At a ceremony held yesterday in Włocławek, Poland in the presence of the Belgian Ambassador to Poland, the mayor of Włocławek and other local dignitaries, Solvay officially broke ground for the construction of a new facility that will produce Highly Dispersible Silica (HDS). The new plant represents a €75-million investment that will create more than 50 new jobs and expand the company’s HDS capacity by 85,000 tons per year.
As of 1 August 2013, Continental’s Chinese activities will be overseen by Executive Board member Dr. Ralf Cramer. The incumbent head of the company’s Chassis & Safety division will take up the Shanghai-based position in order to “strengthen” Continental’s organisation for “sustained fast and profitable growth in China.” His successor within the Chassis & Safety division will be appointed at a later date.
Apollo Tyres’ Chennai facility in southern India has won the Platinum prize in the large size category of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FICCI) Quality Systems Awards for Manufacturing 2012. This highest-level award was presented to Apollo Tyres by Saurabh Chandra, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India.
Automotive industry charity BEN has announced the appointment of Nigel Rothband to the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer.
The addition of this post to BEN's senior management structure is a cornerstone of the charity's plan for strategic development. Rothband will report directly to David Main, BEN's Chief Executive and will be instrumental in building on the charity's already firm foundation. His main objectives are to further raise awareness, extend the range and reach of BEN's services and increase the fund's capacity to help an even greater number of automotive industry employees, past and present.
Michelin’s Ballymena, Northern Ireland manufacturing facility has hosted a visit from 27 independent truck and bus tyre dealers. The Michelin Truck Professional (MTP) dealers were invited to see Michelin’s new X MultiWay 3D steer and drive tyres during their manufacture. Guy Heywood, commercial director of Michelin’s truck tyre division, told assembled dealers: “We’re competing in a fiercely competitive market, but one in which we have grown Michelin Group market share by three per cent in the last three years.
Lanxess’ Rhein Chemie business unit has opened a new production facility at its Porto Feliz site in Brazil. The facility produces ‘Rhenoshape’ high-performance curing bladders for use in tyre manufacture and has an annual capacity of approximately 170,000 bladders. Rhein Chemie says the plant employs state-of-the-art production technology incorporating the latest developments in bladder technology. The new plant will be joined by a further new facility next year; this will manufacture ‘Rhenogran’ pre-dispersed polymer-bound rubber additives and have an annual capacity of 1,800 tonnes. Altogether, Lanxess is investing around 10 million euros at the Porto Feliz site and creating up to 60 new jobs.
Vulcanisation is known to be bottleneck in tyre production that can significantly influence a factory’s output. Siemens specialises in the field of automation and as such it aims to provide the tyre industry with “greater efficiency” in this particular area. The company displayed its product range at February’s Tire Technology Expo in Cologne, Germany, and Tyres & Accessories spoke with Stefan Morgenstern, senior business development manager for the company’s Industry Automation division, about the ways Siemens can enhance efficiency in the tyre manufacturing process.
To help workshops take full advantage of professional four wheel alignment servicing, equipment specialist Pro-Align has a comprehensive range of alignment lifts it says can be used to help maximise alignment efficiency and revenue opportunities. Both scissor and four post alignment lifts are on offer, and Pro-Align comments that the availability of both types ensures its customers have the choice and flexibility to suit a variety of space configurations and budgets.
Goodyear has released details of two new speciality tyre products, the EV-4C, and the RT-5D – designed to be used in port and industrial applications respectively – at Bauma (covered earlier in this issue). The EV-4C is designed to be used mainly on straddle carriers. Featuring an innovative tread to reduce lug-induced vibration the tyre increases operator comfort and promotes even tread wear. It has a nylon sidewall reinforcement to reduce the risk of impact damage, while the breakers and carcass are stronger for greater stability and productivity. The tubeless tyre is available in sizes 16.00R25 and 480/95R25.
US-based automotive lifting equipment manufacturer Forward Lift has expanded its heavy-duty product offering, and for the first time is offering battery-operated mobile column lifts. The new FCH family of mobile column lifts offers 18,000 pounds (8,150kg) of capacity per column in a package it describes as affordable and perfect for independent repair facilities.
Tom Masuguchi has been promoted to Yokohama Tire Corporation’s senior vice-president, chief strategy officer and deputy chief financial officer. The former vice-president and chief accounting officer began in these new positions on 1 May.
Although admitting that difficulties were encountered in the first quarter of 2013, Continental says it “held its ground” during this period and has confirmed its guidance for the full year.
On 25 April, Pirelli Tyres Limited submitted an application with Carlisle City Council to extend the warehouse facility at its Carlisle factory plus make other improvements to the Dalston Road site. Pirelli will add a further 4,060 square metres or so of warehouse space. The extension, which will include four loading bays, will increase the warehouse facility’s total size by approximately a third.
The latest sport touring tyre from Pirelli, the Angel GT, has hit the streets – and the Italian tyre maker claims it is number one for mileage within its segment. This weighty statement is based upon testing carried out by Motorrad TestCenter in Germany. Tyres & Accessories has yet to read the test report, however Pirelli indicates that the Angel GT was certified by Motorrad TestCenter as delivering better mileage than the Michelin Pilot Road 3, Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart II, Bridgestone Battlax BT 023, Continental RoadAttack2 and Metzeler Roadtec Z8 Interact M/O.
When Tyres & Accessories spoke with Deldo’s Rutger Veerman in the last week of March, he and several colleagues from the Belgium-based wholesaler had just returned from the Tyrexpo Asia show in Singapore. In addition to praising the exhibition as “the best show in Asia”, Veerman shared that Deldo’s presence at Tyrexpo Asia was important as Asia represents a region that is increasingly important for the company.
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