Desser Tire & Rubber Co., Inc. has been awarded a contract by General Atomics Aeronautical for warehousing and “in time” supply of aircraft tyres and tubes used in OEM Production and the US Military. The two year agreement valued at over $1 million per year encompasses supply of Desser OEM branded products as well as Dunlop and Goodyear aircraft tyres.
Fulda has announced the upcoming launch of its new high performance summer tyre, the EcoControl HP. The range will be introduced in time for the 2012 season and be available in 22 dimensions for 15 and 16-inch rim diameters. The tyre maker says the EcoControl HP is designed to take “meet both dry and wet conditions in its stride”; in September-October 2011 the new tyre was extensively tested against three competitor tyres by the independent testing and certification organisation TÜV SÜD Automotive, and was found to be a “well balanced performance tyre.”
Reduced downtime, improved tyre management and greater security are three of the advantages Goodyear claims the introduction of microchips into its truck tyre range will bring. The tyre maker has released its first product to utilise the technology, the Goodyear Regional RHT II RFID (Radio Frequency Identity) 435/50R19.5 trailer tyre; the microchip built into the tyre helps deliver fleet operators the above benefits through interfacing with FleetOnlineSolutions, Goodyear Dunlop’s internet-based tyre management programme.
Cam Systems has announced that its third party integration module for the commercial vehicle market – 3PI – is being adopted by All Fleet Services, provider of the Goodyear Dunlop ActionLine. After implementation, the AFS call centre will be able to take an inbound call, issue the SMR job via 3PI directly into Cam’s UniSerV Call Logging module, creating a service record and reducing double handling in log management between AFS and Actionline service providers.
Goodyear Dunlop has made its debut on the football sponsorship pitch by signing an agreement with Italian team Juventus. On 24 November the tyre maker entered a deal with the Serie A team that covers the current season.
In the third quarter of 2011 Polish tyre maker Debica S.A. reported sales of PLN 717 million (£138.6 million), a 38.9 per cent year-on-year increase. Operating profit in the July to September quarter rose 61.6 per cent year-on-year to PLN 59.9 million (£11.6 million) while net profit, at PLN 32.6 million (£6.3 million), was down 9.62 per cent compared with the third quarter of 2010.
Birmingham-based Dunlop Aircraft Tyres halted new and retread tyre production during the week commencing 15 November after identifying a “potentially sub-standard rubber” supply. According to the Birmingham Mail, managers at the Castle Bromwich plant suspended manufacturing for three days following a “potential issue” with the raw material.
Four recent independent tests in Europe have recommended Goodyear’s UltraGrip 8 winter tyre. Tests conducted by Auto Motor und Sport; Germany's largest automobile club, Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC); and its Austrian counterpart Österreichische Automobil-, Motorrad- und Touring Club (ÖAMTC) support similar conclusions drawn by previous 2011 tests by Germany’s AutoZeitung and GTÜ magazines. The UltraGrip 8 was launched in early 2011, and is Goodyear’s first directional tyre to use patented 3D-BIS (Block Interlocking System) Technology throughout the entire tread pattern.
Last year, Apollo Tyres introduced its range into Europe, including several winter tyres. As such, it is the first and to-date only Indian tyre maker to market winter tyres in our region. The brand recently received a boost when its winter tyres were favourably reviewed by VOX TV, a national television network in Germany, Europe’s most significant winter tyre market.
Nigeria’s official body in charge of standards, certification and inspection says it hopes that the seizure and destruction of used and substandard tyres will encourage major manufacturers to resume tyre production within the country. Benin City-based newspaper the Sunday Observer reported on November 6 that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) had destroyed more than 60 truckloads of these tyres, and SON director of enforcement Louis Njoku told the newspaper the action was taken to encourage companies such as Dunlop and Michelin to relocate their industries back to Nigeria.
Goodyear is hosting a web tv show at 15:00 (BST) today. In the webcast Quentin Willson will share his safe winter driving knowledge with Goodyear Dunlop PR support manager Kate Rock. The show is based on a OnePoll survey of 4,000 motorists, which revealed motorists’ phobia of driving in winter conditions. It also showed that less than one in five drivers have ever purchased winter tyres. To view the webcast, go to http://77.237.250.82/~tyrepress/live.html. You can also submit a question to Willson and Rock now.
Dunlop’s launch of its latest touring tyre, the RoadSmart II, is a move from the manufacturer to meet “tougher expectations” in the two-wheel segment. Developed to succeed its RoadSmart, Dunlop says the new premium tyre uses Jointless Belt and Multi-Tread technologies derived from the brand’s motorsport involvement to deliver class-equalling or class-beating performance in key handling areas, alongside the substantial mileage traditionally required of tyres in the segment. “The sport touring market has seen a lot of changes in recent years,” says Sharon Antonaros, marketing director Dunlop motorcycle tyres EMEA.
More than three weeks have passed since a lock-out began at Dunlop India’s Sahaganj factory, and the tyres appear to be spinning on negotiations for resuming production. The Press Trust of India reports that union representatives have voiced opposition to bipartite talks with Dunlop India, while the company is awaiting West Bengal state government approval of three-party talks and the government is waiting for Dunlop India to re-open the plant before attempting further negotiations.
Goodyear has announced the introduction of 14 new Omnitrac MSS II and MSD II truck tyre sizes. Typically for use on vehicles operating on and off road, such as those in service on construction sites, waste tips and quarries, the ranges now cover all the major sizes and include variants with Duraseal technology, Goodyear’s air loss prevention system in the event of a puncture.
Tyresafe chairman Stuart Jackson made an appearance during the opening segment on tyre safety of BBC One’s flagship early-evening magazine programme, The One Show. The five-minute report highlighted the increase in stopping distances when using tyres with insufficient tread depth. One startled motorist, who had been found by the show’s production team to be driving on illegal tyres, was then shown how to check their tyre tread depth using TyreSafe’s 20p test, which was repeated later in the studio. Tyresafe should be congratulated for the positive effect this coverage will undoubtedly have, though Simon Boseman, who presented the item, incorrectly stated that the legal tread depth limit is 3mm rather than 1.6mm, and then administered the 20p test on only the shoulder of the tyre, when two-thirds of the cross-section of the tread must be above the limit.
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