Maxion Wheels reports that it will supply Renault with more than a million VersaStyle wheels for the vehicle maker’s Megane, Megane Scenic, Clio and the Dacia Logan and Dacia Sandero Stepway models during the course of 2014. The company has already sold a million VersaStyle wheels in total this year, and more than 15 million units since VersaStyle wheels were first introduced in 2005.
The Altenzo tyre brand, which is owned by Chinese alloy wheel maker PDW Group, used Citexpo 2014 as the platform for a world-first addition to its UHP range.
The show saw the long-awaited release of the Altenzo Sports Comforter in 245/25 R22, which according to the company makes the firm the first in the world to make this size available for mass production.
Wheelwright has added exclusive distribution of Tålig brand wheels to its portfolio. This addition to the 2014/15 winter wheel programme is said to offer a simple, robust solution for use in colder months (October – March). The Tålig’s apt nomenclature is derived from its quintessentially Scandinavian traits (Tålig is Swedish for “durable”), and gives a particular nod to the robustness necessary in winter conditions, for which it is destined.
Yesterday Superior Industries International, Inc. announced it will close its Rogers, Arkansas wheel manufacturing plant as part of an initiative to cut costs and increase competitiveness.
The firm expects to cease operations at Rogers by the end of 2014. Production will be shifted to other Superior manufacturing facilities, including those in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Chihuahua, Mexico, and is anticipated to generate a net $15 million labour cost savings year-over-year. Approximately 500 jobs will be lost.
Alloy wheel manufacturer Borbet marked the start of Reifen 2014 last week with the launch of its new-look website. The www.borbet.de site offers both English and German language options, although at the time of writing some features are only available in German.
Messe Essen announced the Reifen 2014 award winners on the evening before the show opened, with Yokohama taking the coveted Innovation Award in the Technology and Products category. The Japanese manufacturer presented its process for the visual representation of the aerodynamic and acoustic rolling behaviour of tyres to the jury, using the Japanese space authority, JAXA’s supercomputer from space research to show that the noise level of a rolling car tyre also depends on flow structures in front of the tyre, which are subjected to a compression effect.
Rial has launched its latest alloy wheel, the U1. Described as an “all-rounder”, Rial has made the wheel available in many standard 14-17 inch dimensions. It comes in Polar silver with four hole connection in sizes 5.5×14”, 6.0×15” and 6.0×16”; and with five hole fittings in sizes 5.0×14”, 6.0×15”, 6.5×16”, 7.5×16”, 7.0×17”, 7.5×17” and 8.0×17”. […]
Pirates aren’t lovable rogues with eye patches and parrots perched on the shoulder. Piracy, specifically brand piracy, has become a major issue for manufacturers of well-known products. One such firm, German alloy wheel manufacturer BBS, says counterfeiters who sell online and offer everything from fake centre caps to complete wheels cause the firm significant damage, and now it is taking “appropriate measures” against these pirates.
Leading wheelmaker Uniwheels Group reports that it managed to both increase revenues 5.8 per cent and stabilise the company’s overall business in full-year 2013 results published today (24 March 2014). According to the company, the business’s growth came largely thanks to the “very positive” development of the firm’s Automotive Division, which focuses on supplying the OEM business and grew 12 per cent in 2013. In addition, the successful implementation of cost-cutting measures in the administration of the business is also said to have had a positive impact.
Thailand-based Stamford Sport Wheels (SSW) launched a new ‘euro technik’ alloy wheel line in 2013, which is exclusively manufactured for use in Europe. According to the company, SSW will be taking “a very active role at next month’s Reifen 2014” in Essen, Germany where the company will be displaying its euro technik range prominently on the Stamford Tyres stand.
UK wheel distributor Wheelwright has released a new product in its private brand Calibre range which offers performance tuned for drifting. Developed in association with British Drift Championship SuperPro champion Michael Marshall from Team MNM, the Calibre 7Twenty features a seven spoke design and “monobloc” casting for increased strength and lightness. The wheel’s look alludes […]
Wheelwright, the UK’s largest wheel importer and wholesaler, has released details of a new concave addition to their 2014 collection: the Calibre CC-S. The 2014 programme features the brand new split five-spoke CC-S. According to the company, this style comes as a result of responding to “the dramatic increase in demand for deep concave styles”. Designed to retain “an air of OEM sophistication”, the precision engineered CC-S boasts a contemporary matte black/polished finish which accentuates the concave effect of the five spokes as they reach from the centre to the rim edge.
Alutec has launched a new SUV wheel design with load-bearing in mind. According to the company the Alutec W 10 aluminium alloy features a particularly high wheel load of up to 1,025 kilograms. In addition the wheels is designed to be “technically sophisticated”, featuring a 5-V right up to the 20-inch size. The appearance has reported been sculpted with the large body surfaces of SUVs such as Range Rover Evoque in mind.
Uniwheels’ has been selected to provide OE wheels for the new Audi A8 Hybrid. The contract sees Uniwheels provide its “19-inch hybrid aluminium wheel”, which is said to offer an exclusive aerodynamic design.
Uniwheels, a long time supplier of alloy wheels to Honda Access, has been given a “Honda Access Europe Award” for its excellent overall performance in 2012. This is the second consecutive Honda Access award that the Uniwheels Production (Poland) Sp z.o.o. operation has received.
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