France’s Groupe Massa (MPSA) has been appointed the sole national importer for the Aeolus consumer tyre range, which was first introduced into Europe last year. The company began supplying Aeolus products to the French market at the start of February and has accompanied its new distribution with an advertising campaign.
While premium tyre manufacturers are notably providing more application-specific products to the coach and bus sector, the move to specialisation does not end in the higher-priced market segment. Kings Road Tyres (KRT), one of the UK’s leading wholesale suppliers of specialist tyres to the bus and coach sector, explains that its exclusive brands Matador and Aeolus both offer coach and bus tyres for use in urban environs with mid-range and budget price tags.
As part of its recent agreement to distribute the full range of Aeolus PCR tyres, Kings Road Tyres is now offering UK stockists exclusive access to the Crossace AS02 SUV tyre. The tyre has a category B wet grip rating, which demonstrates its strong water dispersion qualities. According to the company, the Crossace line has been designed for “comfortable and relaxed driving in road traffic and for light off-road use”.
Aeolus has extended its exclusive UK distribution agreement with Kings Road Tyres (KRT) to include its passenger car tyre range. The fast growing tyre manufacturer, noted in European tyre markets mainly for its OTR and commercial vehicle products, has previously announced its intention to exhibit its PCR products on its stand at Reifen 2014, held at Messe Essen on 27-30 May. KRT previously announced its intention to give a then unnamed PCR range its UK market debut in Manchester at October’s Brityrex International exhibition.
Aeolus Co. Ltd. reports that it will be showcasing its entire range of passenger car tyres, bolstered by truck and EM product lines at the forthcoming Reifen show, which will run 27-30 May 2014.
Bruce Besancon has been appointed vice-president of marketing at Alliance Tire Group’s US subsidiary. Besancon comes to Alliance Tire Americas with more than 20 years of expertise working for Michelin North America, including five years heading marketing efforts for Michelin’s earthmover business unit.
Aeolus Tyre reports that the China Securities Regulatory Commission has contacted the company over potential disclosure violations. In a Chinese-language statement, the tyre maker confirms that the Henan branch of the CSRC has looked into a number of issues. Aeolus writes that it will cooperate with the CSRC and undertake corrective actions within 30 days of receiving a report outlining remedial action.
Several months ago a new rail freight service commenced between China and the German port city of Hamburg, and Heuver Tyrewholesale reports it intends to use this service as an additional channel for its tyre transport from China.
Aeolus reports that its new aeolus-europe.com is now live and offering information for tyre professionals and other visitors in five languages. The site presents company and product information in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
Aeolus has a new distributor for its passenger car tyre range in the German, Austrian and Swiss markets. German wholesaler and tyre service provider Reifen Straub GmbH now handles imports in these three territories and in mid-September began delivery of Aeolus AW02 and AW03 winter tyres for the coming ‘changeover’ period, which traditionally takes place in October.
The organisers of last week’s Tyrexpo India 2013 exhibition (9-11 July) have confirmed their plans to return to Chennai in July 2015. ECI International managing director Paul Farrant, says: “This was our second exhibition in India and we were greatly encouraged by the reaction received from both exhibitors and visitors. There is enormous potential in the tyre sector and we are very confident that the show will continue to grow and develop into a significant event for the tyre and equipment aftermarket.”
India’s PRS Tyres is launching new additions to its industrial and agricultural ranges with two sizes for Bobcat equipment in the 12-16.5 Skid Force and 10.0/75-15.3 Loadstar products. A new 12.5/80-18 bias ply tyre for backhoe loader applications is also being marketed to show visitors.
Hangzhou Zhongce is one of a number of major Chinese brands making a first appearance at Tyrexpo India this week, a development that organisers ECI International says is indicative of the increasing interest Chinese tyre manufacturers are taking in the Indian market following several years of trade restrictions.
Aeolus recently invited its distributors to spend a weekend in Tuscany at a demonstration event presented in partnership with Italian importer Intergomma.
“We want to give our customers a hands-on opportunity to experience the performance promise of our car tyres and above all, to try them out for themselves,” explained Thomas Wohlgemuth, general manager Western Europe. “Our programme has attracted strong interest from our distributors. To date, they have had excellent experiences with our truck and EM products and now they want to find out exactly if these experiences can also be transferred to the Aeolus CAR tyre range.”
Kings Road Tyres, or KRT, offers two exclusive tyre brands for the OTR market with its Aeolus and Kingstone ranges. The fast-growing Aeolus brand was established in 1965 and is one of the largest tyre producers in China. Its extensive OTR range reflects the huge domestic demand for off-road and construction machinery experienced in China and other emerging markets in recent years.
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