![GT Radial winter coach tyre takes bow at Euro Bus Expo 2016](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/GSW226.png)
GT Radial winter coach tyre takes bow at Euro Bus Expo 2016
The GT Radial GSW226 will make its show debut at the Birmingham NEC’s Euro Bus Expo 2016. The brand’s first specifically winter-marked tyre for the sector is targeted at coach operators who need to meet UK and trans-European winter road regulations. GT Radial manufacturer Giti Tire will also use the show as an opportunity to broaden awareness of the company’s flagship Giti brand, which entered Europe earlier in 2016.
Continue Reading![Nissan commits to Sunderland plant despite Brexit](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Nissan-stats.jpg)
Nissan commits to Sunderland plant despite Brexit
Nissan Motor Company Ltd. has committed to producing the next Qashqai crossover vehicle in Sunderland. Executives had warned that this may not happen following the UK’s decision to leave the European Union. However, not only has the company received satisfactory assurances to continue with production of the Qashqai for the next few years (the next Qashqai model is expected to be made in 2018 or 2019). Nissan also confirmed that it will add production of the next X-Trail model at its Sunderland as well in something of a surprise move.
Continue ReadingVMI wins case against Safe-Run
Netherlands-based leading tyre manufacturing machinery maker VMI reports that it has won its first patent invalidation case against Chinese firm Safe-Run. As part of ongoing legal action commenced by VMI against Safe-Run, VMI filed for invalidation of a number of Safe-Run patents. Recently, the Chinese Patent Review Board has ruled in this case and invalidated the first Safe-Run patent in its entirety as the patent “was based on prior art”.
Continue Reading![Avon Cobra tyre OE on Triumph Bonneville Bobber](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Avon-Cobra-tyre-OE-fitment-for-Triumph-Bonneville-Bobber.png)
Avon Cobra tyre OE on Triumph Bonneville Bobber
British motorcycle manufacturer Triumph has selected the Avon Cobra tyre as the original equipment fitment for the newly launched Triumph Bonneville Bobber. Avon’s 100/90-19 57V Cobra, which exists within the current motorcycle tyre range, has been further developed to improve performance and is the front tyre of choice on Triumph’s latest bike.
Continue Reading![Pirelli and Milan Bicocca University continue eco tyre development partnership](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Foto-1.jpg)
Pirelli and Milan Bicocca University continue eco tyre development partnership
Pirelli and Milan Bicocca University’s CORIMAV eco-tyre cooperation agreements has resulted in one patent a year, 44 student scholarships and 36 doctoral scholarships since it began in 2001. These results and all the advanced materials research resulting from the recently renewed partnership between Pirelli and Milan Bicocca University, was celebrated at an event attended by Pirelli’s CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera and the rector of the university, Cristina Messa.
Continue ReadingFM Tyres a reliable partner to wholesalers
The last time Tyrepress.com spoke with Frank van Leeuwen, he was still managing director at Dutch wholesaler Euro-Tyre. He left the company in 2014 and subsequently formed a new business with former Euro-Tyre purchasing manager Mischa Driessen; today the pair are still based in Venlo as shareholders and partners in FM Tyres, and draw upon their more than 20 years of experience in the tyre business in their new role as “reliable partner” to wholesalers around the world.
Continue ReadingUpdate: Goodyear’s Philippsburg tyre plant to close next year
It appears that Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s will close its passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyre factory in Philippsburg, Germany by the end of next year, subject to consultation with relevant employee representative bodies. A Form 8-K’ report published by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on 20 October states that Goodyear “expects to be substantially complete with this rationalisation plan by the end of 2017,” and estimates total pre-tax charges associated with the plant closure will be “between US$240 million and $280 million.”
Continue Reading![Davanti Tyres: New winter & run-flat ranges, Shanghai sales office](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/davanti-sml.jpg)
Davanti Tyres: New winter & run-flat ranges, Shanghai sales office
By the time Tyres & Accessories caught up with Davanti Tyres towards the end of CITExpo, the team was looking back at a full year of trade fairs – the Shanghai show was the company’s last major exhibition for 2016. Yet although Davanti Tyres is now taking a breather from the show circuit, its work promoting the brand continues.
Continue ReadingCGS acquisition lifts Trelleborg Wheel Systems’ Q3 2016 sales
Sweden’s Trelleborg AB reports that net sales within its Trelleborg Wheel Systems business rose 79 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2016 to SEK 1.86 billion (£179.2 million); the full consolidation of CGS during the quarter contributed to 78 per cent of this growth, with organic sales increasing by just one per cent.
Continue Reading![Doublestar forms European joint venture with Zenises](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/doublestar.jpg)
Doublestar forms European joint venture with Zenises
On 22 September 2016 Doublestar Europe Ltd was registered as a UK company based in London. Tyres & Accessories understands that the company is a joint venture between Zenises and growing Chinese tyremaker Qingdao Doublestar designed to bring Chinese products into European markets.
Continue ReadingGoodyear to shut Philippsburg tyre plant in Germany
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany has released a statement regarding the planned closure of its tyre factory in Philippsburg, northwest of Stuttgart. The closure will occur as part of the tyre maker’s efforts to reduce overcapacity for low-margin products. A timetable for winding-down production in Philippsburg has not yet been made public, and the plant’s closure will follow negotiations with employee unions. Some 890 jobs are expected to be lost.
Continue ReadingLayoffs at Yokohama tyre plant in the USA
Local news sources report that Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia (YTMV) will lay off 50 workers from its Salem facility over the next few weeks. According to WDBJ7, the Salem plant manager confirmed the layoffs last Friday, and the tyre maker wrote in a statement that that “the positions are being phased out to more effectively streamline YTMVs current production schedule and inventory capacity.”
Continue Reading![Wingfoot Two: Second Goodyear blimp ‘christened’](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/wingfoot2-sml.jpg)
Wingfoot Two: Second Goodyear blimp ‘christened’
A crowd of more than 2,000 spectators looked on last Friday as a ceremonial bottle of champagne was broken over the nose of Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s newest blimp and it was officially given the name Wingfoot Two. The 246 foot airship was built in the USA by German firm Zeppelin NT and is the second of the new-generation ‘blimp’ fleet to enter service. It and its older sibling the Wingfoot One, which took to the air in 2014, are 50 feet longer than the previous generation of blimps and, at 73 mph, can travel more than 20 mph faster.
Continue Reading![Powered by Continental – low-voltage hybrid system introduced](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/conti-48volt-sml.jpg)
Powered by Continental – low-voltage hybrid system introduced
When not producing tyres, Continental is a major player in the automotive systems sector, and now its products are also providing cars with extra oomph and greater fuel efficiency. The company reports it is “electrifying” one diesel variant of both the new Renault Scénic and Grand Scénic models.
Continue Reading![Heuver Tyrewholesale accommodating growth with added warehouse capacity](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Heuver-storage.jpg)
Heuver Tyrewholesale accommodating growth with added warehouse capacity
Increasing sales can create pressure at specific points along a company’s distribution chain, and Heuver Tyrewholesale reports that sales growth over the past year did just that at its warehouse in Hardenberg, the Netherlands. According to the wholesaler, capacity issues “endangered the delivery times promised to customers.” In response, Heuver Tyrewholesale examined the layout of its warehouse, and has installed a tailor-made storage rack that increases warehouse capacity by 3,000 square metres.
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