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Kraiburg and Vacu-Lug Continue Ongoing Relationship

Kraiburg and Vacu-Lug have reaffirmed their long running partnership with agreement to expand their business relationship. Currently Vacu-Lug, Europe’s largest independent retreader, sources over 70 per cent of its compound requirements from Kraiburg. “Our customers are more than satisfied with the quality of Kraiburg compounds for the hot cure process,” said Vacu-Lug managing director, Tim Hercock. “We are delighted that we will be able to offer this quality level also in the future.”

29th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

BFGoodrich Launches Long Way Down Promotion

Long Way Down, starting soon on BBC2, is the latest adventure featuring Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor in which the two intrepid explorers ride their motorcycles from John O’Groats to Cape Town to raise money for numerous charities including UNICEF. The Long Way Down team used BFGoodrich tyres on their Nissan support vehicles during the 15,000-mile hike from Scotland through Europe and Africa. Navigation throughout the journey was aided by Charley and Ewan’s Nokia 6110 Navigators, which they also used for keeping in contact with their support team and UK operations base.

BFGoodrich is now giving drivers the chance to win one of 10 Nokia 6110 Navigators as used by Charley and Ewan to complete their epic adventure earlier this year. Entry forms for this free competition to win a Nokia 6110 Navigator, worth £375, are now available at BFGoodrich tyre dealers in the UK and Ireland.

23rd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Tests Show Need for Greater Minimum Tread Depth

(Akron/Tire Review) Consumer Reports magazine has added its voice to the growing international call for a 4/32nds (3.175mm) minimum tread depth level. Tire Review magazine in North America, Tyresafe in the UK and some tyremakers in Europe have pushed for the tyre industry and national and local governments to adopt new minimum tread depth standards to improve driver safety and reduce lost traction accidents and accident-related deaths.

In its November issue, Consumer Reports stated that the well-accepted “penny test” consumers have been taught to use to check tread depth is inadequate.

“It has long been the standard that tyres are worn out when their tread depth reaches 1/16-inch (or 2/32-inch as found on standardised tread-depth gauges),” CR wrote. “The easiest way to measure this, if you didn’t have a gauge, was to hold a penny upside down in the tread. If the top of Lincoln’s head was visible, you needed new tyres.

18th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

JV Formed for Shock Absorber Supply in Europe

ArvinMeritor and TRW Automotive have laid out plans to form a joint venture for the distribution of aftermarket shock absorbers in Europe, with the planned operation covering all light vehicle shock absorbers both companies’ produce for the region. Operation and distribution through the joint venture is planned to commence in January.

TRW’s vice president for aftermarket in Europe and Asia Pacific, François Augnet, said in a statement that “by combining the strengths of ArvinMeritor’s engineering and manufacturing competencies and the Gabriel brand name with TRW’s extensive sales and distribution network, we are confident that we can roll out successful shock absorber programs for the European independent aftermarket.”

17th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

European Associations Launch Right to Repair Campaign

Automotive aftermarket and motorist representatives have today launched the Right to Repair Campaign at Equip’Auto 2007 to safeguard consumer choice and effective competition in the market for vehicle replacement parts, tools and equipment, servicing and repair.

“Vehicles are more and more becoming “computers on wheels”, stated Campaign spokesperson Sylvia Gotzen. “While technological innovations provide better emissions control as well as more safety and comfort, they have made it increasingly challenging to service or repair a vehicle. Fair and full access for independent market operators to technical information, multi-brand diagnostic tools as well as test equipment, replacement parts and training is therefore more than ever crucial to be able to provide European motorists with the quality service and parts they deserve in the aftermarket care of their vehicles”, she explained.

16th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian Tyremakers Becoming More Reliant on SR

Indian tyre manufacturers increasingly must ‘fake it to make it’ – that is, rely upon synthetic rubber in the manufacture of their products. Natural rubber already accounts for about 50 per cent of production costs in India, and since May-June the per kilogram cost of this sought after commodity has increased from Rs 80 (£1.00) to Rs 90.75 (£1.13). Apollo Tyres’ Onkar S. Kanwar believes an increase of this degree has the potential to reduce profits by 3 to 5 per cent; to counter this his company is considering doubling its use of synthetic rubber.

The ratio of natural to synthetic rubber used by Indian tyremakers could therefore feasibly reach the magic figure of 70:30 – the highest ratio technically practicable. Such measures were threatened earlier in 2007, but so far no manufacturer has utilised synthetic rubber to this degree in its products. In Europe the established ratio is 80:20, a proportion seen as not compromising the superior vulcanising qualities of natural rubber.

15th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bekaert Acquisition Talks in Russia Abandoned

International News

Following several months of negotiations Bekaert has opted to withdraw from talks with Russian firm ZAO Uralkord regarding a possible takeover. The Russian manufacturer, located in the industrial city of Magnitogorsk, produces steel cord products for domestic tyre manufacturers and was viewed as a suitable vehicle through which the Belgian firm could strengthen its position in Russia. As recently as late July Bekaert CEO Bert De Graeve told media that the group was hopeful of closing a deal by the end of the year, adding that about 50 million euros had been offered for the purchase of Uralkord.

Despite this optimism, the deal fell through within three months of De Graeve’s announcement. The reason for this, Bekaert outlined in a statement, is that during “the course of the difficult and protracted negotiations, it became clear that no agreement could be reached with the current shareholders of ZAO Uralkord that would meet Bekaert’s criteria for pursuing its strategy of sustainable profitable growth in Russia.”

15th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Aiming for 15 Million Tyres a Year in Poland

The previously reported Michelin expansion in Poland will see capacity at the company’s Olsztyn plant boosted to 15 million units a year, claims Deutsche Bank’s Equity Research division. This capacity will further be revised in the mid-term to 20 million units, making the facility in northeast Poland the tyremaker’s largest.

The reasoning behind the decision to expand in Poland at the expense of facilities in Western Europe becomes clear when viewing the relative costs of each region. In Western Europe, direct labour costs per passenger car tyre represents approximately 7.5 euros, or 15 per cent of its selling price. In Poland the same tyre can be manufactured for 1.7 euros, less than 4 per cent of the tyre’s retail price.

15th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian – New Generation Winter Tyres Easy on Fuel

Much of Europe is currently getting ready for the seasonal change to cold weather tyres, and while many drivers assume that winter tyres increase a car’s fuel consumption, Nokian says that the truth may come as a positive surprise. The Finnish tyremaker claims that the latest generation of Nordic winter tyres roll fluently, save fuel and generate less harmful CO2 emissions than summer tyres.

Rolling resistance is measured in terms of a rolling resistance coefficient; the greater the coefficient, the heavier the tyre rolls. The average rolling resistance value for contemporary tyres varies between 1-1.2. Several test results indicate that the Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi, the studless winter tyre designed for northern conditions, has the most economic rolling properties in its category, with a recorded value below 0.9. This makes the tyre, according to Nokian, 36 per cent superior in terms of rolling resistance than its worst performing competitors (in 205/55 R16 size).

12th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Poland Logistics Centre to Employ 1,000

A thousand new staff will be taken on by Michelin Poland when its logistics and production centre in Olsztyn, in the country’s northeast, is completed. The £180 million facility, being constructed on a 50,000 square metre site, will serve production in the domestic market, the rest of Europe and in North America.

Michelin’s growth in Poland has been made easier through the granting of a couple of concessions; the town of Olsztyn gave Michelin a 99-year lease on an 82 hectare site in early 2005, for which the tyremaker pays a sum of 100,000 zloty (£18,650) per month. That same year the Polish government implemented a number of tax rebates for the company and approved an aid package valued at around £11 million.

12th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Service Professionals Launch Pan-European Network

A number of leading independent tyre dealers throughout Europe have joined together to launch a new pan-European network of tyre service professionals. This network, known as TEN (Tyre European Network), brings together more than 2,100 dealer locations and 6,000 affiliated tyre specialists from across the UK and continental Europe. At the core of TEN are a number of national groups including Tyrenet from the UK, Germany’s Top Service Team, Profile Tyrecenter in the Netherlands and Belgium, Italy’s Tyreteam and SEAS 24 in Spain and Portugal. Discussions are also currently underway with tyre organisations in a further six countries.

The network will offer fleet managers the reassurance of a single, fully operational European network combined with the flexibility of brand choice from highly professional independent dealers providing services whenever and wherever they are needed. Mike Riley, the inaugural vice president of TEN and managing director of Tyrenet in the UK, says: “TEN is an extremely exciting development for the tyre industry that will enable fleets and transport companies to manage their costs as effectively as possible and will allow tyre manufacturers to offer their products in locations where they do not already have a presence. It is a win-win situation for the tyre industry and all our customers.”

12th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

PCL Appoints Language Expert to Increase Continental Sales

Pneumatic Components Ltd. (PCL) is putting pressure on the continent with the appointment of Export Sales Executive Natalie Wilmot. Wilmot, a business and languages graduate from Chesterfield, will be based at the company’s HQ in Sheffield, and will be responsible for developing French and Spanish speaking markets in Europe and internationally.

With PCL launching new products at Equip Auto in October 2007, and able to display the prestigious “A La Bonne Foi” handshake symbol on products, symbolising competence to manufacture and verify tyre inflation equipment, the appointment is well timed.

10th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook to Test in Spain

Hankook has signed a long-term agreement securing its use of the Applus+ IDIADA proving ground in Barcelona, arguably the most comprehensive independent proving ground facilities in Europe. The 370-hectare site near the Spanish capital contains a host of facilities including a 7.5 kilometre high-speed circuit, off-road track and a soon to be commissioned wet track. The Korean tyremaker will begin testing there early next year.

The use of this facility comes on top of the 1600 metre wet handling track Hankook has recently built adjacent to its Geumsan plant in South Korea.

8th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Tables Plant Re-Organisations & Closures for France, Spain

Michelin has outlined plans affecting the company’s operations in France and Spain. These plans, according to the tyremaker, constitute a new phase in Michelin’s industrial strategy in the two countries, and are aimed at strengthening the group’s competitiveness in Western Europe. Michelin adds that “significant investments” have been earmarked for plant modernisation projects.”

As part of the strategy, production at the company’s factory in the French town of Toul is scheduled to cease in 2009. The facility produces mid-range passenger car tyres, a market experiencing intense competition from low production cost countries that have massively invested in this specific segment during the past five years. Michelin claim that, in spite of significant investment into the operations at Toul in recent years and the streamlining of industrial processes, production costs at the plant are 50 per cent higher than those of the French manufacturer’s competitors, therefore Toul is no longer a competitive site. The company adds that the market currently has an overcapacity in the tyre sizes manufactured in Toul.

4th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Grabs Tyrexpo Gold

ECI International has directed kudos in the direction of Apollo Tyres for its stand at the recent Tyrexpo Asia 2007, awarding the Indian tyre major its ‘Gold Award’ for ‘Most Innovative Stand Design.’

The company’s spectacular stand at the Singapore exhibition was constructed in a fresh looking glass and steel style and showcased the company’s product range spanning the three brands of Apollo, Dunlop and Regal. High-speed passenger radial and 4×4 range, commercial super singles, radials and cross-ply and pre-cured tread rubber panels were prominently displayed.

Those in Europe wishing to see Apollo Tyres displaying its wares first hand will have the opportunity to do so next year, as the company has confirmed its participation in the 2008 Reifen Essen show.

28th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors