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This month, many of those born in June 1946 are gearing up to receive their gold watch and embark on retired life. Not so Tyres & Accessories. Sixty-five years after its birth as a “new journal for a new age,” the UK’s magazine for the tyre and wheel industries continues going from strength to strength and takes pleasure in bringing the latest news and information to an ever-evolving industry.
The first quarter of 2011 will form a “solid foundation” for Continental Corporation’s year as a whole, the tyre and automotive component supplier reported at its annual shareholders’ meeting. The complete report for the first quarter won’t be released until May 5, however at the April 28 event, Continental reported a 20+ per cent year-on-year sales increase during the first three months to more than 7.3 billion euros. EBIT, at nearly 634 million euros, was around 140 million euros higher than in the first quarter of 2010.
German hard rock band Scorpions took a specially built Volkswagen Amarok fitted with Oxigin’s 19” 14 Oxrock alloy wheels on its final tour. German manufacturer Oxigin says “the band was so impressed by the pick-up truck that the Amarok and its 19” wheels were brought on stage during the concert in its hometown of Hannover.” The wheel is available in 7.5×17”, 8.5×18”, 8.5×19”, 9.5×19”, 8.5×20”, 9.5×20” and 11×20” sizes, with black, black full polish, orange polish, gun metal polish, and white pearl polish finishes.
Continental has gained new OE approvals from Audi for both quattro models R8 and RS3, the luxury A8 saloon and the compact A1. The sporty models come equipped with Continental's high-tech ContiSportContact 5 P as well as the economical ContiPremiumContact 2, whilst the A1 is being fitted with the ContiSportContact 3 and the ContiPremiumContact 2. 19-inch diameter tyres have been approved on R8, with tyres up to 21 inches destined for the A8. The RS3 is being fitted with 19-inch tyres, while for the A1 has a choice of 15, 16 and 18-inch sizes.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems Americas Inc has moved its North American corporate offices in Ohio about 25 miles (40 km) to Fairlawn from Hartville. “We are very pleased with our new location for the business’s industrial and agricultural tyre divisions,” says Ydo Doornbos, managing director. “The city of Fairlawn has been very welcoming.” The Hartville location will remain as a satellite distribution centre. The main Ohio distribution centre is located in Akron, Ohio.
The seat on Continental AG’s Supervisory Board left vacant by Rolf Koerfer’s resignation on November 29 is to be filled by Professor Siegfried Wolf. The 53-year old Austrian, who is also chairman of the Board of Directors at Russian Machines OJSC, was nominated to the Conti board on December 4; Wolf’s nomination received the Board’s unanimous support and his appointment will be applied for at the local court in Continental’s home town of Hannover, Germany early this week.
One outcome of the recession has been increased awareness of the need to maximise tyre value through related services. Several manufacturers of budget-segment brands have shared with Tyres & Accessories their view that simply producing affordable tyres holds little future; service, they realise, will increasingly be a dividing point between brands that do well and those that don’t. Established tyre majors, such as Goodyear Dunlop, enjoy a significant head start in this area, and this is helping them gain a better foothold in a market increasingly focused on whole-life savings.
If Hankook Tire has its way, van drivers will not be excluded from a future that includes more environmentally friendly tyres. The Korean manufacturer has shown off its vision for a more fuel-efficient and lower rolling resistance van tyre at the IAA Commercial Vehicle show in Hannover, Germany. Hankook calls this prototype tyre Concept Blue and says it anticipates future trends starting at the tyre dimension 195/45 R 20. The tyre’s diameter of 700 mm is relatively large by comparison to its width, proportions that Hankook says yield a characteristically narrow yet high-profile silhouette that “fits perfectly with the overall image of electric and hybrid vehicles.” From a technical standpoint, the combination of a low air drag coefficient and low rolling resistance means that less energy is used. Hankook also points to the sidewall and shoulder area’s aerodynamic properties as two other design highlights.
In early September, Bridgestone released its latest European market Ecopia passenger car tyre. The introduction of this environment-oriented product has now been followed up with the European launch of an Ecopia truck tyre range. At the IAA Commercial Vehicle show in Hannover, Germany, Bridgestone Europe CEO Mac Ohashi formally announced the line-up’s debut in our region.
Yokohama has been promoting its ‘Zenvironment’ concept – the reduction of global emissions through tyres that last longer, are retreadable and can be recycled – in Europe since 2008. The current range includes the 104ZR steer axle and 901ZS winter steer axle fitments, and at the upcoming IAA commercial vehicle show in Hannover, Germany, the company intends to extend its Zenvironment portfolio. New additions to be shown in Hannover include the prototype 106ZS steer axle tyre and 107ZL steer axle tyre for long-haul operations.
The Volkswagen T5 van, produced at the company’s factory in Hannover, Germany, has the distinction of being fitted with the first tyres delivered to a European manufacturer directly from Hankook Tire’s plant in Rácalmás, Hungary. Supply of the Hankook Radial RA 28 in sizes 205/65 R 16 C and 215/65 R 16 C began following a Volkswagen audit held a year ago. A new audit of the Rácalmás facility has now been conducted, and Hankook has received an ‘A’ certification, the highest rating available.
Addressing the company’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, held in Hannover, Germany on April 28, chairman of the Continental AG Executive Board, Dr. Elmar Degenhart, stated “if you wanted to summarise the year 2009, you could boil it down to a simple notion – state of emergency.” The major events affecting the market, he added, resulted in the most dramatic economic crisis in the post-war era.
Hankook has announced the promotion of Dr Claus Oberbeck to head of development at the company’s European Technical Centre. Oberbeck has a strong history of technical research and development in ultra-high performance tyres having worked most recently as the head of an international project team developing new concepts and putting those concepts into practice in series production. His appointment provides further evidence of the company’s continued strengthening of its UHP tyre position, with an engineering team now numbering over 40 members.
Continental Tire the Americas (CTA) has commented on the global recognition it gained during the recent ContiTire Awards ceremony in Hannover, Germany. At the awards CTA project teams walked away with three of the five awards, an occurrence the American operation comments is “indicative of the organisation’s dedication and commitment to excellence, and its key role in Continental Tire’s success in the global marketplace.”
The 10 millionth Hankook tyre rolled off the production line at the company’s Rácalmás, Hungary production plant in January 2010. According to the company, a Hankook Ventus V12 evo was the ‘anniversary’ tyre that came out of the heating mould, which is fitting because markets for UHP and environmentally friendly tyres have reportedly shown particularly strong growth in Europe.
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