participate in building a stronger society. Called ‘A Layered Journey’, the campaign highlights the ways Bridgestone is incorporating sustainability in its value chain with a focus upon its commitment to sustainable procurement of natural rubber.
Continue ReadingETRMA reconfirms Franco Annunziato as president
The Board of Directors of the European Tyre and Rubber Manufactures’ Association has reconfirmed Franco Annunziato as its president for the next three years. Bridgestone’s vice president and senior advisor was elected for the next three years from 1 January 2021. The ETRMA said the appointment was “a strong signal of commitment and continuity to face the actual macroeconomic scenario.” Joan Vicenç Durán, from Consorcio Nacional de Industriales del Caucho, was also elected vice president at the meeting for the same three-year mandate.
Continue ReadingKordsa awarded Gold sustainability by Ecovadis
Kordsa has been awarded the Gold rating for sustainability by Ecovadis. The rating reflects the tyre and construction reinforcement material supplier’s commitment to achieving sustainability. It also calls Kordsa outstanding in the environment, sustainable procurement, workforce and human resources categories. The Gold award places Kordsa within the top companies among more than 40,000 surveyed for their sustainability credentials between 2015-2019.
Continue ReadingHella establishes Global Software House
Hella might be best known for its bulbs and ADAS, but the international automotive has announced that it expanding its global software competencies with a new Global Software House. Hella currently employs around 2,000 software experts worldwide, particularly in the field of embedded software in functional development for radar sensors, battery and steering electronics and lighting control, for example.
Continue ReadingMTS responding to recovery in a tyre market altered wholesale
There have been serious challenges to tyre distribution in 2020, and while demand has returned with the end of the national lockdown, Covid-19’s autumn rise means the spectre of spring’s market conditions looms over the winter months. This year, companies have needed to manage the operational problems posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns throughout Europe; they also needed to weigh up wildly fluctuating supply and demand. Whether there is a return to a concerted national effort similar to the UK’s actions in April and May or not, the lessons learned during this period continue to prove relevant. Meanwhile, the sector was already experiencing difficult times prior to the outbreak, with European tyre market demand flat overall in the light vehicle sector – a situation that certainly deteriorated in the pandemic. For the October magazines wholesale feature, Tyres & Accessories spoke to a range of players in the wholesale sector in Western Europe to look at the lessons of this year, and how recovery is progressing. We start with Micheldever Tyre Services, a leading UK player in the light vehicle tyre market especially, which has experienced a “strong” return of demand in the second half of the year, according to wholesale director Graham Mitchell.
Continue ReadingYokohama’s Prometeon bid: Delayed by Covid, but nearing completion
Yokohama’s Prometeon bid: Delayed by Covid, but nearing completion Today Yokohama announced that it is consolidating its OTR tyre businesses into Yokohama Off-Highway Tires, which could be read as a prelude to the announcement Yokohama’s bid for the Prometeon tyre business. Roughly a year after the story broke, Yokohama’s bid for Prometeon isn’t the best kept secret in the tyre industry. Tyres & Accessories first heard talk of Yokohama’s bid for the ex-Pirelli industrial and commercial vehicle tyre business back in July 2019. The news was reported world-wide after we broke the story in September 2019, followed days later by third-party confirmation from the Chinese side of the deal. At that time, the deal was set to go public by the end of 2019. A few months later at the start of 2020, the timeframe switched to an end-of-first-quarter 2020 deadline. Then the coronavirus pandemic happened. And in the months that have followed things have gone quiet. So, where is Yokohama’s bid for Prometeon up to? The latest news is that deal is still on-track, but that there have been a few changes along the way. Here, Tyres & Accessories brings an update on the status of the acquisition and offers a different view on the deal by looking at it from a South American perspective.
Continue ReadingYokohama consolidates OTR tyre businesses into Yokohama Off-Highway Tires
The Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. is consolidating its various off-highway businesses into a single entity. The new division – Yokohama Off-Highway Tires – will include Alliance Tire Group (ATG), which Yokohama bought four years ago and Yokohama’s off-the-road (OTR) tyre businesses across the globe. The move can also be interpreted as a prelude to the announcement of the result of Yokohama’s bid for the Prometeon tyre business, talks about which got underway last year.
Continue ReadingFrench government willing to invest in Bridgestone Bethune rescue
The French government is willing to partner with Bridgestone to save to the Bethune tyre factory the Japanese tyre manufacturer is planning to close.
Continue ReadingSailun named Transportation Partner for World Child Cancer
2020 marks Sailun’s 5th year supporting World Child Cancer as the transportation partner, alleviating the financial burden for families of children with cancer. Financially, Sailun continues its pledge to World Child Cancer – which supports children with cancer in the low and middle-income world – with a recent 50,000 euro donation.
Continue ReadingMagna Tyres Group launches portal for European market
The Magna Tyres Group has announced the launch of a new tool for dealers – the Magna tyres Portal. The company has steadily built up an extensive global dealership network and the new portal is Magna’s response to the dealers’ growing need for product details, marketing materials and technical information to be readily available. As the product range has expanded, so has the demand from the market for this information to be available online 24/7.
Continue ReadingBuilding on foundations of growth – GRI MD talks with T&A
Global Rubber Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. (GRI) has spent the last 18 years since its foundation cultivating its niche in the industrial, agricultural and construction tyre sectors. With ambitious capacity and expansion plans underway, Tyres & Accessories interviewed managing director Prabhash Subasinghe and learnt more about the company’s plans to build on its growth foundations. This interview appears in full in the November edition of Tyres & Accessories magazine. Not yet a subscriber? You can change that here.
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