![Titan to Trump: We’re not the Goodyear you want to avoid](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/gy-anti-discrimination.jpg)
Titan to Trump: We’re not the Goodyear you want to avoid
In order to prevent damage from ‘friendly fire’, Titan International Inc. has issued a statement distancing itself from the spat between US President Donald Trump and the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Titan wants to make it clear that there is absolutely no link between it and the alleged Goodyear diversity training document that’s circulating on the internet.
Continue Reading![Exactly which tyres Mr President?](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/car-tyres-63928_1920.jpg)
Exactly which tyres Mr President?
This publication stands by a long-standing precedent of being a-political. Rather like the saying that it is bad manners to talk religion or politics while dining, we have historically opted not to take a line on such issues. Propriety aside, there is another particular good reason for this approach. During the nearly eight decades since Tyres & Accessories was published in 1946, 16 prime ministers and many more governments have come and gone, but one thing has remained: the motoring public’s demand for tyres has continued and even grown in the medium and long-term. But this column isn’t finishing school, so why the discussion on protocol? We don’t normally engage in politics, but this month politics engaged with the tyre business more directly than ever before when US President Donald Trump told US motorists: “Don’t buy GOODYEAR TIRES”, adding: “Get better tires [sic] for far less!” (see pages President Trump attacks Goodyear for further details of the furore).
Continue Reading![Tomket Tires signs two-year Glasgow Rangers sleeve-sponsorship](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/AG1P9440.jpg)
Tomket Tires signs two-year Glasgow Rangers sleeve-sponsorship
Glasgow Rangers have confirmed Tomket Tires as a new sleeve partner for the next two seasons, commencing in the 2020/21 season. Through the partnership, Tomket Tires will reportedly have “a significant presence around Ibrox” including on the interview backdrops and LED boards.
Continue ReadingBridgestone to close Port Elizabeth, South Africa bias agri tyre plant
Bridgestone Southern Africa (BSAF) has announced that it will close its bias tyre manufacturing plant in Port Elizabeth, a decision affecting 252 employees. The move is in line with the company’s plans to focus on premium profitable growth segments. The Port Elizabeth plant is geared towards the production of older bias tyres, which are globally in decline and being phased out in South Africa, due to their unprofitability. BSAF is also feeling the effects of a shrinking economy and an influx of cheap imports, leading to its operational restructuring plan. It added that the conversion of the plant to produce radial tyres would require a multi-billion-rand investment, which it deemed unfeasible in the current economy.
Continue Reading![Trump, the presidential limo and its tyres](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Presidents_limousine_outside_hotel-scaled.jpg)
Trump, the presidential limo and its tyres
It is an open secret that the US presidential limo, affectionately known as “the beast” runs on Goodyear tyres. What many people are less aware of is that – owing to the fact that “the beast” has significant amounts of armour plating – unlike most limousines, the US presidential limo is actually fitted with 19.5-inch truck tyres that are better suited to the vehicle’s increased load. Whatever the fitment, 24 hours after Donald Trump tweeted “Don’t buy GOODYEAR TIRES”, adding: “Get better tires for far less!”, one has to ask if the current incumbent of the White House will be taking his own advice.
Continue Reading![GRI develops Sri Lanka’s first winter OTR tyre](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GRI-Winter.jpg)
GRI develops Sri Lanka’s first winter OTR tyre
GRI has developed what is purportedly Sri Lanka and the company’s first winter off-the-road (OTR) tyre for the Japanese market. Designed in collaboration with its Japanese partner, the Gripex Snow tyre is designed to withstand the winter weather and distinct terrain of Hokkaido prefecture in northern Japan. The new tyre is fitted on vehicles used in sub-zero temperatures in order to offer “optimal traction and higher stability on snow”.
Continue Reading![President Trump attacks Goodyear in tweet](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/goodyear-logo.jpg)
President Trump attacks Goodyear in tweet
Goodyear has been forced to release an official response after US President Donald Trump urged motorists not to buy its tyres in a social media message. On 19 August, the President rebuked Goodyear in an apparent critique of its “One Team” equality policies, saying: “Don’t buy GOODYEAR TIRES - They announced a BAN ON MAGA HATS”. He further suggests that motorists could “Get better tires for far less!” – pointedly undermining the company’s premium brand positioning and performance without reference to any tyre performance or price data.
Continue ReadingMeasuring tyre wear with on-car radar
Since October 2018, four researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in the USA have worked together with Bridgestone to develop a means for vehicles to automatically measure tyre wear. The result of this collaboration is Osprey, a mmWave sensing system that reportedly can provide accurate measurements of tyre wear in real-time.
Continue Reading![Cooper Tire breaks ground on USA distribution centre](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cooper-distribution-centre.jpg)
Cooper Tire breaks ground on USA distribution centre
A ceremony was held on 18 August to mark the start of work on Cooper Tire’s newest regional distribution centre in the USA. The 1 million square foot (92,900m²) facility in Whiteland, Indiana is located near the tyre maker’s Franklin distribution centre and will replace the existing site once it commences operations early next year.
Continue Reading![Trico rebrands as First Brands Group, acquires US brakes, filtration companies](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/231115_004.jpg)
Trico rebrands as First Brands Group, acquires US brakes, filtration companies
The automotive replacement parts manufacturer, Trico Group, has announced its new name: First Brands Group, along with the addition of two new brands to its growing portfolio. The company said the adoption of its new identity “reflects its position as a multi-brand global player.” First Brands Group also announced the acquisition of two market-leading US manufacturing companies: brake parts specialist Brake Parts Inc (BPI) and filtration expert, Champion Laboratories Inc (Champ Labs).
Continue Reading![Blue Skies: Trelleborg’s environmental investments in China](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/TWS-China_03-sml.jpg)
Blue Skies: Trelleborg’s environmental investments in China
Trelleborg Wheel Systems is implementing new environmental measures at its facilities in China. These measures are linked to the country’s “three-year action plan for Blue Sky protection” to reduce air pollution, as per the 2016 Paris Agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Continue Reading![Maestro to ‘conduct’ Michelin tyre & service operations](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/maestro_logo.png)
Maestro to ‘conduct’ Michelin tyre & service operations
Michelin is rolling out a new digital services platform for customers in the USA. The tyre maker is offering the cloud-based Maestro platform through its 2018-established Services and Solutions division with the aim of creating “a stronger, more effective working relationship between service providers, fleets and Michelin.”
Continue Reading![Nexen tyres OE on 2020 Golf](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Volkswagen_Golf_VIII_IMG_2609-scaled.jpg)
Nexen tyres OE on 2020 Golf
At the end of July Nexen Tire confirmed that it is supplying N’blue S and Winguard Sport 2 tyres as original equipment (OE) fitment to the latest Volkswagen Golf.
Continue ReadingKumho Georgia workers vote to unionise
Workers Kumho Tire’s Macon, Georgia factory have voted to join the United Steelworkers (USW) union after the final completion of an election last Autumn. According to the USW, workers sought representation to fight “low wages, hazardous working conditions and abusive treatment at Kumho, which ruthlessly harassed and bullied union supporters in an attempt to derail the organizing campaign”.
Continue Reading![Bridgestone: customisable MasterCore tyres represent “absolute leadership” in mining sector](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020080701_01.jpg)
Bridgestone: customisable MasterCore tyres represent “absolute leadership” in mining sector
Bridgestone Corporation has introduced what it describes as a “revolutionary” new MasterCore off-the-road (OTR). Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo on 7 August 2020, company representatives explained that MasterCore tyres are engineered for “ultra-high durability with performance that can be customized to various mine sites and operations”. The MasterCore product line has initially launched for 63-inch tyres, with additional patterns and sizes available to customers in 2021.
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