Michelin Development Fund Reaches New Heights
Three more Dundee firms have been given a cash injection from the Michelin Development Fund, pushing the total loaned to local businesses beyond £100,000. IRT, MW Plastics and Team Play Learning Dynamics (TPLD) shared a total of £68,000, which will help company development, performance and enhance long-term profitability. Working in association with Scottish Enterprise Tayside, Business Gateway, Dundee City Council’s economic development unit and The Royal Bank of Scotland, Michelin Development aims to effectively contribute to the economic regeneration and long-term prosperity of the different regions where Michelin has sites within the UK. Michelin Development Dundee’s core aims are to encourage skills and entrepreneurship able to support the long term future of the city. There is also a drive to attract inward investment and contribute towards the creation of sustainable, quality employment growth.
Continue ReadingContinental to source more from Metro
German tyre major Continental AG has decided to source as many as 30,000 two-wheeler tyres and tubes per month from Metro Tyres Ltd. (MTL). Continental has also firmed up plans to source as much as 50 per cent of tubes to be manufactured by MTL for cars, tractors and light commercial vehicles, according to Indian media sources. These tyres and tubes would be sold in Germany and Europe under the brand name Continental. Meanwhile, MTL has also entered into talks with Bajaj Automobiles, Hero Honda and Yamaha for catering to the original equipment manufacturing segment.
Continue ReadingRolling Resistance Testing Contract for Smithers
Testing, research and consulting firm Smithers Scientific Services Inc. – with headquarters in Akron/Ohio (USA) – has confirmed that it has been awarded a $400,000 contract from the California Energy Commission to conduct a study of tire characteristics as they relate to rolling resistance. The study, funded by the Energy Commission, will involve tire rolling resistance, traction and treadwear testing, and will potentially serve as the basis for a fuel efficiency reporting system and minimum- efficiency standards. “Lower tire rolling resistance can directly lead to better vehicle fuel economy,” said David L. Schwarz, vice president of technical services and sales for Smithers. “However, as with any tire characteristic, there are potential tradeoffs. Thus, the Energy Commission study is not limited to rolling resistance testing. Additional work will be conducted to evaluate other performance attributes.” He pointed out that currently there is “really no information, in terms of tire rolling resistance or fuel economy, available to a consumer purchasing replacement tires.” The study will take about 18 months to complete. The rolling resistance testing will be conducted at Smithers’ indoor tire testing laboratories in Ravenna, Ohio.
Continue ReadingInternational Habitat Conservation Award For Bridgestone Firestone
Employees at Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC’s (BFNT) Warren County facility received international recognition for their contributions to wildlife habitat conservation at the Wildlife Habitat Council’s (WHC) 16th Annual Symposium, Beyond Borders: Reconciling Wildlife Needs & Human Activity. BFNT demonstrates its commitment to environmental stewardship and increasing native biodiversity by achieving habitat certification at its Warren County plant.
Continue ReadingYokohama Design Center
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that it established a Yokohama Design Center (YDC) inside the head office building of the Minato-ku, Tokyo-based company. The YDC is intensively equipped with advanced information technologies, workshop functions and audiovisual equipment so that it can contribute to the improvement of passenger-tyre appearance and the reduction of product development lead-time at the company.
Continue ReadingUS Car Makers Interested in Contis APIA
At a news conference held at the Washington Auto Show Continental presented its roadmap for total vehicle safety that will integrate active and passive safety equipment. The company announced that two leading automakers have commissioned Continental to undertake advanced design work on integrating various elements of its comprehensive safety solution, the Active Passive Integration Approach (APIA) concept. “The industry recognizes Continentals unique ability to deliver total safety solutions,“ said Joe Gaus, vice president, Continental Automotive Systems who also talked about how electronics are leading the way to safer cars by allowing ongoing development of active safety systems that help drivers avoid crashes and mitigate injuries.
Continue ReadingAlcoa Wheels Drive New Ford Designs
Ford Motor Company will now offer a new line of 20-inch Alcoa wheels as Genuine Ford Accessories for Super Duty trucks. Referred to as Super Duty Dubs, customers may now choose from five styles of the strong, hot-forged aluminum wheels – from a flared 6-spoke to a wide 5-spoke design. Each is engineered to meet Ford specifications for durability and vehicle dynamics standards. These wheels are now included as a Genuine Ford Accessory by the U.S. automaker.
Continue ReadingFourth MIRS Line For Pirelli
Pirelli has begun to install a fourth MIRS production line at its US factory in Rome, Georgia. Production will be in full swing by June 2005 and the new line will produce predominantly Scorpion Zero SUV tyres, including the new 26 inch tyre, recently shown at the SEMA exhibition. Rome will become Pirelli’s main source of performance SUV tyres, with all of its 4x4 output being tyres of 22 inches or larger.
Continue ReadingNew World Braking Record
An Ultima GTR sports car has broken the production car world record by accelerating to 100 mph and back to a complete standstill in a mere 10.3 seconds; half a second better than the previous record and more than a second faster than the McLaren F1. The car was fitted with Mintex Racing F4 compound friction on both front and rear and was fully street legal. 0-60 mph was achieved in 2.7 seconds and 100 mph in 5.5 seconds, then the car braked to a halt in only 82.2 metres.
Continue ReadingMichelin North America Announces Price Increases
Michelin North America is increasing U.S. replacement tyre prices on a variety of product lines. • Passenger and light truck tyres will increase by up to 5 percent on Michelin brand and up to 6 percent on BFGoodrich, Uniroyal and private and associate brands effective March 1, 2005. • Commercial truck tyres will increase by up to 6 percent on both Michelin and BFGoodrich brands effective March 1, 2005. • Earthmover tyres will increase by 5 percent effective Jan. 1, 2005. • Agricultural tyres will increase by up to 6 percent for radial tyres and up to 12 percent for bias tyres effective Jan. 1, 2005 • General aviation tyres will increase 5 percent worldwide effective April 1, 2005.
Continue ReadingGetting a Grip Gets Better, Thanks to Goodyear and GE
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and General Electric – specifically, GE Advanced Materials, Silicones – teamed up for breakthrough technology in new auto tyres. A unique tyre, Goodyear’s Assurance featuring TripleTred Technology, is the result of this technology.
Continue ReadingTitan Wheel Corporation Issues Record Winter Bonus to Employees
Titan Wheel Corporation (Quincy/Illinois), a subsidiary of Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI), issued a record winter bonus to its employees. The bonus amounted to an average payout of $2,500 per employee. Each employee received $200 of their bonus in Sacajawea golden dollars. This brings the total bonus for the year to approximately $5,000 per employee.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Dunlop expands FleetOnlineSolutions
Goodyear Dunlop’s pan-European internet-based tyre management system, FleetOnlineSolutions which was launched to truck and bus fleet operators late last year, has been expanded. The improvements that have been made include major functionality upgrades, web-based interactive reporting and intensive training, says the tyre manufacturer. There are now more than 3,500 contracted vehicles on the system, based in three countries. FleetOnlineSolutions utilises the internet and is accessible to the customer, contracted tyre service providers and Goodyear Dunlop. All details of a customer’s tyre contract are available via the secure FleetOnlineSolutions website which also handles all reporting, invoicing and stock ordering, related to contracts. This means that whenever a customer needs tyre-related work to be carried out, it is done exactly to the specification agreed in the contract. In other words, the service-provider works precisely to each customer’s individual tyre policy and pricing structure as originally agreed with Goodyear Dunlop.
Continue ReadingBridgestone sells tyres with unauthorized JIS mark
Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone Corp. has sold some 130,000 tyres printed with the Japan Industrial Standards (JIS) mark even though they were not authorized to do so, Japanese media reported. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) only allows industrial products to sell with the JIS title after they pass inspections from government officials. After agreeing with the Nagoya-based Inoue Rubber Co. to jointly manufacture tyres in 2000, Bridgestone reportedly invested in Inoues subsidiary in Thailand, IRCT, which began producing Bridgestone tyres in Thailand in August 2001.
Continue ReadingInto the ‘Guinness Book of Records’ on Bridgestone Tyres
Gerhard Plattner, an Austrian journalist and specialist in fuel economy record-breaking, succeeded in crossing ten European countries using just one tank of diesel. His trip began on 16th November 2004 in the German town of Lindau, on Lake Constance, with a full sealed tank and the firm intention to cross as many countries as possible without refuelling. After first travelling through Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, he returned to Austria via the Feldkirch border crossing. The road took him further through the South Tyrolean Puster Valley, and on to Slovenia, West Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia. After a 1,160-km journey lasting 15 hours and 7 minutes, Plattner reached his final destination: the Czech Republic. On arriving in the tenth country of this epic ‘Eco Tour’, he parked his Golf V TDI running on Bridgestone „B390 Eco” tyres with the Volkswagen dealer in Brünn. “Above all, I would like to praise the Bridgestone ‘B390’ tyres. I have used them on previous record attempts and, yet again, they’ve performed splendidly. Not only do they have excellent fuel saving qualities, but they’re also comfortable and have first-rate handling characteristics,“ said Plattner after his tour throughout Europa which earned him a place in the ‘Guinness Book of Records’.
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