Alcoa Provides Wheels for Honda Ridgeline
Alcoa Wheel Products announced today that its 17-inch Alcoa cast aluminium wheels are used on the new 2006 Honda Ridgeline pickup truck, recently selected by Motor Trend magazine as the 2006 truck of the year. The Alcoa wheels are featured on Ridgelines upgraded EX-L and EX-L Navi trim packages.
Continue ReadingGoodway’s Simplex Programme Makes Waves
(India/Rubber Asia) Simplex is a new and exciting franchise programme for overseas investors to get a head start in the profitable and challenging tyre retreading business. It comes from the stable of Goodway Rubber Industries Sdn Bhd (“Goodway”) which claims to be a market leader and one of the fastest growing rubber technology and rubber compound providers in the world.
Continue ReadingTweel Takes Wins Popular Science Award
(Akron/Tire Review) Groupe Michelin’s Tweel, the non-pneumatic tyre and wheel assembly that debuted at the North American International Auto Show earlier this year, has been named one of the “100 Most Innovative Products of the Year” by Popular Science magazine.
Continue ReadingAmtel-Vredestein Launches “Premium” Vredestein Brand in Russia
(Akron/Tire Review) Since its formation in the aftermath of communism in Russia, Amtel has had its eye on greater things. Once a collection of low-tech, Soviet-era tyre factories, bought up by founder and India native Sudhir Gupta, Amtel has invested heavily in modernising its plants and improving its tyre technology. Steady growth gave the company the capital to make a bold move, which it completed in April with the acquisition of Dutch tyremaker Vredestein Banden. Now, it has unleased that top-shelf tyre brand on the Russian market.
Continue ReadingAftermarket Visitor Attractions
The Aftermarket Show is putting the finishing touches to its visitor attractions. The Live Action Arena, will be presented by Fulda Tyres, and will offer a 5,500 seater indoor arena for the duration of the event. An interactive driving experience will also be featured to the exhibition.
Continue ReadingContinued Evolution
Yokohama Rubber’s IAA exhibit was designed to continue the manufacturer’s strategy of pushing its premium Advan range. Under the banner of “Further Evolving Advan - A Global Flagship Brand” Yokohama showed visitors its commitment to becoming a world leader in tyre brand development through three aspects - its flagship product line-up, OE activities and motorsports activities.
Continue ReadingYokohama Rubber to Exhibit Advan at IAA 2005
The Yokohama Rubber Co, Ltd is to exhibit at the 61st International Motor Show (IAA) Passenger Cars 2005 in Frankfurt, Germany from September 13 to 25. The company’s exhibit will go under the theme of “Further Evolving Advan - A Global Flagship Brand.” Yokohama says it will show visitors its commitment to becoming a world leader in tyre brand development through three aspects - its flagship product line-up, OE activities and motorsports activities.
Continue ReadingSemperit Adds 70 Series
Semperit has extended its product portfolio by adding a 70 series truck tyre range. Designed as a front-axle fitment for heavy trucks, and as an all-wheel fitment for buses the products are an extension of the recently introduced Semperit M350 Euro-Front 80-series range. A new compound has been developed for the M350 Euro-Front to improve driver safety. The enhanced flexibility of the rubber maximises grip in wet weather, aided by the design of the tread, which has been created to improve wet braking behaviour.
Continue Reading100,000 Tyres and Counting
(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin has celebrated the production of its 100,000th Michelin PAX System assembly at Michelin’s PAX 1 facility. PAX tyres are featured on the 2005 and 2006 Honda Odyssey Touring Edition minivans. The manufacturer says additional OE fitments will be announced shortly.
Continue ReadingMarangoni Updates Winter Range
Marangoni Tyre has recently revised and updated its range of winter tyres. In the March issue of Tyres & Accessories, an article featured the companys latest offering, the Meteo HP; a T-, H- and V-rated winter tyre for rims up to 18” and aspect ratios as low as 40 series. The Meteo HP is designed to cater for the growing demand for high performance tyres that work well in winter conditions.
Continue ReadingBFNAT Workers Set to Strike Friday
(Akron/Tire Review) A 16 July report in the Nashville Tennessean said that workers at Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire’s (BFNAT) medium truck tyre plant in Warren County, Tennessee, would indeed go out on strike at midnight 22 July.
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Cooper’s newly-enlarged tyre and vehicle test centre features enhanced 4×4 capabilities
Across the Texas prairie, in a place where the staff occasionally encounter rattle snakes, Cooper’s 1000 acre Tire and Vehicle Test Center can be found. Originally constructed in 1999, the site has recently been upgraded through the addition of 4x4 and off-road testing facilities. Tyres & Accessories travelled to San Antonio to experience Cooper’s newly enlarged test centre first hand. The most recent developments at Cooper’s Tire and Vehicle Test Center (TVTC) prove that the $13 million it originally spent on the facility was just the beginning. Now the company has 4x4 testing capabilities and it is likely that there will be further additions in due course. For now the centre’s primary work is product testing and competitor benchmarking.
Continue ReadingAvon is the Choice of Winners
The winner and the two runners up of this year’s European Custom Bike Building Championships all used Avon tyres. A total of 64 top class builders from Europe and beyond entered 71 bikes in the AMD ProShow, held at the Phoenixhalle in Mainz, Germany. The winner was Thomas Hebermann of Habermann-Performance in Germany with his S&S shovelhead-engined chopper named ‘Caligo’. The machine was fitted with an Avon Venom AM42 300/35R18 88V rear and 100/90-19 57V Supervenom front.
Continue ReadingWhy Doesn’t the Government Ride on Retreads?
Influential members of the retreading community pulled off a successful media coup when their request for more widespread public sector use of retreads was featured in the Daily Telegraph. In the broadsheet article entitled “Green tyres get Government brush-off” RMA director, David Wilson, and former and current presidents (C-Tyres’ Gary Oliver and Bandvulc’s Richard O’Connell) spoke of their wishes to see the government support the retreading business. Its not an unprecedented idea. US president George Bush and Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi have both backed similar schemes in their countries. In the UK however, there has been no noticeable move towards enforcing the use retreads on the part of the public sector.
Continue ReadingThe ‘Market Leading’ CV Show and ATS
The Commercial Vehicle and Automotive Trade Show held last month, comprised of over 600 exhibitors, spread over 90,000 square metres and 11 halls making this year’s event the largest show ever held in the UK. Home to the UK’s road transport and automotive aftermarket businesses there were more car, van, truck, trailer, bodywork and road transport suppliers at the exhibition than at any other business to business show in Europe over the last year.
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