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TIA Sets Schedule for 2010 OTR Conference

The complete schedule for the Tire Industry Association (TIA) 2010 OTR Conference has now been posted on the TIA’s website, and the association reminds those interested in attending the conference in the US that the early conference registration deadline (January 13) and hotel registration deadline (January 18) are rapidly approaching. Interested attendees can view the schedule and register by visiting the "events" section of the TIA's tireindustry.org website.

15th December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Introducing Faster, 'Greener' BTCC Tyre

Following a year and a half of design and materials and construction development at Fort Dunlop in Birmingham, home to the company’s European Motorsport Operations, Dunlop is ready to debut a new tyre in next year’s British Touring Car Championship – a tyre said to provide greater performance while complying with latest European environmental regulations. The Sport Maxx BTCC will first be used in round two of the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Rockingham, Northamptonshire on April 25 and 25. Meanwhile, recent tests of the new tyre at Snetterton in Norfolk showed it to be faster over a full race distance and also more durable than its predecessor.

11th December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Kwik-Fit Fleet ‘Optimistic’ Business Will Expand in 2010

Mike Wise believes the tough times of 2009 has given companies a ‘work out’ that will enable them to be stronger and fitter in 2010. Talking about the coming year, the Kwik-Fit Fleet head comments “companies are leaner and meaner as 2010 dawns, having already cut operating costs, and that means the industry is in good shape to face up to the challenges of the New Year. Despite the impact of the January 1 implementation of the VAT rise back to 17.5 per cent, we do not expect to see the significant increase in tyre prices that we witnessed towards the end of 2008 and the early months of 2009 as the recession took hold.

11th December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pro-Align Explains Hunter SmartWeight Award-Winning Benefits

Having been voted the winner of this year’s TAFF Innovation Award by the National Tyre Distributors Association judging panel despite tough competition from many other innovative products, the team behind the Hunter SmartWeight Balancing system was keen to reveal the benefits of using the product. Hunter says that it took “a completely fresh look at balancing methodology and came up with an entirely new system that works with greater efficiency and split tolerances, the features that helped it to the innovation award and which it says benefit operators over comparative products. Supplier of wheel alignment and balancing equipment, Pro-Align listed the features that helped SmartWeight on its way to the TAFF Awards:

8th December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Global Recession Costs UK Tyre Manufacturers and Distributors £299 million

The recession has cost the UK tyre manufacturers and distributors £299 million in lost profit during the last year, according to new research by Plimsoll Publishing. David Pattison, senior analyst and author of the Plimsoll Analysis – Tyre Manufacturers & Distributors, commented: “The recession has hit the sector hard with more than half of the companies analysed in our new report making less profit than they were a year before. The bill in lost profits stands at £299 million”.

When pressed for a reason for this collapse in the bottom line of companies throughout the market, Pattison suggested: “With demand so subdued and the resultant competition, many companies are unable to charge the price they need to make healthy profit margins. In the absence of pricing power many companies will have to make painful but necessary cutbacks in the next 12 month”.

3rd December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental New Grand-Am Tyre Supplier, Title Sponsor

Continental Tire North America has become tyre supplier for the US based Grand-Am Road Sports Car Challenge Racing series. In a five-year agreement that begins on January 1, Continental takes on the championship’s exclusive tyre supply and title sponsorship. The series will henceforth be known as the “Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge” and will utilise Conti’s newly released ExtremeContact tyre range.

2nd December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bandvulc Wins Carbon Reduction Category at 2009 Environmental Business Awards

Bandvulc won the Carbon Reduction category at the recent DEBI 2009 Environmental Awards. Held on 26 November, the awards ceremony took place at the Met Office, Exeter and were presented by Paul Gompertz of Devon Wildlife.

Previously overall DEBI Awards winner in 2006, Bandvulc has built on its early success and has put carbon reduction at the forefront of its strategy. This has been achieved with an enthusiasm and determination that is apparent throughout all areas of the business. The 2009 Carbon Reduction award recognises Banvulc’s: Good environmental practices; Encouraging wider interest in the adoption of best environmental practice; Promoting the development of novel solutions to environmental problems.

1st December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Federal Distributes Motorsports Product Catalogue

Federal Tires has released a new specialty motorsports guide that demonstrates its tyre range in terms of its street, track, and off road applications. The latest catalogue not only showcases the Taiwanese manufacturer’s complete product line; the usage each tyre is best put to is also outlined. Tyres covered in the guide include the Corsa FZ-101 for time trial events and high-level competition use, the semi-slick Corsa FZ-202, Federally G-10 for dry and damp gravel surfaces and the 595 RS-R high performance tyre for time attack, club sprint, lap dash, professional drifting and street legal competition.

1st December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone’s Yasukawa: MotoGP “a Very Important Platform”

The 2009 MotoGP season was the first for Bridgestone as the series’ Official Tyre Supplier. Looking back on the season in a question and answer session, Bridgestone Motorsport director Hiroshi Yasukawa explained the importance of MotoGP to other areas of the company’s business, why Bridgestone misses tyre-based competition in the sport, and the new challenges that come with being exclusive supplier. Rather than supporting seven teams and a total of thirteen riders as was the case at the end of last year, Bridgestone supplied tyres and provided support to every team and rider on the grid. In total there were five race-winners, including the first MotoGP win for Andrea Dovizioso and the first on Bridgestone tyres for Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, and eleven different riders finished on the podium. The World Championship was won by Valentino Rossi and the Fiat Yamaha Team at the Malaysian Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the season.

25th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Canada Receives State Funds for Plant Modernisation Work

Bridgestone Canada will receive funds from the Province of Quebec to assist in the upgrading of its Joliette facility. More than CA$40 million (£22.7 million) is to be invested in purchasing new equipment for the passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyre factory, including a government contribution of $4.8 million. The non-repayable government contribution, comments the department, is aimed at improving the plant’s productivity.

24th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

BFGoodrich Launches New Mud-Terrain 4×4 Tyre

Manufacturer of premium brand four-wheel drive tyres, BFGoodrich has officially launched its new tyre for “serious off-road enthusiasts” in the UK, the Mud-Terrain T/A KM2. Aimed mostly at the specific mud-terrain market – which the company estimates is between 60 and 70 thousand strong – the tyre is designed for a ratio of 20:80 (on-road:off-road) usage and replaces BFGoodrich’s previous Mud-Terrain T/A tyre, the veteran of many tyre test successes according to company representatives speaking at the launch event in Warwickshire. It is already available (since July 2009) in a wide range of 15-17" sizes, with more planned for 2010 and many conversion options.

10th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Top Technician Competition Open for Entrants

The competition to find the UK’s best mechanics, Top Technician 2010 has opened for entries and nominations at the website www.toptechnician.co.uk. The winner will be announced after three competitive assessment stages at Workshop 2010, the industry’s own parts and equipment exhibition, at the NEC Birmingham on 15 April, 2010. S/He will be awarded £2,500 tax-free, alongside thousands of pounds’ worth of prizes and – a press release for the competition states – “priceless publicity for you and your business.” Entrants must complete the initial online test by 8 January, 2010. The prize is sponsored by Blueprint, Comma Oil & Chemicals, Delphi, Euro Car Parts, Lemforder and Motor Codes.

10th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Maxxis Tyres Star in UK and US Drifting

Maxxis has chosen to focus on the popular but still emerging motorsport of drifting in its sporting tyre supply. In US and European drifting this season, the brand has successfully supplied winning drivers in four popular series with the MA-Z1 Drift tyres, also sponsoring the competitors: in the UK and Ireland, Steve Biagioni of Team Japspeed has taken the British Drift Championship, Mark “Buff” Luney has claimed the European Drift Championship (EDC) and Dean Kearney has won the Prodrift Super Series. In the US, Chris Forsberg has won the Formula Drift championship.

29th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Firestone Complete Auto Care Holds Student Video Contest

(Tire Review) Firestone Complete Auto Care launched “Together For Life,” a student video competition aimed at addressing the issue of senior hunger in America. Ten finalists will be awarded a set of Bridgestone or Firestone tyres, and three winners will be awarded scholarships of $15,000, $10,000 and $7,500, respectively. "This contest is an opportunity to offer a unique point of view on this very serious issue," said Victoria Condell, director of public affairs for Bridgestone Retail Operations. "By engaging students, we hope to build awareness of senior hunger and inspire viewers to get involved to help solve this important problem."

23rd October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

MotoGP Travels to Sepang for Penultimate Season Meeting

Unlike in previous years, MotoGP will go into the Malaysia Grand Prix without prior knowledge of the destination of this year’s Championship Title. While the eventual winner will almost certainly be Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi, every rider will see the meeting as a chance to make an impression on the circuit at Sepang, which has the longest lap of any MotoGP circuit at 5.548km and is characterised by two long straights preceded by slow corners. Good grip on corner exit is crucial to maximise speed along each straight, and with the temperature generally the highest of any race on the calendar (often up to 50 degrees Celsius) focus, concentration and rubber will all be tested to the limit, making the Grand Prix a challenging one for tyre supplier Bridgestone too.

21st October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors