Brazil has informed the World Trade Organization it has now come into compliance regarding its used tyre trade dispute with the European Union. The WTO ruled that Brazil’s ban on retreads from the EU discriminatory as it permitted them to be imported from other South American countries. To rectify the situation, Brazil has outlawed the importation of such tyres, regardless of their origin.
September’s Question of the Month on Tyrepress.com (see the box at the top right of the Tyrepress.com homepage) reveals that most readers are doubtful that UK tyre traders will have stopped dealing in non s-marked tyres, even after the enforcement procedure is introduced in March 2010. Over 50 per cent of those answering the question have suggested that the implementation of both the law against dealing non s-marked tyres and the special UK enforcement measures will do nothing to stop dealers continuing to sell products without the required labelling. Don’t miss your chance to have your say on this issue on Tyrepress.com until the end of September.
With an ever-growing awareness of the ecological climate, as well as a new precedent currently being set for economical measures introduced specifically for levies on manufacturers of tyres in the Far East, those wishing to import tyres to Europe and the USA need show an awareness of current regulations governing the properties of their products. This has not passed Federal Corporation by: “In an effort to contribute to the conservation of the environment and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to a safer and greener society,” Federal announces it is “to phase out use of the PAH rich extender oils by shifting all categories of tire segments to HA oil free tires following the REACH regulations.” The implementation of the environmental initiative, the company continues, is in compliance with EU directives concerning the tyre industry and is clearly designed to show how the Far East is by no means standing still when it comes to the use of new technologies to meet EU regulations.
Tyre inflation equipment maker, PCL, will be showing its brand new Accura compact nitrogen analyzer – a rugged piece of equipment which can read the actual percentage of nitrogen in tyres. According to the company, other products on the market read only the amount of oxygen and therefore the PCL analyzer removes the need to convert the oxygen percentage into the figure for nitrogen.
As with all PCL products, the new Nitrogen Analyzer provides the highest levels of accuracy and is made for ease of use, with a simple to operate, one button operation, auto diagnostic with error code to simplify troubleshooting, and a replaceable battery and sensor. The battery life is extended by an automatic power off function.
The Accura Mobile features a Nitrogen “convert and purge” of air inflated tyres and a “top-up” of Nitrogen inflated tyres. It can be used with either a Nitrogen bottle or generator. With six hose outlets for multi tyre inflation it can provide high speed on or off site inflation and is especially designed for US applications.
Meanwhile, the company points out that anyone concerned about California Tyre Pressure should “make a pitstop at PCL booth to find out” more about compliance to these new guidelines.
Tyrepress.com has published a new question of the month for September. After getting off to a positive starte with our launch question (which showed that a large majority of readers favour the new-look tyrepress.com) this month’s readers poll looks at how long it will take for dealers to comply with the new s-marking ruling which is set to officially take effect on 1 October. At the moment the first few responses seem pessimistic about the chances of largescale compliance before March 2010, short of a robocop kind of enforcement. However, every point of view needs to be taken into account. So, to cast your vote click 'home' to answer this month's question. Every opinion counts so don’t forget to leave a comment.
According to Marangoni, its Marix range for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles has proven a popular choice for off-road drivers thanks to a series of products designed for extreme use, such as Lion and Puma. Both of these tyres feature substantial tread blocks, and for this reason are sought by those who use their 4×4 for work or in sporting competitions, and want a tyre with good grip and drainage capacity. The latest additions to the Marix 2008 range are the Cruise and Ghepard, the latter a high performance tyre for SUVs that is approved for high performance and available in 17 and 18-inch sizes. Marangoni says the Ghepard ensures comfort and maximum grip in all conditions thanks to the use of high performance compounds.
Sapphire Energy Recovery, the tyre recovery and waste processing company owned by Lafarge Cement, has gained BSI certification for three management system standards: quality, environment and health and safety. Certificates for ISO 9001 (for quality management), ISO 14001 (for environmental compliance) and OHSAS 18001 (for health and safety) were handed out to members of the Sapphire team by BSI representative Colin Rushmere at a recent ceremony held to mark the occasion at Lafarge Cement’s head office in Solihull.
In an August 18 news story, it was revealed that Hankook Tire Co. and some of its manufacturing plant managers were found guilty of failing to prevent a series of work-related deaths at Hankook facilities.
On August 14 Accuride Corporation announced its entry into a Second Temporary Waiver Agreement with its lenders, effectively extending its original July 1 agreement until September 7.
With the 30 November 2010 deadline fast approaching, Smithers is promoting its series of compliance seminars. According to the testing and research organisation, for many months attention has been focussed on the submission of lead registration dossiers to ECHA. However a new harmonised system for the classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP) has brought with it equally demanding deadlines.
The European Commission has modified its interpretation of regulation 2001/43 so dealers with compliant but non-s-marked stock will be able to sell them under the following circumstances. While the new system is clearly not a self-certification system, the latest decision (made on 6 July) does offer much-needed clarification and flexibility to the market. Tyres & Accessories understands that while the other options the commission and member states discussed have been eliminated, this decision still has to pass through a “commentology” process and may not be officially ratified until September.
Since 2003 B.F. s.r.l. has been one of the leading producers of car balance weights using tin and zinc in compliance with European directive 2000/53/EC. Recently, development of the factory’s clip plant has enabled the production capacity to be greatly increased.
At Autopromotec B.F.’s representative, M. Prestini advised T&A, “The company has always followed a practice of using a plastic coating for weights. This procedure was established initially to cover the balancing weights sold to Nordic countries where resistance to corrosion was paramount. With the introduction of zinc balance weights, as a replacement for lead, the company carried out numerous evaluation tests and using the results from this, coupled with the knowledge and experience gained from our many years in the wheel weights industry. It was obvious that zinc weights also needed to be coated.
“One of the strongest reasons for using a plastic coating on zinc weights is in order to avoid the possibility of a rogue electrical charge when an uncoated weight contacts the alloy wheel, the weight is likely, in a very short space of time, become completely oxidized. B.F. fully respects the standards for wheel weights required by car manufacturers, to meet a minimum of 500 hours saline fog test resistance.”
If you are not sure whether your stock is s-marked or not, you need to read this. With just a couple of months left before s-marking comes into force, there could be as many as 2.5 million non-compliant tyres left in the supply chain.
2009 has seen the tyre business rush to interpret and apply tyre various different legislation affecting manufacturers, wholesalers, importers and distributors alike. Arguably this year has seen more new focus on this subject than in any of the five years preceding it put together. However, conflicting opinions in the market place, announcements of formal “first readings” and the general legal complexity of the texts have led to more than a little confusion in the marketplace.
For Marangoni Retreading Systems, the implementation of a high degree of automation into the retreading process is not the only innovative priority for its Ringtread retreading technology. The Italian based company also bills respect for the environment in compliance with European Commission CO2 emission reduction regulations as a factor worthy of top consideration. This approach to its business has led to the development of what Marangoni calls a new generation of machinery for applying cushion gum – the Black Swan.
Yesterday afternoon Hayes Lemmerz, the world’s largest wheel manufacturer, filed for so-called Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time this decade. The company was last in this position between November 2001 to June 2003 when it formulated a strategy of focusing on core business, namely steel and aluminium car wheels and truck steels wheels. Now having sold virtually all the areas that don’t fit into these categories, Hayes Lemmerz has collapsed under the heavy burden of debts. The news follows an earlier announcement that Hayes had received a written warning that it faces listing compliance issues for filling full-year 2008 results too late.
In a statement Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. said the majority of lenders holding the company’s secured debt have reached an agreement regarding restructuring. Some will provide a debtor-in-possession loan to the company, which will make available up to $100 million of additional liquidity, to enable it to continue operating during the restructuring period.
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