Bent Nielsen is no longer a shareholder in the tyre recycling company he set up after Denmark’s PKA (Pensionskassernes Administration A/S) acquired his 52 per cent stake in Genan yesterday; with this added to its existing 48 per cent share, Genan is now firmly in the pension fund administrator’s hands – but today PKA allegedly claimed that both Genan and Nielsen have duped it over a number of years.
Continental has announced its intention to purchase the outstanding shares in the 50/50 Emitec Gesellschaft für Emissionstechnologie mbH joint venture it operates with partner, Worcestershire-based GKN plc. Once the acquisition of the 50 per cent share currently held by GKN is complete, the business will be integrated into Continental’s Powertrain division. With the acquisition of Emitec and the deal’s approval, Continental will emerge as a supplier of exhaust aftertreatment systems. Continental has not stated the price it will pay for the remaining share in Emitec.
Russia’s Baltika Breweries, a member of the Carlsberg Group, is the largest player in the country’s beer market and holds a 36.8 per cent market share. The company operates eleven breweries and a number of maltings and distribution centres across Russia, and operates a sizable fleet of forklift trucks in these facilities. Starco reports that Baltika has adopted its Starco-brand Tusker forklift tyre as standard across this fleet fleet.
Last September, German chemical company Lehmann & Voss and its ‘Luvomaxx’ business unit signed an exclusive sales agreement with China’s Jiangxi Black Cat Carbon Black, giving it exclusive distribution rights in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Luvomaxx business unit head Karl-Heinz Teschke recently returned from China, and has reported on the entry into service of JiangXi Black Cat’s eight carbon black facility.
A two-year experiment by the Danish road directorate shows accidents have fallen on single-carriageway rural roads where the speed limit was raised. Accidents have also fallen on motorways where the speed limit has been increased.
European registration figures for passenger cars started the year on a positive note, with demand rising for a fifth consecutive month. Across the EU28 region, registrations rose 5.5 per cent year-on-year in January 2014 to 935,640 units. Yet it is too early to celebrate a return to more robust markets – the ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Association) points out that in absolute figures, January’s registrations were the second lowest January result since it began measuring registrations for the enlarged European Union in 2003.
On 27 January, Point S Development, the Lyon, France-based international headquarters of the Point S network, launched a new version of its “eios” European online ordering system. The new version was developed after analysing member purchasing behaviour over a period of several months; Point S Development says the latest eios website is more intuitive than the previous version.
People in the UK tend to think they live in a heavily-regulated country, and when it comes to commercial transportation this is certainly the case. In addition to the safety laws that apply to all motorists, the professional driver and fleet operator must take a host of workplace health and safety and duty of care requirements into account – and on top of this come the regulations that apply to the vehicles themselves. Towards the end of October, Tyres & Accessories spoke with Tony Stapleton, commercial fleet sales manager for Continental Tyre Group, about the issues facing fleets and what the tyre maker can do to address this while minimising whole life tyre cost.
Swedish tyre distributor and retreader the Colmec Group now operates in Poland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Finland, where it established a new service and sales organisation in May 2013. The company reports it has now taken the next step towards building up a full sales and service organisation there by appointing a sales manager for the Finnish operation.
Following a Europe-wide tender process, Continental has been awarded a contract to deliver Deutsche Bahn some 17,000 bus tyres in several countries. Upon announcing the tyre supply deal for Deutsche Bahn’s DB Region and DB Arriva subsidiaries, the railway operator said Continental won the contract as its overall economic and service-oriented package created a favourable impression.
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations has announced a promotional alliance with film production company DreamWorks Animation, supporting its latest 3D comedy, ‘Turbo’. The promotions will give Firestone customers an early opportunity to engage with the film, which features an ordinary garden snail who dreams of competing in the Indy 500. In Europe, where the movie has been screened in cinemas as of this month, Firestone has linked events with trade sell-in promotions and consumer sell-out incentives in several countries, including Spain, Denmark and eastern European markets.
A deal with German chemical firm Lehmann & Voss & Co. and its Luvomaxx business unit offers further scope for China’s Jiangxi Blackcat Carbon Black inc. to penetrate European markets. Lehmann & Voss has signed a sales agreement with the state-owned carbon black manufacturer, securing exclusive distribution rights in 16 European countries. Luvomaxx will support existing direct contracts, mainly with the tyre industry, as part of the supply chain.
Measuring 2.32 metres in diameter – that’s 7 feet and 7 inches for those of you reading this in imperial – the new 850/75R42 Firestone DT23 is the world’s largest agricultural tyre. The first delivery of this giant was recently made to a farm in Denmark.
Goodyear has launched a free European Road Safety App for Android and iOS platforms. The application, available for use in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian and Dutch, is designed to help guide tourists through other European country’s road laws and requirements. Users get an overview of 25 European countries, including popular destinations such as Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Portugal and Switzerland, as well as the larger western European markets. It provides such information as speed limits on highways and in the cities, alcohol levels allowed for drivers, tips for a safer drive, how to act in case of an accident, and local emergency phone numbers.
It’s reassuring to know that British motorists hold no monopoly when it comes to tyre cluelessness. Michelin Nordic recently commissioned a survey into the average Dane’s level of tyre knowledge – and the results were, to be honest, not very good.
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