MAM Software has just completed the installation of its Autopart v20 management system at all 44 branches of Mr. Clutch Autocentres, the national garage services chain. MAM was chosen because of its ability to meet the requirements imposed by Mr. Clutch’s recent expansion of services.
(Akron/Tire Review) Timothy Lauth has been named manager of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co’s corporate technical centre materials laboratory. He will be responsible for managing daily laboratory operations and leading future development, administration and execution of testing to enhance capabilities, data integrity and productivity, the company said.
The seven-year Cooper veteran had been a compound development engineer in materials development, an extruded product development engineer for Cooper-Standard, a commercial tyre development engineer and two years in the Melksham, UK, production facility as a factory technical services engineer.
Indonesia’s production of car tyres rose 16.3 per cent year-on-year to 23.8 million units in the first seven months of this year. Data at the Association of Tire Companies (APBI) said the country exported most of its tyre production every year.
In the January-July period exports totalled 16.3 million units valued at $317.3 million, against sales on the domestic market of 77 million units. Total sales in the seven-month period represented a 18.4 per cent increase compared with sales a year ago.
As the automotive accessories industry grows and assumes even greater importance in both the U.S. and world markets, several automakers have made commitments to participate in the SEMA Show scheduled for November 1-4, 2005, in Las Vegas.
The event will be especially significant as 14 original equipment manufacturer (OEM) brands – the highest number of OEM participants in SEMA Show history – will join with their partners in the specialty auto parts industry. In addition to OEM vehicle displays, the participating automakers will give SEMA members unparalleled access to technical data and a hands-on look at the vehicles that provide the basis for SEMA members’ products
Months after the End of Life Vehicle Directive led to the banning of lead balancing weights for passenger cars in the EU, discussions on the subject continue in the US.
Most recently the US Tire Industry Association (TIA) issued a statement saying it applauded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) denial of the Ecology Center’s petition for a ban on lead wheel weights. EPA cited “insufficient data” as the reason they will not move ahead on a lead wheel weight ban at this time.
The inaugural test session for the A1 GP Series has been hailed a success by the fifteen teams driving the cars, reports tyre sponsor Cooper.
The teams, representing nations from across the globe, made their way around Northamptonshire’s national circuit over 600 times on Cooper rubber, racking up a total distance of 1,800 km.
As the automotive accessories industry grows and assumes even greater importance in both the U.S. and world markets, several automakers have made commitments to participate in the SEMA Show scheduled for November 1-4, 2005, in Las Vegas.
The event will be especially significant as 14 original equipment manufacturer (OEM) brands – the highest number of OEM participants in SEMA Show history – will join with their partners in the specialty auto parts industry. In addition to OEM vehicle displays, the participating automakers will give SEMA members unparalleled access to technical data and a hands-on look at the vehicles that provide the basis for SEMA members’ products.
The Williams, Red Bull and possibly the Toyota Formula 1 teams are to join the Bridgestone camp next season, German publication “Auto Motor & Sport” has reported. Bridgestone currently provides tyres to Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi, while Michelin produces tyres for all the remaining teams. This could mean that the current 7:3 ratio in favour of Michelin could become 6:4 in favour of Bridgestone next year. Both Bridgestone and Ferrari are likely to see the news as a positive development, as the manufacturer is currently only basing its data on one top team.
Group Tyre claims to have seen “huge benefits” by continually investing in IT and embracing the e-commerce route. “We are constantly innovating,” says Group Tyre chairman John Church, “because we are committed to delivering a national-strength service, with immediacy of response on a truly local basis. By making IT work positively for us, we can provide a service that is literally second-to-none.”
The Group Link Virtual Warehouse is the main service offered to Group Tyre’s national wholesale network. The Windows based system confirms stock availability by providing real time stock data and expected delivery times. Together with mark-up guidelines, Group Link enables a customer enquiry to be processed with delivery and cost advised on the spot. The benefits of offering an e-commerce solution have been an improvement in customer care and sales which have had a massive impact in the independent tyre sector, says Group Tyre.
(Akron/Tire Review) Yokohama Rubber Co. announced that it has developed new, third-generation tyre design technologies. The manufacturer’s “multiscale simulation” and “multi-performance map” display information for optimal design proposals, it said.
Multiscale simulation allows for predictions of physical properties based on combinations of compounds and frictional coefficients, Yokohama said. “As a result, we can make more realistic performance predictions for vehicles based on more accurate wear forecasts of front and rear tires and other factors,” said the tyremaker.
Fulda have announced the launch of their brand new range of tyres designed specifically for 4×4 Sports Utility Vehicles on the road. The range, Fulda 4×4 Road, is aimed in particular at models such as the BMW X5, Chrysler Cherokee, Nissan Murano, Range Rover, VW Touareg and similar vehicles. According to the company, the new tyres are designed and built to give increased road safety, road comfort and economy for the driver.
In the continuing aftermath of the fateful US Grand Prix, F1’s governing body has contested “Michelin’s version of events” of what happened at the race. The association made the comments by taking the unusual step of publishing its correspondence to the manufacturer. An FIA statement said it decided to do so because earlier correspondence had been “deliberately leaked to members of the press.”
The Snap-on Solus is the latest addition to the equipment manufacturer’s series of hand-held diagnostic tools.
Designed to provide the technician with faster performance and more diagnostic data the product has a much larger display than previous models, taking the technology used in Scanner to a higher level.
(Akron/Tire Review) By 7 June, natural rubber prices had risen to a 12-month high of $3.12 a pound on the Tokyo Commodities Exchange. Tyre output in China rose 27 per cent, to 239 million units last year, and the country’s tyre exports nearly doubled, to 34.8 million units.
At the same time global manufacturers continue to purchase more natural rubber as its synthetic counterpart becomes more costly, according to experts monitoring the data. Data reported by Bloomberg, for example, indicates that US Gulf spot prices for butadiene, the petrochemical used to make synthetic rubber, have risen 93 per cent, to 57 cents a pound over the past year.
Beru AG has now introduced the 3rd generation of its own TSS Tyre Safety System. Beru engineers have succeeded in further reducing the number of parts for a convenient, functionally safe tyre safety system.
The system that has now been introduced consists of a compact control unit with integrated aerial, plus four electronic wheel-mounted devices; in them, the sensor, transmitter and battery are built into one unit. This development highlights Beru’s on-going attempts to reduce the system price.
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