If you are not happy with the results below please do another search
Within the next few hours, production will recommence at Hankook Tire & Technology’s Geumsan plant in South Korea following a 48-hour pause that began on 24 July after a number of workers tested positive for Covid-19. Health authorities have set up a test centre at the plant and intend to test around 3,000 employees early this week.
Giti-sponsored truck racing team Holten finished one of the world’s leading extreme off-road events with only one set of Giti tyres. Described as the “Dakar of Europe”, the Rallye Breslau in Poland is a five-day, 1,300km cross-country rally across some of the most difficult terrains. The Netherlands-based team entered a modified Mercedes 1622 800HP and a Scania 4×4 630 in a field of 28 vehicles in the Extreme Trucks category.
The Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 belatedly begin this week, and as is well known, much will be different this time round. Worldwide partner Bridgestone Corporation has outlined the ways its contributions will help support safety and efficiency for athletes and operations.
Bridgestone’s tyre retail network First Stop and telematics provider Webfleet Solutions will jointly support the World’s Fastest Shed. First Stop is sponsoring Guinness World Record holder Kevin Nicks and his road-legal outbuilding. Webfleet Solutions has installed its Webfleet fleet management software on the unusual vehicle.
Amidst widespread economic and political unrest in South Africa, local tyre manufacturers have experienced significant disruption and even looting. Specifically, the Dunlop South Africa (formally Sumitomo Rubber South Africa Pty Ltd – SRSA) Durban Westville warehouse was “invaded” by trespassers and looters resulting in the loss of 90 million rand (£4.533 million; 5.255 million euros; US$6.190 million) of tyre stock. Such is the scale of the problem, the local tyre industry has embarked on a “say no to looted goods” campaign.
Bridgestone is exclusive tyre supplier for the new Lamborghini Huracán STO and now offers two options. From launch the road-homologated super sports car has worn custom-developed Bridgestone Potenza Sport tyres in size 245/30 ZR20 at the front and 305/30 ZR20 on the rear axle. Those seeking “excellent dry grip for outstanding lap times and reliable cornering, braking and handling on and off the track” can now benefit from a second option, Bridgestone Potenza Race semi-slick tyres.
Major European vehicle maintenance and mobility firm Mobivia and French retreading specialist Black Star have signed an agreement covering the collection, sorting and retreading of passenger car tyres at the site of Bridgestone’s former Béthune plant in France. Bridgestone is lending its support to the project, which will commence in January and is expected to create nearly 200 jobs by 2025, thus providing employment for many former Bridgestone workers.
Continuing our recently-introduced series of interviews with leading figures in the UK tyre industry, Tyres & Accessories spoke with Paul Emery, UK sales director, Hankook Tyre UK.
Tyres & Accessories: How has the pandemic impacted on your business? What changes have you made in day-to-day business?
"Torque from the Top" is a regularly feature in the print edition of Tyres & Accessories magazine. Not a subscriber? No problem, click here to become one.
Michelin has been in the UK since 1905, and it has been making tyres there since 1927 when its Stoke-on-Trent factory opened. Michelin’s Stoke-on-Trent plant still produces retreaded truck tyres, which use 70 per cent less raw material than a new tyre.
Stoke-on-Trent is Michelin’s UK headquarters, and it is the global headquarters of Michelin Lifestyle – the manufacturer’s licensing operation. The Michelin Training and Information Centre pushes up standards, safety and knowledge through courses attended by tyre technicians and emergency services from the UK and overseas, while Michelin Development supports new and small businesses in selected regions.
Michelin in the UK also produces the Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland, giving readers expert and independent advice on where to stay and where to eat, and listing restaurants worthy of a world-famous Michelin Star.
Michelin UK has strong links with other Michelin Group companies in the country, including Camso, Fenner and Blackcircles.com. The Michelin Group employs more than 123,000 people globally.
Tyres & Accessories recently interviewed UK managing director Chris Smith in order to get his view on subjects affecting the market today.
We’ve emerged from lockdown into a market environment of rising raw material prices, a global imbalance of containers and exploding shipping costs, not to mention continuing port disruptions. These combined factors have already led to higher tyre prices and product shortages in some instances, but the extent to which customers are affected can be tempered by good stock management.
When Lucid Motors brings the Air to market in the second half of 2021, this inaugural model from the EV start-up will wear Pirelli’s very first high load index tyre – a new type of tyre dedicated primarily to electric or hybrid cars and SUVs. This original equipment arrangement initially pertains to Lucid Air models sold in the USA and sees Pirelli supply its P Zero to Lucid in size HL 245/35R21 99 Y XL for the front axle and HL 265/ 35R21 103 Y XL for the rear.
While sales of consumer replacement tyres in Europe are once again approaching 2019 levels, the all-season tyre segment has grown significantly – primarily at the expense of winter tyre sales.
With the 19 July 2021 relaxation of Covid-19 legislation fast-approaching, some have dubbed next Monday as “freedom day”. However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stressed that the pandemic is not over and in practice the government is passing responsibility for health and safety and social distancing onto businesses and households. With this in mind, the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) commissioned the “Keeping Tyre Centres Safe – Insight Report” and is launching a “Safe Tyre Centre Scheme” in order to help tyre distributors with the challenging choices they face. At the top of the list of difficult decisions is “which (if any) COVID-19 restrictions they will relax in their branches and workshops” after 19 July, as NTDA chief executive Stefan Hay notes in his foreword to the report.
The handling, comfort and longevity when fully laden offered by Davanti’s DX440 van tyre helped the brand to become the original equipment specified tyre for London Electric Vehicle Company’s VN5 electric commercial van. The company said it developed the range with the driver at the centre. “It’s important to remember that, if a van is getting new tyres, that could be a sole trader losing money or a fleet unable to respond to as many calls in a day,” said Sean Maddocks, Davanti Tyres’ sales director for the UK and Ireland. “The DX440 is designed to last longer – reducing the number of times van drivers need to replace their tyres. The tread design and compound achieves that without losing sharpness or control – even under full load.”
The significant decline in revenue for global tyre makers based on headwinds from the Covid-19 pandemic was felt most keenly by companies with the greatest exposure to the consumer vehicle tyre markets. (For the effects of the crisis on manufacturers, see our ranking of the world’s top tyre manufacturers in the Company section of our 75th anniversary special issue.) As many countries reduced private mileage considerably with working from home orders and travel restrictions – not to mention the negative effects of measures such as the UK’s MOT freeze, which removed a significant push factor in the market for much of 2020 – car tyre sales last year dropped considerably, though again there were big differences even within the EU27 and UK. Within car tyre segments there were significant differences in the depth of the contraction too. Broadly speaking, the higher value the segment, the better it tended to fare. Pirelli’s financial reporting for 2020, and the subsequent first-quarter growth in 2021, provide a good illustration of how higher performance segments provided increased resilience in these difficult times.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.