![GT Radial launches Champiro FE1 in Tuscany](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/FE1-car.jpg)
GT Radial launches Champiro FE1 in Tuscany
The Tuscan hills south of Montepulciano during an unusually warm and sunny spring are an idyllic setting for most occasions. Yet the choice of location for the official launch of GT Radial’s Champiro FE1 passenger car tyre was more significant than just as one of the world’s most picturesque places. The tyre is designed to tackle what Fabio Pecci-Boriani (senior product marketing manager – PCR, Giti Tire) described as “one of the most important market sectors – 15-17”, H-W speed rated, 50-65 series.” Positioned as an all-round premium passenger car tyre for C and D vehicles (including such bestsellers as the Volkswagen Golf, Peugeot 308 and Kia Cee’d) the tyre now has more than 95 per cent coverage of its target sector, following the introduction of nine new sizes (the FE1 was first (soft) launched in 2014).
Continue ReadingCooper Tire completes fuel efficient tyre project, exceeds targets
Tyre development teams at Cooper Tire & Rubber have exceeded the goals set for it under a US government project, the tyre maker reports. These results were in part achieved by utilising materials that Cooper says are not used in tyres currently available on the market. Looking forward, the various technologies developed during the project will be put together in a single concept tyre, and Cooper is evaluating the use of technologies in commercial applications.
Continue ReadingContinental Q1 2015 sales up 14% to €9.6 billion
While Continental will present its figures for the first quarter of 2015 on Thursday, the company has already published some details of what it calls a “positive start” to the year. In the three months to 31 January, the tyre maker and automotive supplier’s sales rose 14 per cent year-on-year to around €9.6 billion. Adjusted EBIT increased to approximately €1 billion. Integration costs and one-time expenses for Veyance of €37 million had a negative effect on the company results in the first quarter.
Continue ReadingElgi Rubber buys US machinery producer
India’s Elgi Rubber Co. Ltd has acquired US retreading equipment manufacturer American Equipment Manufacturing Inc., a firm better known in the market as Cincinnati Retreading/Reclamation Systems; CRS was established in 1975 as a division of American Equipment Manufacturing. The Aztec (New Mexico) headquartered firm is primarily known for its buffing machines, which are produced in the CRS factory in Fairfield (Ohio). According to media reports, Elgi Rubber intends to further expand the facility.
Continue ReadingPirelli to pay £196k following employee autoclave death
Pirelli has pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 in the case related to the September 2012 death of employee George Falder in an autoclave at the company’s Carlisle factory. The tyre maker has been fined £150,000 and ordered to pay £46,706 in prosecution costs.
Continue ReadingQ1 performance ‘well above target’, says Cooper Tire
Although the absence of Cooper Chengshan Tire (CCT) was noticeable in Cooper Tire & Rubber’s net sales during the first quarter of 2014, the tyre maker managed to increase operating margin, and excluding the impact of CCT’s divestment, increased operating income in the opening three months of the year.
Continue ReadingAutopromotecEDU 2015 schedule released
Autopromotec, automotive equipment and aftermarket exhibition to be held in Bologna, between 20 and 24 May, recently unveiled the event schedule of its AutopromotecEDU sessions. AutopromotecEDU is billed as the arena for business-to-business meetings and discussions on the current issues of the automotive aftermarket industry.
Continue ReadingHankook reports drop in 1Q sales and profit
Hankook Tire achieved a global sales revenue of KRW 1.48 trillion (1.19 billion euros) and an operating profit of KRW 203.2 billion (164 million euros) in the first quarter of 2015, both figures down on the previous year period.
Continue ReadingAlcoa Wheel Products Europe appoints new sales director
Alcoa Wheel Products Europe has named Kai Sommerlatte as sales director for the Europe, Middle East and North Africa region, effective 1 May 2015.
Continue Reading![Bridgestone excited by CV Show possibilities](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/CV-Show-2015-UK.jpg)
Bridgestone excited by CV Show possibilities
Bridgestone exhibited from a large stand at this year’s CV Show, saying that the annual event reaped “a number of quantifiable rewards with many new relationships forged”. A contract extension with Axis Fleet Management. Bridgestone also commented that visitor numbers had risen on 2014 figures, suggesting that its Bridgestone Partner network, which promises greater support to dealers and increased reductions in fleet operating costs, was an attractive proposition. The show represented the European launch of Bridgestone Partner, which will consist of over 350 truck tyre specialists across the UK and Ireland implementing Bridgestone’s ‘Total Tyre Care’ approach.
Continue ReadingCollaboration is the future…or is it?
This month I went back to school. Tyre 2015 – the fourth International Tyre Colloquium, hosted by University of Surrey to be precise. While much of the science was beyond those of us that don’t work in R&D, the concepts behind the really technical stuff are fascinating. And what’s more, they offer a unique insight into what is on the horizon in terms of tyre development, vehicle dynamics and indeed original equipment (OE) trends.
Continue ReadingUniwheels approves IPO share allotment
Wheel manufacturer Uniwheels AG has approved the allotment of 4,800,000 shares in a public offering, including 2,400,000 new shares from a share capital increase and 2,400,000 existing shares from the holding of existing shareholder Uniwheels Holding (Malta) Ltd. . Five per cent, or 240,000 of the shares offered have been allocated to retail investors and 4,560,000 (95 per cent) to institutional investors.
Continue Reading![François Michelin dies](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/michelin.jpg)
François Michelin dies
Earlier today the former Michelin head and grandson of Michelin co-founder Edouard Michelin, François Michelin, passed away at the age of 89.
Continue Reading![How Goodyear’s tyre products and technologies support ongoing growth](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/IMG_3962.jpg)
How Goodyear’s tyre products and technologies support ongoing growth
Looking around the 2015 CV Show, it’s easy to see that there is a significant amount of Goodyear-shod vehicles being exhibited. One particular example that Goodyear representatives pointed Tyres & Accessories to is the well-known truck manufacturer DAF, which brought a particularly high number of Goodyear-equipped trucks to the show. So, with this in mind, can such a strong showing in the exhibition fitment stakes be seen as a metaphor for the company’s ongoing growth? T&A met with Marc Preedy, Goodyear commercial director UK & Ireland, to find out.
Continue Reading![Victory for VMI in China intellectual property claim](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/vmi.jpg)
Victory for VMI in China intellectual property claim
The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) of China has upheld a patent infringement claim lodged by leading tyre machinery manufacturer VMI. Based on what VMI describes as “clear evidence of infringement” of a VMI tyre building drum patent by Shuangjun Plastic and Rubber Machinery Ltd., SIPO has ordered the company to stop manufacturing the product, offering it for sale and making false claims about its provenance.
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