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Reifen China Opening the Door to New Markets

Following the successful premiere event in 2007, the popular Asian region “Reifen China” exhibition was again held last December. Some 5,600 domestic and international visitors attended the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC) between December 4 and 6, 2008, to gain information on the latest products, technologies and services available within the Chinese and worldwide tyre industry. While the fair attracted some two hundred fewer visitors than the 5,800 recorded the previous year, this decline of 3.5 per cent must be viewed in light of the current economic situation, particularly within the tyre industry, and should therefore be interpreted as a very positive result. “Actually I don’t at all want to speak of it as a decline,” commented Klaus Reich, director Trade Fairs and Exhibitions for the show organiser, Messe Essen GmbH, to Tyres & Accessories. The result, he said, was in the economic circumstances, “absolutely good.”

6th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Zimbabwe Sales Rise Following Granting of Forex Permit

According to a company official, sales at Dunlop Zimbabwe Limited have significantly improved since the company received a license entitling it to sell its products in foreign currency. The license was granted to Dunlop Zimbabwe by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in late November 2008.

Without releasing specific figures, company managing director Kennedy Mandevani said that sales have been steadily increasing. “The FOLIWARS (Foreign Exchange Licensed Warehouses and Retail Shops) sales are gradually picking up and will make a positive difference to our sales mix,” he said. “Dunlop is intensifying its marketing campaign so that more of our customers are made aware of this facility.”

6th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Tyre Donation Helps Charity Deliver West African Aid

Mercy Ships is an international charity that delivers ‘hope and healing’ to the world’s forgotten poor. To get to isolated sites in West Africa the charity needs to traverse rugged terrain, and the going has now become more manageable thanks to a consignment of new 4×4 Dueler tyres donated by Bridgestone, an ongoing supporter of Mercy Ships.

The gift was handed over to Mercy Ships by Bridgestone Netherlands managing director Peter Van Der Wal at the company’s Dutch head office. “We have to be able to count on top quality equipment for our work in West Africa” said Aad van Noppen, Office and Procurement manager (Gifts in Kind) Mercy Ships, Netherlands. “The dirt tracks and terrain create some of the toughest conditions in the world for vehicles.”

22nd December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental Opens Service Centre in Jordan

On 18 December Continental Group opened its first Continental tyre shop in Amman, Jordan. The shop is located in Al Madina Munawra street in the western part of Amman. and was opened in partnership with Nasco Automotive, the exclusive importer of Continental products in Jordan since 2007.

Nasco Automotive offers all Continental summer tyres and General Tire-branded passenger and light truck, commercial vehicle and industrial tyres. The selected distribution channels in Jordan are wholesalers as well as retailers. “We have been carefully selected to represent some of the world’s most reliable and superior premium tyre brands to serve all the segments in the respective markets of Jordan, Egypt, Sudan and Iraq. And we are proud to be the exclusive partner of Continental in Jordan”, said Badie Dayeh who is business development and marketing manager of Nasco Automotive.

22nd December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dubai Tyre Trade Worth £729 million

Dubai’s direct tyre trade (both commercial and passenger car products) amounted to 4.15 billion UAE dirhams (£729 million, 773 million euros, US$1.13 billion) in 2007, according to the Gulf Daily News. Further growth is expected next year, the paper reported.

“Commercial tyres worth 1.1 billion (175 million, 186 million euros) dirhams for buses and lorries were imported to Dubai last year, mainly from Japan, China, and India,” said Automechanika Middle East senior show manager Michael Dehn, adding: “…Dubai consumes almost 64 per cent, re-exporting 36pc to Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Africa. The commercial vehicle market is an essential industry in the UAE and an increase of 35 per cent is expected from this year to 2012.”

18th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Dunlop Presents Employee HR Gongs

Goodyear Dunlop has presented Pan-European development awards to two associates in the West Midlands. One of the Midlands’ top employers, the company aims to encourage development and recognition within the workplace, supporting employees who train in new areas and develop their roles within the organisation.

As part of their drive towards being “First with People” (the firm’s branding of the initiative), Goodyear Dunlop has developed the Pan-European award. These awards are presented on a yearly basis to those employees who have made a difference or special contribution to the company within the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. 35 associates out of over 30,000 within the EMEA region are selected.

This year the UK team, based in Birmingham, has proudly announced that two of its employees have received an award: Peter Wayte, of the Tyre Technical department and Cliff Hickman from IT. The manufacturer has called the gongs a “great achievement not only for the individuals but also for Goodyear Dunlop UK and Ireland. It highlights the company’s dedication to associates and the investments made.”

18th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama to Supply 2009 Dakar Drivers with ‘Special’ Tyres

When Japanese drivers Ukyo Katayama and Takuma Aoki get underway in the 2009 Dakar rally, held in South America between January 3 and 18, both men will be driving vehicles fitted with tyres specially developed for the competition. Manufactured by Yokohama Rubber, the rally tyres utilise a new material the company calls “Orange Oil”, a substance also employed in Yokohama’s latest generation eco tyre, the ‘DNA Earth-1’.

17th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Stamford Warning Q2 Loss

Stamford Tyres of Singapore has told Asian news sources that it expects to record a loss in its second quarter ending 31 October, 2008. The company said that the losses were a result of currencies in Australia, South Africa, Indonesia and India weakening against the American dollar in October. It says that the losses are not related to speculative hedging instruments. The firm still expects to post a profit for the first half of its financial year.

2nd December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Zimbabwe Permitted to Sell in Forex

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has granted Dunlop Zimbabwe the licence required for companies in the country to sell products using foreign currencies, according to the Chronicle newspaper.

The paper quotes the firm’s Southern regional manager Dumisani Ndlovu, who stated, “the inspection was done by the RBZ on 25 November to check whether the ultra violet money detection machine was in place, the invoicing, security, computer network and warehousing. The team was satisfied and Dunlop was given permission to sell in forex.” He concluded that the licence would allow the manufacturer to import more raw materials, which would make an increase in production capacity possible, “thereby improving the company’s viability and safeguarding the company’s employment base. In addition, the more we sell in forex, the more forex that is made available to the RBZ to finance crucial national programmes in the country,” he stated.

28th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Launches 2009 Calendar

On the evening of November 20 the 2009 edition of the Pirelli Calendar – one of only a few objects in this world that can be described as iconic without fear of a visit from the ‘cliché police’ – was unveiled at its world premiere in Berlin. The ‘Cal’ has been a cult object for more than forty years among connoisseurs of photography, beauty and cultural evolution, and the setting for the 2009 edition is the landscape of Botswana, where famed photographer Peter Beard spent ten days immortalising seven internationally renowned models. Beard, who lived in Kenya for thirty years, has developed a reputation as one of the world’s greatest interpreters of the mystery and charm of Africa.

21st November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Roesler Group Turns 360 on Tyre Management

The Roesler Group has announced that it is to support its core retreading business with a product branded “Roesler 360”. The new offering comprises what the company terms a “fully integrated ‘Total Tyre Management System’” for buyers, maintenance workshops, operators and users of EM and OTR tyres. Roesler says that it will offer customers “a complete tyre quality management, performance enhancing and tracking facility that ranges from first fitment, right through to the end of tyre life disposal and recycling.”

Roesler 360 incorporates the combined expertise, technical innovation, manufacturing and site servicing capabilities of the Roesler Group, its comprehensive range of tyre types and sizes and its diversity of applications. It will provide a highly flexible, customer focused and traceable system, which manages, analyses and reports a tyre’s total life cycle. It also features data on the tyre’s selection, fitment, use, performance, servicing, retreading and ultimate disposal, allowing the tyre to be fully optimised in terms of continuously improving its running costs, hours, safety, reliability and carbon footprint.

21st November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop the Tyre of Choice for Lancer Evo X

Dunlop has announced that its SP Sport 600 tyres have been chosen as original equipment on Mitsubishi Motors’ new Lancer Evolution X. The high-performance vehicle comes with a new powerful all-aluminium 2.0 litre turbo engine, with power ranging from 295PS and 407Nm of torque to 359PS and 492Nm, depending on the model. Dunlop will meet the task of transmitting that power to the road with its SP Sport 600 in the size 245/40R18 93Y.

18th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Appoints New Nigerian Distributor

International News

Kumho has returned to the Nigerian market following the naming of a new national distributor. Super Tyres and Motor Limited have been appointed to the role, reports Koh Bongyoon, Kumho’s international marketing manager, Africa operations. At a media briefing in Lagos, Super Tyres and Motor brand manager Aloke Sharma said the company aimed to position Kumho above competition in the premium segment.

According to Aloke, Super Tyres and Motors plans to hold at least 20 per cent market share for passenger car tyres within the first six months of Kumho tyre sales. The company is also the sole Nigerian distributor for GT Radial, Vikrant, DoubleCoin, BKT and Techking.

11th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyota, Renault-Nissan Look to Emerging Markets

With vehicle sales in established markets declining, it is hardly surprising that manufacturers are eyeing fresh fields. India’s Tata has already unveiled the Nano, at £1,300 the world’s cheapest new car; now the company faces competition from international rivals hoping for a share of the Indian and other newer markets.

Toyota, along with its Daihatsu small vehicle unit, is said to be developing a new low-cost car for emerging markets. The vehicle, which would sell in locations such as India, Brazil and Africa, is said to have a planned price tag of around £3,200. Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper reports this vehicle will be introduced in the early 2010s and manufactured in India. Toyota executives have not, however, confirmed this news, and are said to have countered that selling such a car under the Toyota badge could harm its brand image.

11th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Fit Tyres to New Subaru

Subaru has chosen Dunlop for OE supplier to its 2008 Impreza WRX STi. The car will use the tyre maker’s SP Sport 01 in the size 235/45R17 94W.

Frédéric Schilling, brand director of Dunlop Europe, Middle East and Africa was pleased with Subaru’s decision: “Dunlop, with its long motorsport heritage and experience, is the ideal fitment for the Subaru Impreza WRX STI which is built upon a successful rally car heritage. The STI is more than a car, it’s a culture. From the very beginning the Dunlop SP Sport 01 has been developed with leading partners in the automotive industry to comply with the very latest vehicle design and construction. And, last but not least, its development draws on many Dunlop motorsport successes,” he continued.

10th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors