Business Award For “En Tire”
One year into their partnership, TRW and Michelin announce their first business award with a major European original equipment manufacturer (OEM). The product, called En Tire, is a state-of-the-art tyre pressure monitoring (TPM) system underscored by the radio frequency technology of TRW and the tyre experience of Michelin. To extend beyond their existing development programmes, TRW and Michelin are actively the next generation TPM system for production in 2005.
Continue ReadingQuality Standard Re-Awarded To Kwik-Fit GB
Kwik-Fit GB has been re-awarded ISO 9002 quality accreditation, following an external audit of 26 of the companys centres, four divisional offices and the fleet office. The company gained its first quality certificate (which used to be called BS 5750) in 1992 and the latest re-certification is valid until the end of 2003.
Continue ReadingBridgestone “Will Stay In F1 Indefinitely”
Speaking just before the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours, Bridgestone President Shigeo Watanabe said that the company would remain a tyre supplier to Formula 1 indefinitely. He added: Being in F1 has boosted our corporate image generally and has put us at the forefront of tyre technology in the eyes of the world. Our brand awareness has dramatically increased all over the world. Watanabe said that the future would see more car manufacturers involved in the sport and he believes the number of tyre manufacturers will increase also.
Continue ReadingNew Chairman And CEO Of Bridgestone/Firestone Europe
Mr Shoshi Arakawa has been appointed chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Bridgestone/Firestone Europe (BFE). He succeeds Mr Takeshi Uchiyama, who retires and returns to Japan after leading BFE for the last three years.
Continue ReadingCanadian Successes For Goodyear
Every year, Canadian automotive journalists carry out a series of driving tests, after which they name their car of the year in various categories. In the 2001 awards, 10 out of 15 car and truck category winners were fitted with Goodyear tyres. Wayne Barnes, president and CEO of Goodyear Canada, said that the results underline the way the company works closely with OEMs to achieve better vehicle performance.
Continue Reading“BioTred” To Replace Soot And Silica
According to the US tyre manufacturer Goodyear, they have developed a filling material for car tyres on the basis of renewable raw materials. Thanks to this new rubber mixture, as reported by the press officer Mr Fischer, tyre production will be less harmful to the environment and, compared to the normal silica tyre tread mixture, it offers a lower rolling resistance. Above all, it should be fuel saving. This new technology, which will be used for the first time in the summer tyre GT 3, will offer additional advantages for safety and handling. Presenting the BioTred for the first time to the German press at the end of January in Frankfurt, the company attracted a lot of interest. BioTred is an artificial name, with a deliberate spelling difference to tread, in order to highlight its ecological advantage immediately to the consumer. BioTred is a patented tread mixture containing an element from corn starch. However, in parts this element will replace the substances soot and silica which have been used for processing up to now. According to Dr. Annette Lechtenböhmer, who is a chemical engineer at the Goodyear Technical Centre in Luxembourg and also a university teacher at the Hanover University Institute for Process Engineering, this new filling material will reduce CO2 emissions in different ways. On questioning it was confirmed that the starch suitable for producing the filling material could also be generated from potatoes. Since Goodyear has spent five years developing this material and holds a couple of patents, a lead over the competition should be possible.
Continue ReadingHeavy Truck Tyres Rolling Slowly In The USA
The prospects for manufacturers of heavy trucks in the USA are rather gloomy for this year, as experts are expecting a decline of up to 30 per cent. Despite this, analysts are not pessimistic about the prospects for Michelin, as the turnover from OE sales of truck tyres is only about 3 per cent of total group turnover. Better results than for 1999 are expected too for Goodyear, due to the downward trend in raw material prices and, last but not least, the recently-announced tyre price increases look like they will stick.
Continue ReadingMore Action For Bridgestone
The beleaguered north American division of the Bridgestone Corporation is under yet another attack as a Philadelphia law firm has filed a class action lawsuit in Nashville accusing the company of stock fraud. The lawyers claim that the firm misrepresented its fiscal viability to stockholders by concealing claims against them in the ATX tyre failure episode. Further, the firm failed to disclose the cost of settlements and of replacing tyres. The law firm is seeking involvement from all investors who bought Bridgestone stock between March 31,1998 and August 31, 2000.
Continue ReadingMassive Drop In Profit Announced By Bridgestone
As widely expected, the Bridgestone Corporation has reported a massive fall in net profits of 80 per cent for the year 2000. Net profit was 17.7 billion Yen (US$ 155 million), which was better than the companys prediction late last year of 13 Billion Yen. Turnover was down too, by 3.8 per cent to 2,006.9 billion Yen, and pre tax profits were down nearly 38 per cent, from 200.8 billion Yen last year to 124.8 billion Yen. This is largely attributable to the effects of the Firestone recall. This is the companys worst result in ten years. Since the announcement of the tyre recall, Bridgestone shares have fallen in value by 50%.
Continue ReadingRainSport 1 And rallye 680 From Uniroyal
The two latest offerings from Uniroyal are classed as wet weather tyres. The RainSport 1 is a high speed (V and W rated) tyre which succeeds the RTT 2 and features include a directional tread with a double-V tread pattern and a silica compound for improved wet grip and lower rolling resistance. The rallye 680 is a T-rated tyre, aimed at the family driver, and it is a replacement for the rallye 580. Again, the compound is silica-based and Uniroyal claims improved performance in the areas of aquaplaning resistance, wet braking, tyre life and noise generation.
Continue ReadingBalancing The Scales
Our January issue carried items concerning the possible consequences of the EU Vehicle End of Life Directive, notably the suggestion that lead wheel balance weights might be banned for fitting as original equipment. Tin weights were suggested as a possible alternative. The article stirred up a very strong reaction from the pro-lead weights lobby, which is indicative of the depth of feeling that the matter can generate in the industry. As well as a letter from the Lead Development Association, Hofmann asked if they could answer some of the points raised in the article. We are always ready to put the other side of an argument, so this article examines the case for continuing with lead on economic, technological and practical grounds.
Continue ReadingNew Plant for Nissan
Japanese car producer Nissan is investing 930 million US-Dollars in a new plant in Canton (Mississippi). Construction began at the beginning of April. The new plant will have a production capacity of 250,000 cars per annum and employ 4,000 people.
Continue ReadingRecall Spreads To Europe
Ford is planning to recall 23,000 vehicles sold in Europe in order to replace the tyres. The vehicles in question are mainly Explorers and the figure is around 60 per cent of Explorers sold over the past decade. Other models affected are Ford Expedition SUVs and Ranger pick-ups, although the numbers of these are small.
Continue ReadingFinancial Times Report – Bridgestone Falls From Global List
The UK newspaper Financial Times has published its annual list of the worlds 500 largest companies, ranked by market capitalisation. The only tyre company to appear last year was Bridgestone, at number 300. The company does not make this years global top 500. Among Europes top 500 are the following tyre companies, with their positions. Michelin (301) Pirelli (242) and Continental (479). Mention should be made too of Sabanci Holdings, the ultimate parent of Lassa/Brisa, which appears at number 331 in Europe.
Continue ReadingBrake-By-Wire-System From Bosch
The electro-hydraulic brake (EHB) in vehicles will replace the traditional mechanical-hydraulic brake within the next few years. This concept of the future has become commonly-known by the term brake-by-wire and will be a milestone in the total car electronic network. Continental subsidiary Teves is also developing such a braking system, but the EHB system about to be introduced on the market by Mercedes-Benz was developed by Teves competitor Robert Bosch.
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