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At the end of May 2021, Trelleborg Wheel Systems it is increasing the prices of its tyres globally by up to 8 per cent. Prices for rims will be increased by up to 20 per cent. The price increase is effective immediately “across all brands and segments”.
Toyo Tire is heading to the Nürburgring for the 49th ADAC Total 24H Race on 3-6 June 2021. The Japanese tyre manufacturer will supply specially developed tyres to Novel Racing, following up its entry in the delayed 2020 edition of the race for which it signed a partnership agreement with Toyo. Toyo developed its new rubber for Novel’s Lexus RC F and Toyota Supra GT4, entries tuned by Nürburgring based Ring Racing, which has been building cars for the circuit for more than a decade.
Norwegian waste tyre recycling company Wastefront has appointed Vianney Valès as its new CEO, replacing founder Inge Berge, who moves to chief operating officer. Valès is a former top oil and gas executive in in companies such as Shell and Galp Energia. He was first introduced to Wastefront by its liquid offtaker Vitol in 2019, was initially engaged with the Norwegian company in his former position as CEO of Devaltec LLC, a project developer and solutions provider in new and sustainable energies. Valès will be responsible for de-risking the company’s first waste tyre plant project in Sunderland, due to begin construction in early 2022. Valès will relocate immediately to London from Houston, Texas. Wastefront added that Valès’ initial priorities will include the selection of an EPC partner, developing commercial agreements, and ensuring all outstanding permits are approved.
The off-the-road (OTR) segment is historically strong for Triangle Tyre. The China-based brand has recorded sustained and continuous growth around the world since it produced its first radial OTR tyre in November 2002, gaining a stronghold in the sector in Europe. The tyre-maker has achieved this by securing original equipment fitments with a wide range of manufacturers, demonstrating its ability to produce tyres for many OTR specialisms; it is a global supplier to Caterpillar, as well as supplying such construction and mining equipment makers as Komatsu and Liebherr. It has also built a network of professional distributors across Europe.
As can be seen in the top 10 table published yesterday, Halfords Autocentres remains in second place nationally in our 2021 ranking of the UK’s largest retail operations by branch count. Continuing our three-article series on this subject, today’s instalment focuses on places 11 to 20 and finds that the medium to large sized positions are increasingly being taken by autocentre style businesses that make as much money from parts and repairs as they do from tyres (and more than traditional fast fits).
With a pandemic, an MOT extension and three lockdowns to contend with, describing the last year as “difficult” would be an understatement. Nevertheless, tyre retailers have demonstrated that they are not only key workers essential to keeping the British Isles rolling, but also versatile and resilient businesspeople during the last 12 months. A quick look at the top 25 UK tyre retail chains 2021 table reveals that it has been a more eventful year than normal in terms of branch openings and closings, but overall the clear message is one of consolidation. As a result, the top 25 UK tyre retail chains wield more power than ever. Specifically, the top 25 now run 2528 branches between them. When our coverage of this area began back at the end of the 2008/2009 tax year, the figure was 1978. During the interim, the rough estimate for the total number of tyre retailers national has stayed stable at around 10,000 specialists (that number is roughly double that if you include general garages). This means the top 25 occupy roughly 25 per cent of the number of branches, up 6 percentage points since 2009.
Commercial vehicle tyre management system supplier TyreWatch will unveil two new products at this year’s ITTHub transport show. The company says the new additions will cut costs, improve safety and lower carbon emissions for operators across all commercial vehicle sectors. AutoAlign is a dynamic vehicle monitoring system designed to combat the widespread problem of wheel misalignment. TyreWatch says around a third of fleets suffer from misalignment unknowingly. The system will be rolled out in the UK in September 2021. Also due to be launched at the ITTHub show is a new version of the widely used TyreWatch VanSmart tyre monitoring system which, says the company, will improve safety and reduce running costs for light commercial vehicle operators.
Using the market proven TyreWatch ‘connected technology’ platform, AutoAlign continuously monitors each vehicle and detects any wheel alignment issue as soon as it occurs and automatically notifies the operator so that immediate corrective action can be taken.
Continuing our ongoing series of interviews with leading tyre executives, this month’s edition hears of Bridgestone’s achievements in the realms of sustainability, material development, retreading and more.
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Founded in roughly 1994 as a casing collection company which focused on imports, Radburg is now one of the leading retreaders in Europe and certainly the biggest car tyre retreader in Eastern Europe and Romania. What’s different about Radburg compared with most of the other retreaders across the continent, is that the majority of Radburg’s annual retreaded tyre output (70 per cent) is made up of passenger car products.
Nico Rosberg has signed his name on the Continental dotted line and will henceforth act as a brand manager for the tyre maker. Announcing the arrangement, the former Formula One World Champion tweeted that he’s “proud to work with partners who put sustainability, technology and safety at the heart of what they do.”
April’s launch of Bridgestone’s quietest bus and coach tyre ever made followed 18 months of internal testing with its biggest fleet customer. The tyre is in part a product of a lengthy development project with Stagecoach, whose Manchester city centre fleet of green vehicles became the first in Europe to operate on the product. The U-AP 002 reduces rolling resistance, extends mileage, and reduces fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and total cost of ownership according to Bridgestone’s testing against its predecessor in size 275/70 R22.5. The tyre was developed to fulfil the requirements of an electric and hybrid bus fleet, a quickly growing target market.
Even though ticket sales are yet to commence, the Nürburgring 24-hour race is expected to take place over the weekend of 3 to 6 June as planned – with or without spectators. And when the ADAC Total 24h race commences, the circuit will include two sections of track that now carry the Goodyear name.
Pirelli claims a world first with the launch of a range of FSC-certified (Forest Stewardship Council) tyres. Designed for the BMW X5 xDrive45e plug-in-hybrid, these tyres contain FSC-certified natural rubber and rayon. According to Pirelli, its FSC-Certified P Zero represents “a new horizon for increasingly sustainable tyre production.”
Although Continental doesn’t plan to cease production at its Aachen factory in Germany until next year, it isn’t making any tyres at all there at the moment. Corona virus is to blame for this pause in production. To date, 19 of the 1,800-strong workforce has tested positive and a further 130 have been quarantined. Continental has thus stopped work at the site until the end of 26 May.
BKT has added to its Ridemax range with the release of a second Ridemax FL 699 size. The new 525/65 R 20.5 tyre is intended for fitment on agricultural trailers and tank trucks and complements the existing 24 R 20.5 size.
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