Pirelli Signs Tyre Sector Research Agreement
On October 15 Pirelli and the Politecnico di Torino, an institute specialising in engineering and related disciplines, signed a five-year framework agreement for joint research in the tyre sector. The agreement will see the Politecnicos research infrastructure utilised and will have the aim of further developing manufacturing processes and products derived from Pirelli technology. In the realm of processes, in particular, the research team will work on the future generation of MIRS (Modular Integrated Robotized System), the robotised manufacturing system patented by Pirelli, and of the CCM (Continuous Compound Mixing) method that allows for a continuous production of mixes. On the products front, Pirelli and Politecnico di Torino will focus on development of the Cyber Tyre, an intelligent tyre able to dialogue with the vehicle, thereby permitting greater road safety.
Continue ReadingTubeless Radials the Hot Ticket in India
(Akron/Tire Review – Hindustan Times) The flurry of new car launches in India is bringing in a quiet revolution: tubeless radial tyres have become standard fitment. Most of India’s tyremakers including MRF, JK Tyres and Ceat have started manufacturing tubeless radial tyres. It is a quiet change on behalf of carmakers, says Tom Thomas, chief of manufacturing and technical for Ceat Tyres. Previously, most carmakers stuck to regulation tyres with tubes. These are cheaper, but they are also prone to punctures and excessive wear and tear. “Tubeless tyres give better long-term value for money for a buyer, and it is easy to repair too,” said a Mumbai-based sales manager for Tata Motors who declined to be named. “Tubeless radials can carry on with a nail in them for many kilometers, and you will probably notice the flat tyre at home, rather than on the road,” added Thomas.
Continue ReadingAmtel-Vredestein to Supply 480,000 Tyres for Renault Logan
Amtel-Vredestein’s Russian subsidiary OJSC Amtel-Vredestein has signed an exclusive contract to supply Amtel tyres for Renault Logan passenger cars produced in Russia. Amtel-Vredestein will be the only Russian tyre producer to supply OJSC Autoframos with original equipment. The majority of the tyres will be manufactured by Amtel’s Amtel-Povolzhye tyre complex (Kirov). It is projected that the company will supply between 30,000 - 35,000 tyres per month, and will supply a total of 480,000 OE tyres by the end of 2008. According to the company, preparations leading up to the contract took three years.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Launches Licensed Product Kiosk at Retail Stores
Using its network of retail stores as a licensing proving ground, Goodyear Tire & Rubber has begun the installation of free-standing, licensed product kiosks at 65 Goodyear Auto Service Centers and 118 Just Tires locations across the United States. The Goodyear kiosk is a metal structure with flexible shelving to allow for multiple configurations depending on product mix. Initial installation is scheduled to take place between October 15 and the end of October and is, according to Goodyear’s manager of licensed products Bob Paciulan, part of a broader future retail distribution plan for its licensed products. The more than 60 licensees that currently produce products carrying the Goodyear name realise how valuable our retail network is for showcasing their products with the compelling Goodyear nameplate, said Paciulan. This is the first time that Goodyear licensed products are being offered at Goodyear retail locations and we hope that this direction encourages additional licensing agreements with companies that produce high-quality merchandise and want to tap into our consumer distribution capability. The new kiosks will offer 22 distinctive products ranging from air compressors to floor mats and air pressure gauges, produced by licensees and carrying the Goodyear name. Product prices range from US$2 to $40.
Continue ReadingEuropean Associations Launch Right to Repair Campaign
Automotive aftermarket and motorist representatives have today launched the Right to Repair Campaign at Equip’Auto 2007 to safeguard consumer choice and effective competition in the market for vehicle replacement parts, tools and equipment, servicing and repair. “Vehicles are more and more becoming “computers on wheels”, stated Campaign spokesperson Sylvia Gotzen. “While technological innovations provide better emissions control as well as more safety and comfort, they have made it increasingly challenging to service or repair a vehicle. Fair and full access for independent market operators to technical information, multi-brand diagnostic tools as well as test equipment, replacement parts and training is therefore more than ever crucial to be able to provide European motorists with the quality service and parts they deserve in the aftermarket care of their vehicles”, she explained.
Continue ReadingWinter Tyres Get the Cold Shoulder in New Zealand
Public perception of cold weather tyres in New Zealand has been dealt another blow, with the country’s leading motor industry organisation, the Motor Trade Association, again calling for a ban to be placed upon the importation of cars fitted with cold weather tyres, more commonly known in New Zealand as snow tyres. The association has also proposed denying a warrant of fitness – the 6-monthly New Zealand equivalent to the MOT – to any vehicle fitted with cold weather tyres outside the cold season and away from “colder regions of the country.” Demands for such measures have been repeated throughout this year following the occurrence of two well-publicised fatal accidents involving vehicles fitted with a combination of summer and winter tyres, and this negative attention appears to have overshadowed the benefits that correctly fitted winter tyres may bring to motorists.
Continue ReadingWinter Tyres Get the Cold Shoulder in New Zealand
Public perception of cold weather tyres in New Zealand has been dealt another blow, with the country’s leading motor industry organisation, the Motor Trade Association, again calling for a ban to be placed upon the importation of cars fitted with cold weather tyres, more commonly known in New Zealand as snow tyres. The association has also proposed denying a warrant of fitness to any vehicle fitted with cold weather tyres outside the cold season and away from “colder regions of the country.” Demands for such measures have been repeated throughout this year following the occurrence of two well-publicised fatal accidents involving vehicles fitted with a combination of summer and winter tyres, and this negative attention appears to have overshadowed the benefits that correctly fitted winter tyres may bring to motorists.
Continue ReadingNew Plant Manager for Goodyear in Fayetteville
Goodyear has appointed a new plant manager at its Fayetteville, North Carolina. Timothy Frosell began in his job in early October and takes control at a time when major investment plans for modernising that facility are underway. Since joining Goodyear in 1984 Frosell has worked at a number of the company’s US sites, and has previously served as plant manager Kingman, Arizona, Buffalo, New York and Social Circle, Georgia. Frosell replaces Gary Cushman, who is taking on the position of strategic manufacturing engineering manager at Goodyear’s headquarters in Akron, Ohio.
Continue ReadingControl Tyre Almost Certain for British Superbikes
It appears that at least one motorcycle championship will definitely change to a single tyre supplier for 2008. The Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board of Great Britain (MCRCB) has been evaluating the feasibility of the competition with a single tyre supplier since September, and after much dialogue with riders and their teams, as well as with tyre companies, has elected to proceed with its plans for a switch to a single brand for both the Superbike and Supersport classes next year. The two main contenders for the job are Dunlop and Pirelli, with the Italian manufacturer considered to have an edge on Dunlop in terms of experience in managing the type of logistics that would be involved. However Dunlop, who currently supplies the majority of the Superbike class teams and around half the Supersport teams with its products, is by no means in a weak position.
Continue ReadingAmerityre Says It’s Close to Passing Standards
(Akron/Tire Review) Amerityre Corp. says it is continuing to work on its Arcus polyurethane run-flat passenger tyre to make it comply with FMVSS 139 tyre durability regulations. Amerityre claims the Arcus did pass FMVSS 109 standards, which were less strenuous than the new FMVSS 139 standards, which came into effect this past June. In particular, the Arcus did not pass low inflation pressure performance testing, Amerityre said, coming within 15 minutes to passing. In that specific test, a tyre must run at 75 mph at 20 psi for 90 minutes. “Amerityres analysis of the test data indicates that the thicker sidewalls that give the Arcus its run-flat capability impede the tyre from successfully completing the low-pressure segment of the test,” the company stated. “Since the 20 psi pressure used in the low-pressure segment is not sufficient to support the load, the tyre essentially goes into the run-flat mode where it is supported only by its sidewalls. The test requirement of 75 miles per hour for 90 minutes at 100 per cent rated load exceeds the 200 miles at 50 mph capability of the current design. Therefore, Amerityre is making modifications to the Arcus run-flat tyre design and related tooling in order to pass the low-pressure segment of the FMVSS 139 protocol.”
Continue ReadingLanxess Extends NdPBR Production to Meet UHP Tyre Demand
Lanxess reports that its facility in Orange, Texas began production of neodymium polybutadiene (NdPBR) in September. The decision to commence production of these chemicals was apparently made in response to increased demand for NdPBR and SSBR in high-performance tyre applications. Timothy Rae, NAFTA region head of marketing for the Lanxess Polybutadiene Rubber (PBR) business unit, comments: “The additional production also enhances our capability to meet the US demand for domestic cobalt polybutadiene (CoPBR) with complementary NdPBR grades. This is an important step to fulfilling our strategy as a reliable supplier of high-performance PBR products from multiple locations worldwide.”
Continue ReadingGoodyear Attains “Primary Tyre Supplier” Status with International
Goodyear truck tyres will be available for fitment on all International Truck & Engines vehicles in the US following the decision to name the Akron based tyremaker as an International Truck primary tyre supplier. Through this arrangement Goodyears fuel-efficient Fuel Max Technology and self-sealing DuraSeal mixed-service tyres are available for selection by International Truck customers, with the Fuel Max fitted as OE to the International ProStar family of tractors.
Continue ReadingCooper Steel Cord Plant Share Included in ArcelorMittal Purchase
The acquisition of steel cord manufacturer Rongshen Chengshan Steel Cord by ArcelorMittal, announced on October 15, includes the 25 per cent stake in the Chinese company held by a wholly owned local subsidiary of Cooper Tire & Rubber. Cooper has disclosed it received US$7.4 million for its quarter share, which the manufacturer parted with in order to place a greater focus upon its core tyremaking business. Cooper Tire’s acquisition of 51 per cent of Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Passenger Tire Company, Ltd., and Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Company, Ltd., was completed in early 2006 and included a 25 per cent ownership position in the steel cord factory, which is located adjacent to the tyre manufacturing facility in Rongcheng City, Shandong Province.
Continue ReadingGiovanardi Takes BTCC Championship by the Slimmest of Margins
A second place finish in the BTCC season finale has seen Fabrizio Giovanardi crowned this year’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Champion. The final race at Hampshire’s Thruxton circuit, which ended two laps early following an accident involving Mike Jordan in the Team Eurotech Honda, saw Giovanardi pull ahead of his nearest rival in the points stakes, Seat driver Jason Plato. Victories for Giovanardi in the day’s first two races saw Plato’s nine point lead in the championship evaporate, and by the end of proceedings on October 14 Giovanardi had 300 points under his belt, a winning margin of just three. Italy’s Giovanardi, driving for Vauxhall, is the 32nd different driver to take out the championship since the BTCC was first formed in 1958, and the Vauxhall team had double reason to celebrate. This season, the first in which it has fielded the Vectra, saw it regain the BTCC’s Manufacturer’s crown from arch-rival Seat, winning by 637 points to 623. But it is the Spanish make’s Seat Sport UK squad that has won the Teams’ title. Elsewhere, Colin Turkington was crowned the Independent Drivers’ Champion while his Team RAC BMW squad has taken the Independent Teams’ honours.
Continue ReadingIndian Tyremakers Becoming More Reliant on SR
Indian tyre manufacturers increasingly must ‘fake it to make it’ – that is, rely upon synthetic rubber in the manufacture of their products. Natural rubber already accounts for about 50 per cent of production costs in India, and since May-June the per kilogram cost of this sought after commodity has increased from Rs 80 (£1.00) to Rs 90.75 (£1.13). Apollo Tyres’ Onkar S. Kanwar believes an increase of this degree has the potential to reduce profits by 3 to 5 per cent; to counter this his company is considering doubling its use of synthetic rubber. The ratio of natural to synthetic rubber used by Indian tyremakers could therefore feasibly reach the magic figure of 70:30 – the highest ratio technically practicable. Such measures were threatened earlier in 2007, but so far no manufacturer has utilised synthetic rubber to this degree in its products. In Europe the established ratio is 80:20, a proportion seen as not compromising the superior vulcanising qualities of natural rubber.
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