Pincott Europe Limited, have been developing a new “Smart” blade which unusually is not flat, but is produced in the form of a sine wave. This sinusoidal shape allows the blade to cut progressively across the face of the tyre and not in a straight line as all other blades do. This has the effect of breaking up the surface more evenly and cutting the rubber from the tyre in a much smoother fashion.
Bridgestone Corp. has reported that first half operating profit fell 8.7 per cent to 84.11 billion yen (£382 million) on account of raw material costs. Net profit dropped 67.7 per cent to 32.82 billion yen (£146.6 million), partly due to a one-off pension-related gain of 80.8 billion yen in the year-earlier period.
Bosch has been a major player in the automotive battery sector ever since the company began its pioneering work as far back as 1927. Things are very different nowadays from nearly eight decades ago; the addition of electric windows, sunroofs, ABS, air conditioning, other in-car equipment such as DVD players and satellite navigation has resulted in increasing demand on the modern power supply and a reduced battery life. However, continuing investment in research and development ensures that Bosch batteries continue to consistently meet market requirements, with little or no increase in overall size or weight.
With a TV audience estimated at over a billion people, the Maxxis British Motocross Championship is attracting a huge following around the world, according to the company. The series is currently seen in almost 500 million homes throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas, according to a report from Greenlight Television, which signed a TV deal with the Auto Cycle Union in February.
Viking International has introduced a special battery promotion to cater for the autumn/winter demand for replacing car batteries. For all the early bird customers who buy 20 Varta or 15 Power Pak batteries before the end of September, Viking is offering a selection of goodies free, such as POS materials, a quality branded fleece and a battery stand worth £50. Customers can also enjoy extended credit terms as part of the offer.
(Akron/Tire Review) On the same morning that its chairman, president and CEO resigned, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. released its first half and second quarter 2006 financial results. For the first half, the company posted sales of $1.2 billion, up 19 per cent over the same period last year. But Cooper posted a net loss of $26 million for the half. Second quarter sales of $625 million were up 22 per cent year-to-year, and were driven largely by Cooper’s business in China, the company said. Cooper acquired Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Passenger Tire Co. and Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Co. in February.
Following achievements in Motorsport activity throughout 2004 and 2005, Italian tyre manufacturer, Marangoni, is now targeting further successes in 2006 with participation in three European championships. Firstly there is the Italian Hillclimb Championship.
Britain’s largest and fastest-growing contract hire and leasing company, Lex, has extended its solus fast-fit contract with Kwik-Fit Fleet for a further three years. Lex now operates a fleet of more than 180,000 company cars and light commercial vehicles, which means the contract involves fitting more than 2 million tyres over the next three years.
The electronics revolution behind major improvements in auto economy, braking, stability and ride comfort has necessitated a techno-overhaul for the car battery to underpin these functions. Luxury car brands like Bentley, Mercedes-Benz and Rolls Royce were the first to turn to suppliers like Varta for AGM (absorbent glass mat) batteries to cope with increased electrical and electronic consumption, and they have been being swiftly followed by mainstream models like the Audi A3, VW Golf and Passat, not to mention London’s black cab fleet. Now BMW is set to fit a Varta AGM battery as original equipment to the new Mini out later this year to meet the increased electrical demands of the Stop-Start technology it is adopting for this substantially revised model. Varta is Europe’s only supplier of AGM technology batteries to the original equipment market to date, and has a number of long term development programmes with carmakers to support their quest for increased vehicle efficiency and performance improvements.
The rapidly-increasing demand for diesel cars in Europe, and with it the increased demand for glow plugs, has led NGK Spark Plugs to open a new factory on its Komaki site in Japan, dedicated to the production of ceramic and metal glow plugs. The rise in demand has seen a dramatic growth in NGK’s market share – four years ago the company claimed 10 per cent of the UK glow plug market and today the figure is 50 per cent and rising. NGK’s Komaki factory was originally opened in 1962 and the new four-storey building covers some 30,000 square metres. It will manufacture several hundred different types of glow plugs and the annual production capacity is 20 million pieces.
The EU Landfill Directive banning the landfilling of shredded used tyres came into effect on 16th July 2006, when all used tyres (with minor exceptions) will have to be diverted from landfill and recovered, re-used or recycled. This follows the earlier ban on the landfilling of whole tyres in 2003.
With a TV audience estimated at more than one billion people, the Maxxis British Motocross Championship is attracting a huge following around the world. The series is currently seen in almost 500 million homes throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas, according to a report from Greenlight Television, which signed a TV deal with the Auto Cycle Union in February.
Congestion on Britain’s streets is getting worse, but drivers polled by online insurance broker www.motorinsurance.co.uk have a novel solution: ban elderly drivers from the roads. Government figures suggest that almost nine in ten respondents felt that road congestion was a serious problem in the country . The solution, according to nearly half the drivers (49 per cent) polled, is a total ban on elderly drivers during peak periods.
BF Goodrich has confirmed its commitment to the FIA World Rally Championship in 2007, despite looking set to be the sole tyre supplier, following Pirelli’s decision to quit the series at the end of this season. BF Goodrich currently supplies all but one of the manufacturer-backed teams, namely the Subaru World Rally team, however, next season all the teams look set to use their tyres.
Online tyre retailer Blackcircles.com says it is on course to achieve a record turnover of at least £10 million after receiving more than 150 enquiries about joining its franchise network, which was launched in January. Blackcircles claims to be leading the revitalisation of local garages, with independents and dealerships throughout the UK joining the network “in a bid to challenge the monopoly of national tyre chains.” With a turnover of £5 million in 2005, and a projected turnover of £10 – £15 million for 2006, Blackcircles is experiencing month on month growth.
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