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Bandvulc Develops New Plus Range Using Footprint Analysis

Leading independent retreader, Bandvulc, has released details of how it used footprint analysis in the development of its Plus range. The footprint analysis machine has been built in-house and is specifically designed to improve tyre mileage and handling characteristics. “The purpose of the machine is to simulate a truck tyre, under load,” says Patrick O’Connell, director of The Bandvulc Group. “When pressure is applied to the tyre, equivalent to the right tonnage, a digitised tyre footprint is created on pressure sensitive paper. Results from the subsequent analysis are used to create an improved tyre profile that optimises performance,” he adds.

This new range of tyres, known as the Plus range, further enhances already established brand names with proven performance. The aim is to increase tyre mileage by 10 per cent and will be slowly rolled out across Bandvulc’s entire product range.

28th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone OE for New Land Cruiser in NA

In some parts of the world, says Toyota, the Land Cruiser is an essential tool for off-roading. And Bridgestone adds that tackling the toughest terrain requires the right tyre – and that is why Bridgestone-brand Dueler tyres have been selected as an OE option for the North American market versions of the latest model.

In North America the newly-styled, more-powerful, seventh-generation 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser is available with Bridgestone Dueler H/T D684 II tyres in size P285/60R18 114V. The all-season tyre, comments the tyre major, is ideal for adventuring off-road, yet is quiet and comfortable on-highway. Bridgestone adds that this makes for a performance combination particularly suited to Toyota’s upscale, go-anywhere SUV.

11th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Cabot Closes West Virginia Carbon Black Facility

Operations at Cabot Corporation’s carbon black facility in West Virginia, US, ended on the last day of March, the company reports. The upcoming closure of the Waverly plant was first announced in June 2007, at which time Cabot stated that changes in the tyre manufacturing industry were the predominant factor behind the decision. The company has engaged in significant restructuring measures in the past two years in response to diminishing tyre output and capacity in North America and expansions to facilities in China, the Asia Pacific region and South America.

8th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Company Applies for Tyres to Diesel Patent

Paul Archer, a former firefighter from Durham, has applied to patent an invention that turns old car tyres into good quality diesel oil. Thanks to a suggestion from his patent attorney, his business now expects to earn millions from selling licences worldwide. From the germ of an idea in the early 1990s, Paul Archer (who now lives in the East Midlands) and his business partners have formed a company – UTD Research Ltd – and built a working prototype that is now set to process up to two million old tyres a year at their first UK plant near Wrexham, North Wales.

The UTD invention means that the environment can be spared the harmful effects of millions of tons of old tyres being tipped into landfill sites, and increasingly scarce fossil fuels can be eked out with the oil recovered from used tyres. In a recent televised test, reclaimed oil from UTD’s process was mixed with fuel-station diesel to power a standard family saloon car. With no modifications at all, the car performed normally.

7th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

EWI Signs MOU for Tyre Facility

Environmental Waste International Inc. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with publicly traded Israeli company, TRD Instum Ltd. (TRD). The agreement sees the company move forward on plans to form jointly owned companies with the exclusive rights to EWI’s patented Reverse Polymerization technology in Israel and certain European countries. The MOU will remain in effect until the 30 May 2008 final agreement deadline.

The MOU requires TRD to place an order for a TR1500 reverse polymerisation machine. The TR1500 reduces tyres to carbon black, oil, steel and non-condensable gases. The agreement will include specific performance requirements for TRD to retain exclusive rights in Israel and the designated European countries. According to an official statement on the matter, the TR 1500 installation would be a showpiece for entering the European and Middle Eastern markets.

4th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

All This And Good Looks Too…

Pirelli’s Diablo Rosso is aimed at bikers who not only want their machines to perform flawlessly at all speeds, but to look good as well.

Today’s bikes are more powerful than ever and all this power passes through the tyre’s contact patch – improve the contact patch’s behaviour, says Pirelli, and the benefits to the rider are enormous. Hence Pirelli’s EPT (Enhanced Patch Technology), which affects every aspect of the tyre’s design – tread pattern, structure, compound etc. – to ensure maximum performance in all conditions.

6th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Birla to Establish Sri Lanka Carbon Black Plant

Sri Lanka has been named as the location for the Birla Group’s new carbon black facility. The company, one of India’s largest corporations, looks likely to invest RS 4.8 billion (US$120 million) in the plant, which will be located in the country’s south, within the Koggala Export Processing Zone.

“The matter has been under discussions since last year. Aditya Birla Group is likely to go ahead with its proposed $120 million investment on the carbon black plant in Koggala Export Processing Zone, in southern Sri Lanka,” an official was quoted as saying. In a statement Birla said it expects to be granted the clearance to proceed subsequent to a recent meeting between Sri Lankan Minister for Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Sarath Amunugama and senior Birla Group executives.

4th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Welsh Scientists Produce Tyre-Derived Oil

Bangor University environmental chemist Dr Vera Thoss, in partnership with Welsh Company UTD Research Ltd, has produced tyre-derived oil. Carbon black, oil and gas have been seperated from used tyres beforem but Dr Thoss’s research is said to be the first of its kind to successfully produce litres of oil. According to reports, this can then be mixed 1:1 with diesel and has already been successfully used to fuel a car.

“The results are very encouraging. We tested the fuel at the Anglesey Circuit recently and found that the fuel significantly enhanced the performance of the trial car. The gas produced is estimated to be able to provide the energy for the entire process; this therefore really is true recycling,” Dr Thoss told the Western Mail.

2nd January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Indag Rubber Branches Out

Indag Rubber Ltd. (IRL) was formed almost three decades ago as a joint venture between Indian company Khemka and US retreading giant Bandag and the JV pioneered the introduction of precured retreading in India in the mid 1980s. Last year the collaboration with Bandag ended and IRL has branched out into the international market with a new brand of procured treads called “Zoma”.

The Zoma range comprises more than 20 different patterns, designed for different applications and axle types and all are manufactured, says Indag, from the highest specification raw materials, including premium rubber polymers and high structure carbon black, using the latest technology.

3rd December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Phillips Carbon Black to Expand Capacity

India’s RPG Enterprises is looking to boost capacities at its Phillips Carbon Black (PCBL) subsidiary. The Economic Times in India reports the company is establishing a 75,000 tonnes per annum greenfield carbon black manufacturing unit in the west Indian state of Gujarat, along with a 16 megawatt power plant. It also intends to increase capacity at its facility in the state of Kerala by 50,000 tonnes per annum to 85,000 tonnes.

RPG Enterprises vice-chairman Sanjiv Goenka told the Indian financial daily “the move is expected to catapult PCBL globally to the sixth rank in terms of the manufacturing capacity over the next two years from ninth now.” The total outlay for the proposed projects, at both greenfield and established sites, is estimated to be Rs 5,500,000,000 (£67.3 million) and will be funded by a mix of debt, equity and internal accruals, Mr. Goenka added. The greenfield facility alone will require an investment of Rs 3,500,000,000 (£42.8 million).

13th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Artificial Turf May Be Unsafe, Officials Claim

(Akron/Tire Review – New Haven Register) Every new expanse of artificial turf contains plastic grass and about 120 tons of finely chopped tyres that may emit a small amount of cancer-causing agents. The layer of rubber “crumbs” makes the surface softer and more forgiving. It also gives off dozens of compounds that have not been studied or assessed for safety in the United States. Despite assurances from the Connecticut Department of Public Health that the chemicals in artificial turf are little cause for concern, environmentalists and a growing number of public officials in the Northeast are questioning the wisdom of building athletic fields containing the equivalent of 26,000 tyres of unknown composition.

Outdoor sports were played on grass and dirt until 1966 and the advent of the enclosed Houston Astrodome, which was too dark inside to grow grass. A Monsanto subsidiary produced ersatz grass that came to be called Astroturf. In 1967, Indiana State built the first stadium with outdoor Astroturf. Astroturf evolved into a product similar to a plastic shag carpet in-filled with granulated rubber.

13th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Pilot Sport Cup + OE Approval for BMW M3 Extended

The recently introduced Michelin Pilot Sport Cup + has been approved as original equipment on the latest version of the BMW M3, launched in the second half of 2007. Already OE for the coupe version of the M3, the Pilot Sport Cup + is the French tyremaker’s top-of-the-line sports tyre. Developed for high speed track racing, it also meets all the requirements of public highway driving, as evidenced by the “DOT” marking on the sidewall.

The technology ensconced within the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup + enables the tyre to handle extreme track conditions while delivering optimal grip for safe everyday driving. To achieve this dual objective, Michelin implemented a two-compound design. Because wet-road driving makes considerable demands on the inside shoulder, silica has been included in this section of the tread, thus guaranteeing superior traction on slippery surfaces. Inversely, carbon black is used on the outer shoulder for maximum grip on dry surfaces. These two different blends, each of which is adapted to a specific type of use, are rarely seen together on the same tyre. Michelin claims that its ability to combine technologies that are normally incompatible is what makes the Pilot Sport Cup + a truly innovative product.

12th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Unveils New Diablo Rosso

Pirelli has used the 65th International Motorcycle Exhibition (EICMA) in Milan as the venue to present the latest in it Diablo tyre range – the Pirelli Diablo Rosso – to international media. Described by Pirelli as representing a new generation of tyre, the Diablo Rosso is aimed at the supersport segment and adopts Pirelli’s patented EPT (Enhanced Patch Technology) in its design.

The front profile of the Diablo Rosso is designed to optimise the contact patch area, thereby, claims Pirelli, providing the most advantageous balance between fast and linear behaviour in corners while delivering an impressive ease of handling. The Pirelli patented Zero Degrees steel belt lurking below the tread is intended to keep the Diablo Rosso’s profile in optimal shape at all times and yet provide sufficient elasticity for very progressive feedback and behaviour regardless of lean angle. Rear tyre contact patch area is said to be improved through the inclusion of ‘nude’ shoulders. This clean area on the rear shoulder, in conjunction with the calibrated cuts in the centre tread, are said to maxmise the contact patch.

9th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

TIA Tackling Issue of Look Alike Tyres

(Akron/Tire Review/sg) During the SEMA Show the Tire Industry Association (TIA) unveiled a new “policy resolution” about the industry’s growing concern over so-called “look-alike” tyres, products with tread patterns that allegedly mimic or are identical to popular major brand models. According to the TIA, most of the look-alike tyres released in the US are for commercial vehicles, though there have been some passenger and light truck/SUV tyres on the market.

The TIA has pledged to work with the Rubber Manufacturers Association in the sharing of information pertaining to the problem. “We are glad to work with manufacturers on this issue”, said Paul Hyatt, the TIA’s past president. “It only makes sense when you consider the insurance liability issues our members are faced with on a regular basis.” Roy Littlefield, TIA executive vice president, said: “It is apparent that import tyres have raised a whole host of issues in general, and look alike tyres specifically bring serious questions about quality and safety.”

7th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cabot Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Operating Results

Carbon black producer Cabot Corporation has announced a net income of US$24 million ($0.36 per diluted common share) for its fourth quarter of 2007 period, including $5 million after-tax ($0.07 per diluted common share) of charges from certain items and discontinued operations, compared with net income of $27 million ($0.39 per diluted common share) for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006, which included $16 million after-tax ($0.25 per diluted common share) of charges from certain items, discontinued operations and the cumulative effect of an accounting change.

For the full fiscal year 2007, the company announced a net income of $129 million ($1.90 per diluted common share), including $22 million after-tax ($0.32 per diluted common share) of charges from certain items and discontinued operations, compared wit the company’s full fiscal year 2006 net income of $88 million ($1.28 per diluted common share), which included $36 million after-tax ($0.54 per diluted common share) of charges from certain items, discontinued operations and the cumulative effect of accounting changes.

2nd November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors