Goodyear has revealed that it will raise its US consumer tyre prices by up to 6 per cent on 1 October due to the persistent rise in raw materials costs. The increase will, according to US sources, affect all of the company’s brands, including Goodyear, Dunlop and Kelly.
September 2010's Retreading Special supplement produced in both English and German by Tyres & Accessories and Neue Reifenzeitung is now available for virtual viewing online. The latest edition of the increasingly popular retreading publication features exclusive articles on Bridgestone/Bandag's arrival in Europe, the latest innovations from Kraiburg and an interview with the chairman of Dunlop Aircraft Tyres concerning the company's new Chinese retreading facility, as well as latest profit and loss reports from the sector. Click more to read the complete 32-page product.
Strike action based on the demands for a minimum wage of 20 rand per hour for motor industry workers have begun today in South Africa, affecting plants belonging to Dunlop, Bridgestone and Continental, news sources have reported. Strikers are also demanding double-digit wage increases in the sector, with garage and component workers joining the action on Wednesday, 1 September.
As the parent company of the Dunlop brand in South South Africa (SA), Apollo Tyres SA has launched a new campaign to highlight its Dunlop Zones retail network’s commitment to striving for “precision tyre fitment,” in line with the Dunlop brand’s positioning of “Driven by Precision.”
Following the recession of 2008 and 2009, in the most recent part of this year there has reportedly been “an about turn” in market truck tyre demand. However, the commercial vehicle sector’s recovery is said to be much slower in the UK than in Europe. Tyres & Accessories spoke to Michelin UK’s head of marketing – Truck, Earthmover, Martin Covington, who explained how the market’s recent history has been “a very competitive 18 months.”
While Michelin reports that truck tyre volumes in Europe shot up 28.7 per cent during the first half of 2010. The UK market recovery appears to be much more gradual, rising just 6 per cent in the same period. (The niche Republic of Ireland market flew up 42 per cent, but this figure is based on the market’s relatively small volumes rapidly recovering from a low base). “OE has obviously been poor, but replacement hasn’t been as much better as it should have been,” Covington commented, pointing out that economic and political instability hit haulier confidence in the first half of the year. Interestingly (happenstance or not) the market’s return to form appears to have coincided with the formation of the current coalition government following the general election.
Bandvulc reports that its Fulda-brand commercial vehicle tyre sales “have exceeded all planned targets.” Sales for the year ending July 2010 were up 25 per cent on predicted forecasts and this reportedly shows that “the market can develop new brands if sold in a proactive, methodical way, rather than purely price driven,” according to the company.
Activity is said to have been high in all tyres sizes with the largest increase in demand seen in the heavy 385/65 R22.5 and the 295/80 R22.5 sectors. “The Fulda range has been well received by Bandvulc’s independent dealers as well as the national chains and we expect to maintain current levels as well as planning for growth of up to 25,000 units in 2011/12,” company representatives told Tyres & Accessories.
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe intends to use September’s IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover, Germany as an opportunity to publicly introduce several products that demonstrate its commitment to reducing both operating costs and the environmental effects of transport.
The bid for struggling South Korean 4×4 specialist Ssangyong submitted by Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd has been given the green light. Should an arrangement between Mahindra and Ssangyong’s creditors fail to be finalised, however, the Ruia Group – parent company of Dunlop India and Falcon Tyres – is reportedly next in line. A total of six parties, including Renault-Nissan, expressed interest in acquiring the debt laden Ssangyong, the smallest of South Korea’s five car makers.
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany reports that damage resulting from a fire at its Hanau factory on August 10 is minimal. The fire began in the tyre final inspection area of the plant shortly before 8am; Goodyear Dunlop reports that it originated in a tyre grinding machine’s exhaust extraction system when friction caused rubber powder to heat up and catch fire. Three employees were taken to hospital and placed under observation after inhaling the resultant dense smoke.
The road legal descendent of Dunlop’s successful D211 GP motorcycle race tyre has been making waves since its introduction in late 2009, report Goodyear Dunlop representatives. “Echoing the success of the D211 GP race tyre,” states Dunlop, the GP Racer D211 has been adopted both on track days and by one-make national championships across the globe in 2010. As mid-season passes, the tyre is being run in the PromoSport Cup and the WERC series in France, the Yamaha R6 Cup in Germany, the Italian Superstock 600 championship, the Dubai 600 and 1000 Superstock Championships and the Ducati 848 Cup and Harley Davidson Cup in the UK. In Australia, the slick version (GP Racer D211 Slick) is used for the National Superbike Championship.
On August 1 the German tyre component manufacturer Gumasol-Werke Dr. Mayer GmbH & Co. KG became a subsidiary of India’s Ruia Group. The firm will continue operation at its site in the Rhineland-Palatinate town of Germersheim under the name Gumasol Rubber-Tec GmbH and all 110 jobs at the plant have been retained. Gumasol describes its acquisition by the Ruia Group as “a new chapter” for a company “rich in tradition”, and comments that the incorporation of a previously medium-sized firm into an international enterprise “offers very good perspectives for Gumasol-Werke.”
Goodyear Dunlop has been awarded Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 18001 certification, following an external audited by BSI. OHSAS 18001 was created from a number of the world’s leading national standards bodies, certification bodies, and specialist consultancies to establish an occupational health and safety management system. It is designed to ensure the company is legally compliant with its major focus being on continual improvement, as well as eliminating or minimising risk to employees, contractors and visitors. The certificate was granted across both Goodyear Dunlop manufacturing sites in the Midlands based in Bushbury, Wolverhampton and in Birmingham near Fort Dunlop.
Reports from the Farnborough International Airshow indicate Dunlop Aircraft Tyres has an eye on setting up overseas manufacturing operations. Speaking at the show, company chairman Ian Edmondson said that Dunlop Aircraft Tyres may establish a factory in China in five years time, when the tyre maker has “no room to expand in our existing location.
In 2010 Michelin launched the fourth generation of its Alpin winter tyre into the replacement market. The Alpin A4, released in sizes to fit a wide range of vehicles from city cars through to MPVs and saloons, is intended for European markets where winter roads are generally wet – around 80 per cent of the time – and less often icy or snow-covered. In other words, the latest Alpin is a tyre specifically designed for the winter conditions we experience in spades.
For those wanting to enjoy the full atmosphere of a sporting event, there is just no substitute to being there in person. British Touring Car Championship fans will therefore be thrilled to hear the HiQ fast fit network is offering them the chance to attend the series, courtesy of another exclusive giveaway. After launching Twitter and Facebook ticket competitions throughout the course of the season, HiQ is offering more opportunities for supporters to lap up Britain's premier motor racing series.
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