Dunlop to launch Winter Sport 5
Dunlop will launch the latest iteration of its winter tyre series, the Winter Sport 5, with a full range of sizes available by September 2015. The tyre, which is designed to build on the award-winning success of its latest Winter Sport 4D, is the fifth addition to the line that offers the grip and performance to combat a variety of winter surfaces, including wet, icy and snow-covered roads.
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Conti to test Taraxagum-based WinterContact TS 850 P at Arvidsjaur
Continental will reach an important milestone in its research project for the industrialisation of dandelion rubber in tyre production when it tests its first WinterContact TS 850 P with a Taraxagum based tread at its Swedish testing facility. Continental unveiled its first test tyres made from the raw material (the botanical name for dandelion is taraxacum) in a limited series last autumn. The use of the material in its WinterContact TS 850 P takes Continental “an important step closer” to its long-term sustainability goals, reducing its dependence on traditional raw materials.
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Protyre increases size and quality with modern tyre retail insights
Following on from our recent interview with national wholesaler Micheldever’s Alan Baldwin, Tyres & Accessories met with Protyre retail director Simon Hiorns at the company’s Warwick branch to find out more about the marketing and technology parallels that can be drawn between the two companies. Doing confirmed that the company’s growth path is continuing, but the firm’s CRM technology and marketing strategy mean it is a question of quality as well as quantity.
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13,000 British Gas vehicles to run on Michelin CrossClimate tyres
Britain’s largest energy provider, British Gas, plans to fit Michelin CrossClimate tyres to its fleet of 13,000 commercial vehicles. It will ask OEMs to supply CrossClimate tyres on its new vehicles where possible, and all replacement tyres will be fitted by ATS Euromaster.
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Goodyear reaffirms 2015 targets with ‘strong’ 2Q results, despite EMEA troubles
Goodyear has reported strong overall results for its second quarter, despite falling sales in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. The manufacturer reported that the 20 per cent lower sales, $1,265 million compared to $1,580 million in the same quarter in 2014, was primarily a result of “unfavourable foreign currency translation”, though it also saw two per cent lower tyre unit volume. This was a result of lower consumer tyre sales and the manufacturer’s exit from the agricultural tyre business. Both original equipment and replacement tyre shipments were down two per cent. Its EMEA operating income was also eight per cent below the 2014 2Q, though operating margin rose from 7.4 to 8.5 per cent.
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Local production and OE aspirations – Triangle Tyre’s globalisation strategy
Even though some 55 per cent of the more than RMB 9 billion (£943 million) it earned last year came from sales outside of China, Triangle Tyre Co. Ltd. doesn’t yet consider itself a global company. But this is something China’s largest privately-owned tyre business intends to change. While it continues to invest in domestic R&D and manufacturing facilities, Triangle says it is also ready to expand its footprint beyond China. The company has appointed a new chief executive officer to facilitate this step, and during one of his first appearances in this new role he shared that we don’t have long to wait until we see the emergence of a more global Triangle Tyre.
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MWSD to present wheel safety campaign, latest wheels at NEC’s Coach & Bus Live
Motor Wheel Service Distribution (MWSD) is taking its wheel safety campaign to Coach & Bus Live 2015. The distributor will also display the latest xlite forged aluminium and Chevron stamped steel wheels. Located on stand B15, the leading wheel supplier will place a major educational focus on the impending EU Roadworthiness Act, which became law in May 2014 and must be implemented by Member States by May 2017, and will positively affect the UK commercial vehicle industry.
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Dmack to introduce new tyre, driver in Finland
Dmack will introduce a new soft compound version of its DMG+2 rally tyre in Finland, while the tyre supplier will also enter last year’s Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy winner as a new team – Drive Dmack 2. With the tyre brand’s lead driver, Jari Ketomaa, forced onto the sidelines for his home rally on medical advice, Dmack completes its changes with a new driver; Ketomaa’s fellow Finn, Jarkko Nikara steps in to take his place on the Neste Oil Rally Finland.
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Bigger data, bigger voice
What links tread depth awareness, tyre pressure awareness and the furore surrounding the four-year MOTs? Data.
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Sigmavision’s 3D scanning TreadReader addresses tread depth safety implications
TyreSafe’s annual industry briefing this month made it clear that illegal tread depth remains a problem in the UK. In its survey of Britain, TyreSafe found that 27.1 per cent of tyres inspected had less than the legal limit, 1.6mm of tread, while another 39.0 per cent were close to the limit (between 1.6 and 2.0mm. Given this context, the presence of a new, technologically advanced tread depth measurement system, present in a handheld device called the TreadReader, and in drive-over products manufactured by Hunter and distributed in the UK by Pro-Align, is significant. Sue Pryce, marketing director of the British firm behind the technology, Sigmavision, provides an additional perspective on the “unsettling” tread depth statistics.
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ETRMA: increased car demand lifted European premium tyre markets
Increased demand for new car purchases has led to increased tyre demand across Europe, according to the latest data released by the European Tyre Manufacturer’s Association. The ETRMA statistics reveal that consumer OE tyre sales were up 12 per cent, while truck tyre OE was up a 21 per cent. The association linked this increase directly to new vehicle OE growth, which in the case of passenger cars, grew 14.6 per cent in the period.
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Halfords reports £1 billion annual group revenues, a year earlier than planned
Automotive retail chain Halfords, which includes the growing and increasingly tyre-influenced Halfords Autocentres business, has reported annual group revenues of £1 billion – a year ahead of the company’s plan to reach this milestone. The figures, released on 5 June and followed up with a trading statement on 15 July that pointed to further growth are at least partly driven by the growth of the firm’s online business which saw sales in the year to March 2015 exceed £100 million, representing growth of +14.3 per cent. Indeed, the fourth quarter of 2015 alone saw online sales grow +12.6 per cent. The result is a positive impact on the group’s pre-tax profits (EBITDA), which were up 8.7 per cent.
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Goodyear Dunlop job notice not a case of farewell Wolverhampton, hola Mexico
According to several national and regional dailies, workers have responded with strong emotions to a jobs notification posted within the Goodyear Dunlop retreading facility in Wolverhampton, which the company proposes to close in response to changing market conditions. The notification in question, as reported by the Express & Star, offers Goodyear Dunlop workers job opportunities within the human resources, production and quality departments of a company plant in Mexico.
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MIRA sold to Japan’s Horiba
The Tokyo-listed Horiba Group has acquired MIRA Ltd’s entire business operations for approximately £83.1 million. Horiba states it purchased the UK-based company in order to expand its vehicle development and testing business, and to further the development of next-generation mobility solutions, such as autonomous vehicles. A new firm, HRA International Ltd., was established in the UK on 5 June 2015; this took over MIRA’s assets yesterday and commenced operations as Horiba MIRA Ltd.
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