Bridgestone launches high performance European agricultural range
Bridgestone has launched a premium range of radial agricultural tyres at Reifen 2014. While the manufacturer boasts a wide range of products for the sector under its Firestone brand, including the Performer and Maxi Traction, the Bridgestone VT-Tractor will focus on the growing high performance tractor segment.
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Reifen, Automechanika agree upon strategic partnership
Messe Essen and Messe Frankfurt have announced a “far-reaching strategic partnership”, aimed at strengthening the Reifen and Automechanika trade fairs. The partners expressed a joint desire to exploit “synergetic effects in sales and marketing across borders,” the most obvious of which will be package solutions for exhibitors.
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New Goodyear Dunlop technologies to dampen noise, increase comfort
Grip and fuel efficiency are often the focal points of improved tyre technologies, yet the third EU label metric of noise is an important consideration for many motorists. Goodyear Dunlop has announced new technologies in both its premium brands designed to increase comfort through reduced noise levels inside the vehicle when driving – a feature not actually measured in labelling, but one that could prove attractive to consumers wanting to hear more of their engine tone or in-car entertainment.
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Michelin to become exclusive tyre supplier to MotoGP
Michelin will replace Bridgestone as the exclusive tyre supplier to MotoGP in 2016. The French manufacturer won the official tender, opened in May by Dorna in agreement with the FIM. Outlining the tender process, Dorna said that interested tyre manufacturers were able to request the technical specifications from its managing director Javier Alonso, with three […]
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ATS Euromaster reports increased UK winter tyre demand
Following what it describes as “massive growth” in sales of winter tyres over the past three years, ATS Euromaster expects higher demand than ever in 2014. The tyre specialist says it is in talks with fleets about their requirements for winter 2014/15 and is urging customers to place their orders for cold weather tyres sooner rather than later, to avoid missing out.
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Michelin unveils anti-landmine tyre, ‘pushing back limits of mobility’
Michelin has launched a new military tyre product, designed to help clear safe pathways through areas studded with land mines. The manufacturer worked with the French military and defence systems manufacturer MBDA in the development of the tyre. Michelin explained that the company has a duty to stretch the limits of its traditional role as a tyre supplier to provide all-inclusive mobility support. Michelin also announced that it has reworked its range of all-terrain truck mobility solutions, with its X-Force tyres available in four different tread designs, including the new fuel-efficient XZL2 version.
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Trelleborg draws the line on tyre replacement uncertainties
On 16 May, Trelleborg Wheel Systems launched ‘Pit Stop Line’, an innovation that will be employed on its industrial tyre range. The Swedish company describes its new solution as “revolutionary” and says it “answers one of the industry’s most elusive and critical questions” – how to know, with 100 per cent certainty, when a forklift tyre is worn out and needs replacing. Central to Pit Stop Line is an orange line embedded into the tyre; this indicator line is visible on the tyre sidewall and designed to reveal itself across the surface of the tyre when wear reaches a level that necessitates replacement.
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Closure-threatened Bridgestone site receives Italian grant
Bridgestone has signed a development contract with Invitalia, Italy’s agency for inward investment promotion and enterprise development, for the upgrade of Bridgestone’s Modugno plant in Bari, which employs some 800 workers. A total of €41.3 million is being invested in the project, including a €12.4 million grant from Invitalia. The agreement between the tyre maker and government agency was signed in Rome by Bridgestone Italia CEO Roberto Mauro and Invitalia CEO Domenico Arcuri.
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Pirelli highlights F1 tyre longevity at hard-wearing Barcelona
The Spanish grand prix at Barcelona allowed Pirelli to showcase the solidity of its 2014 Formula One rubber, supporting the manufacturer’s assertion that its tyres would not repeat the 2013 specification’s well-publicised problems. As one of the season’s most demanding tracks, the 2013 Barcelona grand prix was won on a four-stop strategy; in 2014, eight of the top 10 finishers completed the 66 laps with two.
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Sailun develops European tyre lines as Asian acquisitions continue
April reports of the Sailun Group’s move to raise capital of “up to 1.2 billion yuan” (c. £114 million) through the private placement of shares is just the latest positive step in the development of a name still in its adolescence. While the merger with Jinyu in 2012, only its tenth year in existence, placed the company alongside larger manufacturers in China, overseas developments have followed, with a large factory in Vietnam online since February. Developing a European base has also come quickly, with Sailun establishing an office headed by managing director Martin West in Solihull by 2010, who has worked quickly to build partnerships with local wholesalers in the various European markets. Meeting West in Solihull, Tyres & Accessories asked how corporate growth has informed Sailun’s approach to the European market.
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Awards encourage higher supplier standards, says Pirelli CPO
On 16 April, Pirelli handed out its 2014 Supplier Awards, the third such awards organised by the Italian tyre maker. Nine companies out of the thousands of suppliers Pirelli works with were singled out for recognition based on their performance in a number of areas, including quality – of course – but also “innovation, total cost of ownership, sustainability, global presence, level of service (which includes logistic performance) and speed of execution.” This year the spotlight was firmly on European suppliers, with companies from within this region taking eight of the nine awards.
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Brookes breaks Oulton Park BSB lap record on Pirelli Diablo Superbike tyre
A new British Superbike lap record at Oulton Park capped a successful May bank holiday weekend for Pirelli’s two-wheel motorsport tyre supply agreements. Pirelli supplied riders in the first races of the German and Dutch Superbike national championships, and was the tyre supplier to the winner of the Alpe Adria motorcycle road racing championship’s first race of 2014.
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241 jobs as Schrader invests £56M in N Ireland TPMS facilities
Schrader has announced an investment of £56 million-plus, creating 241 new jobs at its Carrickfergus and Antrim TPMS facilities. The major investment will see the company expand its production facilities over the next three years. It is also undertaking five research and development projects, and a major staff training programme to equip its engineers with the latest design and production techniques.
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