Cooper Tires suspends production in Europe
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has confirmed the temporary shutdown of its tyre plants in Europe. Production at the facilities in Melksham, England and Kruševac, Serbia is being phased down this week. Both plants are expected to remain closed for at least three weeks.
Continue Reading![‘Supporting the food industry’ – Titan International’s tyre plants stay open](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/TItan-Goodyear.jpg)
‘Supporting the food industry’ – Titan International’s tyre plants stay open
Titan International, Inc., manufacturer of the Titan tyre brands as well as the Goodyear agricultural tyre lines sold in the UK, Europe and North America, says its plants are operating as normal during the COVID-19 crisis. The company describes its decision to maintain production as a “commitment to keeping its US manufacturing facilities operating as normal in order to support the food and agriculture industry.”
Continue Reading![Giti partner WS Racing secures top-10 finish in digital endurance series](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Digital-Nurburgring-Race-One.png)
Giti partner WS Racing secures top-10 finish in digital endurance series
Giti Tire Motorsport partner WS Racing achieved a top ten finish in its first race of the 2020 season – the Digital Nürburgring Endurance Series. At the virtual start in the Green Hell, drivers and teams from the Nordschleife racing series competed in a four-hour race against experienced simracing and real life racing professionals. Watch the full race below.
Continue ReadingSumitomo Rubber takes the stink out of natural rubber
Anyone who’s spent time in a garage or tyre shop knows that the smell of rubber is an acquired love. And there’s good news for those who never acquire this love - Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. has, after identifying the factors that cause natural rubber to emit an odour, developed ‘Reduced Odor Natural Rubber,’ a new type of natural rubber that emits significantly less odour.
Continue ReadingNokian Tyres temporarily closes US and Russian factories
Due to the impacts of COVID-19, Nokian Tyres will temporarily cease production at its factories in the USA and Russia. The plant in Dayton, USA will close on Friday for a minimum of two weeks. At Nokian Tyres Russian factory, the production shutdown will start on Monday, 30 March and will last for a week. Nokian Tyres will continue supplying customers through its regional warehouses.
Continue Reading![JK Tyre reduces pay for management in “unprecedented” times](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/raghupati-singhania.png)
JK Tyre reduces pay for management in “unprecedented” times
Apollo Tyres shared last Friday that its senior management would take a pay cut in response to market pressures related to the coronavirus pandemic, and yesterday the team at JK Tyre & Industries announced similar measures.
Continue Reading![Bridgestone now using 90% renewable energy in Europe](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Bridgestone_Stargard.jpg)
Bridgestone now using 90% renewable energy in Europe
In 2018, Bridgestone Europe announced that three of its tyre plants in Spain – Bilbao, Puente San Miguel and Burgos – had begun sourcing 100 per cent of their electricity from renewable sources. This programme has been extended to other facilities in the region, and the company shares that the Tatabanya plant in Hungary and Stargard and Poznan plants in Poland will be moving to 100 per cent green electricity.
Continue Reading![Tyre industry ‘braces’ for COVID-19 impact, calls for recovery support – ETRMA](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/import/thumbnail/article_medium/newspic__etrma_logo_912010271.jpg)
Tyre industry ‘braces’ for COVID-19 impact, calls for recovery support – ETRMA
The European Tyre Manufacturers’ Association has called the response to the COVID-19 pandemic “one of the biggest challenges our industry has ever faced.” It calls for “constructive dialogue between industry, EU institutions and governments” to support the workforce of around 370,000 people while an “unprecedented” level of temporary closures and shutdowns are in place, and to smooth the transition to restart activities in the sector. Secretary-general Fazilet Cinaralp also said that the tyre sector is “vital… for the European economy at large,” adding that all stakeholders would need to find ways of supporting the sector “to avoid a permanent loss of capacity, research capability and innovation.”
Continue Reading![Nokian Tyres adjusting output in Russia, freezes hiring at new USA plant](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Nokian-factory-winter-2017-2.jpg)
Nokian Tyres adjusting output in Russia, freezes hiring at new USA plant
In addition to the temporary layoffs planned for its factory in Finland and announced last week, Nokian Tyres is implementing changes at its other sites in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Production output in Russia will be flexibly adjusted “in line with global demand. While the ramp-up of Nokian’s new plant in the USA continues, the company has postponed recruitment of additional employees. Furthermore, work on the new test centre in Spain has also temporarily stopped, delaying the project.
Continue ReadingGarage staff are key workers, says Protyre
Protyre confirms that all its centres are operational at this point in time, adding that the company is monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic daily and will respond accordingly to government advice.
Continue Reading![No Pirelli Calendar for 2021 – tyre maker donating to coronavirus research](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/pirelli-cal.jpg)
No Pirelli Calendar for 2021 – tyre maker donating to coronavirus research
There will of course be 12 months next year, but you won’t be able to check that on a Pirelli Calendar. Pirelli has decided to cancel production and the launch of the 2021 Calendar, and instead ‘The Cal’ project will, in the context of other initiatives already undertaken by the company, donate 100,000 euros to the fight against and research into the coronavirus.
Continue ReadingShutdowns to cost European auto industry £29bn – GlobalData
After a period of sweeping announcements by European automakers that they are halting production at European plants for several weeks, Calum MacRae, automotive analyst at GlobalData, has quantified potential effects on industry forecasting.
Continue Reading![Apollo Tyres suspends production at four plants in India](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/apollo-tyres-chennai-unit.jpg)
Apollo Tyres suspends production at four plants in India
Several states across India have announced lockdowns in order to better deal with the COVID-19 outbreak, and as a result Apollo Tyres Ltd. has halted operations at its plants in Kalamassery & Perambra (Kerala), Limda (Gujarat) and Chennai (Tamil Nadu) until 31 March. In addition, employees in the company’s offices have been instructed to work from home.
Continue ReadingATS Euromaster: Most centres open, but priority given to emergency fleets
Even emergency vehicles need breakdown assistance, servicing and tyres, and this is one main reason why the government has authorised garages and fast-fits to remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic. ATS Euromaster confirms that most of its service centres remain open following the Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday, however they ask customers for understanding should prearranged jobs be postponed in order to prioritise emergency fleet work.
Continue Reading‘Digital first’ helps Ricardo deliver ‘business as usual’ in COVID-19 lockdown
Transport engineering and environmental consultancy Ricardo states that its investment in implementing a ‘digital first’ strategy has helped it to continue business as usual while minimising health risk in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lock-down across Asia, Europe and North America. The company said it is committed to ensuring that its service to its global customer base continues with the minimum possible interruption, while prioritising the health, safety and well-being of employees, customers and other commercial partners.
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