At today’s presentation of its 2013-2017 Industrial Plan in London, Pirelli & C. SpA chairman and chief executive officer Marco Tronchetti Provera spoke of the need for a “change of pace” in its activities in Russia, noting that “we’re running late with our start-up plan.” The Russian market situation, and what Pirelli intends to do there, was then explained in greater detail by Gregorio Borgo, Pirelli’s general manager operations.
Kumho’s original equipment portfolio with major auto manufacturers has been expanded to include the recently revised Mercedes-Benz G-Class. The Korean tyre manufacturer will supply the new edition of the 4×4 with its Solus KL21 in size 265/60 R18 110H manufactured in the company’s Vietnam plant.
The latest version of the most serious Mercedes-Benz 4×4 offering, the G-Class, is now fitted with Kumho’s Solus KL21 as original equipment. The Korean firm has begun supplying the Solus KL21 in size 265/60 R18 110H, adding another string to its Mercedes-Benz original equipment agreement bow.
Brembo has developed a 10-15 per cent lighter brake disc, designed to offer reduced fuel consumption and less environmental impact. The new light-weight brake disc, conceived by Daimler AG in partnership with Brembo, has reportedly allowed the company to launch a product with “absolutely innovative characteristics”.
Mercedes has selected Yokohama’s Advan Sport V105 MO tyres as original equipment for its new Mercedes-Benz S-Class models. The new S-Class models will come with size 245/50R18 100W.
According to the company, the Advan Sport V105 MO was developed jointly by Yokohama Rubber and Mercedes parent company Daimler AG, and the "MO" mark on the side of each tyre represents Daimler's official stamp of approval. In addition, the tyres' reduced rolling resistance and improved wear resistance meet Yokohama's standards for environmentally friendly products.
Bridgestone Americas subsidiary Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations reports that its commercial tyre division has a new vice-president of marketing. As of 1 March this position has been occupied by Matthew Stevenson, who joins the company from Meritor, Inc., where he served as general manager of North American Field Operations and Marketing. Prior to beginning his role with Meritor in 2010, Stevenson spent ten years at Daimler Trucks North America, where he held several positions of increasing responsibility in both sales and marketing.
Dana Holding Corporation has officially opened a 12,000 square-meter (129,000 square-foot) technical centre in Wuxi, Jiangsu Provence, China. The Dana China Technical Center will provide advanced product and applications engineering for original-equipment manufacturers in the light-vehicle, commercial-vehicle, and off-highway markets in China and throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
It’s only a few months since German financial daily the Handelsblatt referred to Hankook as “an aggressive challenger” to Continental. On 9 October the newspaper reported on a challenge facing the German tyre maker from other quarters. In an interview, a senior Bridgestone manager let it be known that the global market leader also wants to play a leading role in Europe in future.
Hankook has expressed its delight at the start of a new partnership with the UEFA Europa League, which “kicked off” on 3 September. Representatives from the tyre maker and the football league celebrated the arrangement at a ceremony prior to the official 2012/13 UEFA Europa League Group Stage draw at the Monegasque Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Reporting the occasion, Hankook said the new partnership represents “yet another milestone in the company’s European marketing approach to sustainably increase brand awareness in one of the tyre manufacturer’s most important markets and reinforces Hankook’s long-standing engagement in European football.”
Hankook has confirmed its new status as an official sponsor of the UEFA Europa League. The sponsorship agreement signed between the tyre maker and UEFA Events SA covers the period from 2012 to 2015 and gives Hankook brand exposure through perimeter board advertising in the stadiums and through media backdrops during flash interviews and official UEFA press conferences. Hankook says the new deal demonstrates another milestone in its European marketing approach, through which it aims to sustainably increase brand awareness in this, the company’s largest regional market.
During last month’s Daimler Supplier Award ceremony in Germany, the vehicle manufacturer bestowed a “Special Award for Partnership” upon its Japanese suppliers, including Bridgestone. The award was given to 34 Japanese key suppliers in recognition of their efforts to overcome the disruption caused by last year’s earthquake and tsunami and for the solutions they found to keep the supply chain running, with minimal effect on Daimler business.
Under a newly-announced original equipment supply agreement, Hankook Tire will supply Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) with tyres for its Freightliner Cascadia and Coronado models, starting in May 2012. The two flagship Freightliner trucks will be equipped with Hankook Tire’s AL11 steer and DL11 drive tyres, the tyre maker stated during the 2012 Mid-America Trucking Show.
The Telegraph reports engineering firm Tomkins plc is selling its Schrader Electronics Ltd. tyre pressure monitoring systems business for approximately £550 million. Tomkins has appointed Barclays Capital to manage the sale of the Northern Ireland based business; The Telegraphs states that Tomkins’ Sensors and Valves business, which is also located in Northern Ireland, is being sold along with Schrader. According to the newspaper, a “handful of private equity firms” have been approached regarding the sale.
Russian corporation Tatneft, which operates the Nizhnekamsk Solid Steel Chord Tire Factory, reports that a delegation of representatives from Continental AG and Daimler AG visited the company in mid-July with a view to selecting the tyre maker as an original equipment supplier for its Mercedes-Benz Trucks Vostok joint-venture facility. The delegation toured the Nizhnekamsk factory in Tatarstan and viewed the technologies and production processes in use.
Yokohama has announced that it has been awarded original equipment fitment contracts on new Mercedes-Benz SLK and CLS models produced at the car manufacturer’s German plant. The Advan Sport V105 has been selected for both the SLK-class two-seater roadster model and the CLS-class premium luxury four-door coupe models. The tyre was developed jointly by Yokohama and Mercedes-Benz (or Daimler), with the MO mark on the sidewall signifying the manufacturer’s approval. The V105 will be introduced into replacement markets around the world later, with the number of available sizes extended from the beginning of 2012 accordingly.
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