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With the opening of its new, US$40 million factory in Badalgama, Sri Lanka, Global Rubber Industries Ltd. (GRI) has increased off-road tyre capacity and has added to its export portfolio. The facility was officially inaugurated on 25 January.
Two of Sailun Jinyu International Europe’s tyre brands will now be distributed by wholesalers Viking Wholesaler Tyres and Bond International following a major strategic review of its UK distribution operations. The manufacturer pronounced itself “delighted to announce a number of enhancements and improvements” for its portfolio, which includes the Sailun, Jinyu, Blacklion, and Rovelo brands. The new strategy has become effective immediately, SJI Europe added.
As part of a new, multi-year partnership with US-based rallycross series Red Bull Global Rallycross (GRC), Continental is developing its very first rallycross tyres. The partnership between GRC and Continental Tire the Americas gets under way in 2018 and will see Continental serve as exclusive tyre provider for competitors in the Supercars, GRC Lites and Polaris RZR categories of the GRC, was well as to the e-GRC electric series that is scheduled to debut in 2019. Continental replaces BFGoodrich as official GRC tyre supplier.
Heuver Tyrewholesale, distributor of the Aeolus truck tyre range in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, France, Denmark and Romania, reports record sales of Aeolus truck tyres in these markets last year. Sales were up ten per cent compared with those achieved in 2016, a result helped by the introduction of the first products into the Aeolus Neo range.
On Saturday, Eduard Nikolaev’s crew from the KAMAZ-Master team crossed the Dakar Rally 2018 finish line in Cordoba, Argentina to take first place in the event’s truck category. The crew finished nearly four hours ahead of the nearest competition, having completed the rally’s 14 stages in 54 hours, 57 minutes and 37 seconds. Although KAMAZ-Master failed to replicate the one-two finish it secured in the truck category last year, it ended proceedings in the 40th anniversary event with another win for Nikolaev and a third-place finish for Airat Mardeev and his Kamaz-Master crew.
Continental’s return to the agricultural tyre segment stems from an internal project undertaken in 2012 that sought out possibilities for extending the CST business. Thorsten Bublitz shares that the outcome of this project was a “clear recommendation to go back to ag,” and this decision was taken the following year. Specific development began in 2014 with the involvement of material developers and the writing of requirement books for particular developments. The search for a suitable production site also commenced.
It really isn’t a long time since Continental committed itself to return to the agricultural tyre segment. Within the space of four years, the company has developed the first products for its new portfolio, chosen and equipped a production site and recruited a team to further develop, sell and service the new range. The first Continental-made and branded agricultural tyres to see the light of day since 2004, the Tractor70 and Tractor85, publicly debuted at the Agritechnica show last November and are now available in the UK and European markets. Tyres & Accessories spoke with two founding members of the Continental agricultural team about the new products and the tyre maker’s agri market re-entry.
The original equipment supply relationship between Hankook Tire and Swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania has been extended through the approval of the SmartWork truck tyre series. SmartWork is designed for trucks engaged in construction applications, and the original equipment arrangement covers all Scania vehicles designed for use on construction sites, including the new Scania XT generation of construction vehicles.
Stefano Sanchini has been appointed sales director for Bridgestone in the Middle East & Africa region. He joins Bridgestone from Goodyear, and although the tyre maker only recently announced his appointment, Sanchini has been with Bridgestone since August 2017.
Univergomma Spa, the apparent number two in the Italian tyres replacement market, has reported significant sales improvement in 2017. The firm specifically reported a turnover figure north of 135 million euros. This figure includes international sales, with particular success reported in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
Eden Tyres & Servicing (ETS) recently named the company’s shortlist for their 2017 Technician Of The Year awards, sponsored by Firestone.
Fast fitters from ETS’s 14 Midlands sales depots were nominated for the prestigious award and the hopeful contestants were whittled down to a shortlist of 10. Finally, one overall winner was crowned the official Technician Of The Year.
At the start of the year both Kumho and long-term UK distributor Micheldever announced that the two parties would stop working together at the end of May. The upshot is that from the second half of 2018 Kumho will being distributing its car tyre products itself. It’s too early to talk about this in any more detail and this month’s car tyre feature is somewhat more product orientated, so here’s a run-down of the South-Korean tyremaker’s UK 2018 car tyre range.
Change is inevitable, but it’s important to time it right. Michelin claims its tyres deliver safe performance down to the legal tread depth limit of 1.6mm and considers changing tyres beforehand unnecessary, costly to motorists and fleets, and harmful to the environment. The tyre maker has heavily promoted this point of view in recent times, but its message isn’t finding an audience with everyone. In a statement issued today, GEM Motoring Assist recommends that motorists change their tyres earlier.
Following on from the launch at last year’s SIMA show of the Agriflex+ 389 VF, Alliance Tire Group (ATG) released further agricultural tyre lines during 2017, including the Alliance 128. The Yokohama Rubber-owned tyre maker also announced its intention to intensify its activities with OEM customers and has appointed a dedicated original equipment team.
The argument against prematurely dismounting tyres voiced by Michelin here in the UK and in Europe has become a topic of conversation at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week. The tyre maker’s global initiative to promote consumer awareness was presented at the show yesterday by Michelin North America’s recently-appointed chairman and president, Scott Clark.
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