Advan V105 – Super-sport meets luxury
With a technical background that includes a stint as a motorsport technician working in the UK 30 years ago, Yokohama’s president went on to share further details of exactly how the new tyre surpasses its predecessor. To improve steering stability, a new "Matrix Body Ply Structure" was developed employing technology fostered through participation in world motorsports. According to the company, weight was reduced while rigidity was maintained, producing more agile handling and more comfortable ride, although this upgrade is not available on all sizes in the range. Meanwhile the asymmetrical, non-directional tread pattern - inside for enhanced performance on wet surfaces, outside for dry - features a new compound created to provide “exceptional” grip.
Continue ReadingThrills and spills in Macau
Three decades after Japanese tyre manufacturer Yokohama began supplying tyres to the Macau Grand Prix, the company returned to the glitz and glamour of what is the Chinese equivalent of Las Vegas to celebrate 30 years of partnership with the event. In order to mark the occasion, Tyres & Accessories was there to smell the rubber and witness the racing action as well as report on the race-to-road developments of the tyre supplier (see separate article in December's magazine for more on this).
Continue ReadingNokian withdraws winter tyre label
Nokian Tyres withdrew its self-produced “winter grip label” on 21 November following pressure from European tyre manufacturer’s organisation ETRMA and some competitors. The company reports that the label had not been and was not planned to be distributed outside Nordic countries. The news is set against the backdrop of the introduction of mandatory tyre labelling on 1 November 2012.
Continue ReadingTrailer market 5-year forecast downgraded
With Germany the only market out of the Big 7 economies that will have positive GDP in 2012, this deterioration has reportedly fed directly into slowing trailer sales. In the first quarter of 2012 trailer demand was up 0.4 per cent, but it will finish the year down 6.3 per cent. Nevertheless 77 per cent of goods in Europe are moved by road and most of that proportion is transported on a trailer, making the progress of this sector of significant interest.
Continue ReadingPirelli to invest 105 million euros in Slatina, Romania plant
Pirelli will invest 105 million euros in its Romanian plant over the next five years, the manufacturer has announced. The investment, which is supported by around 35 million euros of state aid, is designed to increase the size of the factory – from 180,000sqm to 200,000sqm – the number of employees by 500 to 3,500 in total, and its capacity. Initial estimates say the company plans to raise the current production figure of 8.5 million tyres per year to 10 million at the end of 2013 and 13 million by the end of 2017.
Continue ReadingMechel, Marubeni sign Bridgestone supply deal
Russian mining and metals company Mechel OAO has announced the signing of five-year contracts for supplies of extra-size Bridgestone tyres with Japan's Marubeni Corporation. These agreements were signed by several Mechel group enterprises – Yakutugol Holding Company OAO, Southern Kuzbass Coal Company OAO and Korshunov Mining Plant OAO –on the sidelines of the official visit of the Russian Federation's First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov to Japan. The deals cover the supply of Bridgestone off-road tyres for heavy dump trucks. The contracts cover the delivery of more than 5,000 tyres.
Continue ReadingMaxxis unveils $150m Shanghai proving ground
Maxxis International has held a grand opening ceremony attended by nearly 400 domestic dignitaries and overseas partners for its new Maxxis Proving Ground in Kunshan City, directly adjacent to the company’s Shanghai manufacturing plant. The 860,000sqm comprehensive testing facility is estimated to have cost more than US$150 million, and is thought to be the first proving ground on such a large and all-encompassing scale in China. Cheng Shin Rubber Ind. Co., Ltd., doing business as Maxxis International, calls its new testing facility the country’s “first international standard proving ground”. Backing up this claim, Tyres & Accessories/Tyrepress.com was informed at the opening that at least one European original equipment manufacturer – Mercedes – had given Maxxis input into the facilities required at the proving ground to continue to build its OE supply, while a construction firm from Japan was consulted, though it was built by the Chinese.
Continue ReadingFullrun, Autogrip displaying new tyres, talks label controversy
Qingdao's Fullrun Tyre Corp is spending its time at Reifen China 2012 introducing new models to its range of tyres, some of which are distributed in the UK through Micheldever, Kings Road Tyres and Malvern Tyres' King David Tyres. The latest Fullrun-branded products on the stand are the F6000 passenger car high performance tyre, which it says it plans to distribute to King David, and the new TB1000 truck pattern. Autogrip also has the AG66 PCR, which Fullrun says will be distributed by Micheldever in the UK. According to the company's representatives, 90 per cent of its Fullrun tyres are rated "either EC or CE".
Continue ReadingETRMA shuns Nokian ice and snow sticker
The ETRMA has called for action against one its own members after Nokian Tyres took the initiative of producing its own ice and snow label. The association is specifically asking authorities in Finland, Norway and Sweden to put an immediate end to the initiative. Nokian tyres, which specialises in winter tyres, appears to have devised its own additional labelling system in response to the fact that the new EU tyre label that became mandatory on 1 November 2012 doesn’t include snow and ice performance information. Furthermore, due to the fact that the EU label requires tests to be conducted at relatively high ambient temperatures, winter tyres in general have shown a tendency to appear to perform poorly on the EU label.
Continue ReadingLinglong booth raided at SEMA
On 29 October Federal Marshals raided Chinese tyre manufacturer Shandong Linglong’s stand at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show, according to a variety of news sources originating from reports by US magazine Tire Business. In what must be a first, even for the characteristically glitzy Las Vegas event, government officials confiscated the contents of the company’s exhibit as partial repayment of a $26 million court judgment against the company made in 2010.
Continue ReadingEstonians fitting cast-off Finnish tyres
Many used tyres that are being sold in Estonia are actually tyres that Finns have thrown away, according to the Estonian daily newspaper Õhtuleht. The paper quoted a Finnish mechanic who works at a garage who said that he often sees Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, but also Poles going through the container of used tyres behind the garage because most of the tyres there can still be used for a season or two.
Continue ReadingLabelling has landed
After years of planning, debating and discussing, tyre labelling is finally with us. From today every new passenger car and truck tyre must be sold with a European label of some kind (like the one opposite) and those doing the selling must tell their customers about it. Of course with only small numbers of retailers prepared before today's deadline, no clear enforcement mechanism in place and with 70 per cent of consumers unaware of the new rules it is unlikely to be plain sailing for everyone's favourite sticker.
Continue ReadingMichelin demand data highlights serious demand challenges in mature markets
As part of its third quarter/nine month financial results, global tyre manufacturer Michelin also published its latest tyre demand details, which give a view on how markets are performing in different segments in various parts of the world. The figures are broken down by region and segment and are then split by OE and replacement market demand.
Continue ReadingPossible EU legislation on winter tyres?
Szabolcs Schmidt, head of the European Commission's road safety unit, said he agrees that winter tyres could improve road safety. He announced there will be a 2013 EU study to evaluate the role that tyres could have in increasing road safety. Schmidt spoke at a policy breakfast at the European Parliament hosted by German MEP Dieter-Lebrecht Koch, who is vice chairman of the body's transport committee. The event was organised by Mobivia Groupe with the support of the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers' Association.
Continue ReadingGiTi appoints new Portuguese distribution structure
GiTi Tire (Europe) reports that it is aiming to increase market share in Portugal with a new distribution structure for the GT Radial brand. From this month Tiresur, which already controls the brand’s Spanish distribution, will be responsible for the passenger car, 4x4 and light truck tyres, while SEA will continue to control the commercial vehicle segment including medium and heavy truck and bus tyres.
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