Alcoa Wheel Products has appointed James Crampton as the business’s new UK sales manager. Appointed in a moved that the company said was designed to strengthen its UK position, Crampton brings with him 15 years of experience in the commercial vehicle industry.
NDI has announced plans for the reorganisation of its UK operation including taking on a new warehousing site. According to a statement released by the company, the UK subsidiary of Nordisk Daek Import A.S., ‘NDI Tyre & Tube Supplies Ltd’ is embarking on major changes to the way it conducts its UK based operations.
Current operation will be “fundamentally changed” in order to concentrate the focus of the business onto the supply of specialised and niche market products, thus “allowing the business to build on the reputation of being a market leader in the more diverse sectors of the industry.” One such change is that at the end of February NDI will cease operating daily deliveries to passenger car tyre customers as they have consciously withdrawn from this market sector based on an agreement to supply the Nordexx branded products exclusively through Mr Tyre limited of Birmingham.
Bridgestone Europe has renewed its Swedish market supply contract with DHL Supply Chain. The Jönköping based firm has handled Bridgestone Europe’s warehouse operations for the Swedish market since 1997 and the extended contract, valid until 2013, includes warehousing and a number of value-added services such as the studding of winter tyres.
Avon Tyres Motorsport, the competition tyre division of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe, has been confirmed as the official supplier of racing tyres to the 2011 MSV F3 Cup – a series for former Cooper Tires British Formula 3 Series cars. David Scott, race operations manager for MSVR, said: “In the past few weeks there have been intense discussions with tyre and fuel suppliers for the 2011 MSV F3 Cup. As a result, I am delighted to announce that our suppliers will be Avon Tyres Motorsport and Sunoco Race Fuels. Both of these suppliers are well known to the competitors and will require no changes to the cars.”
Maxxis has announced that it will take its MA-Z1 Drift tyre onto the European drifting circuit, with the sponsorship of reigning European Drift champion Mark Luney in the SATS Cosworth team. The SATS Cosworth Supra combines the drifting expertise of the SATS Motorsport team with an engine capable of pushing over 800bhp provided by Cosworth. Mark Luney, who has won the championship two years in a row and was also a contender for the title of Maxxis British Drift Champion in 2010, has signed to drive the car over the course of the year at major championships both in the UK and across Europe.
Germany, like many western nations, has an aging population. This creates challenges for employers wishing to retain their skilled workforce in operating environments that require physical strength and endurance. Continental AG is one such employer, and to tackle this situation it studied the workplaces of 25,000 of its employees within Germany with a view to adapting the jobs carried out to the varying needs of its staff. After completing this study Conti introduced what it calls the “workplace traffic light”, a system of identifying workplaces that are suitable for workers of any age (green), those in need of improvement (amber) and workplaces that are not age-diverse (red). One of these three colour designations has been given to each workplace following a profiling that includes the physical strain involved, concentration requirements, lighting conditions, noise, vibrations, draughts and temperatures. Continental reports that a total of 25 to 30 per cent of the industrial jobs at its sites within Germany are undergoing a redesign to enhance their suitability for older workers.
The new Motrio range of tyres, an own brand for Renault starting with two tread patterns is also to feature as an original equipment fitment to two vehicle models on the Romanian and Turkish market, Tyres & Accessories has learned. The tyre will come as standard on the Dacia Logan and Sandero models in the eastern European markets. When T&A asked who would be manufacturing the range, Renault UK press relations manager Jeremy Townsend said that it is “a major manufacturer highly present in Western Europe”.
The iF Product Design Award 2011 has been awarded to two tyres made by the Korean manufacturer Nexen. The N8000 UHP summer tyre and the Winguard Sport winter tyre prevailed from a field of 2,756 products from 1,121 registered participants in 43 countries. John Bosco Kim, managing director of Nexen Tyre Europe, hailed the win of the iF product design award in a statement: “For us, design prizes are among our most important distinctions.
In addition to its role as title sponsor of the Maxxis British Drift Championship, tyre manufacturer Maxxis International has announced its sponsorship of Team Japspeed. The deal will continue a successful relationship that began in 2009, in which driver Steve Biagioni won the British Drift Championship using the Maxxis MA-Z1 Drift tyre.
Long time participant in the Nürburgring 24 Hour race, the Falken Motorsport Team has decided to run a GT3 R specification Porsche 911 on 25-26 June. The high performance tyre manufacturer says its decision to switch to the Porsche follows a successful history of campaigning Japanese sports cars in the ADAC Zurich 24-Hour Race and ties in with increasing activity of the brand in the region. Falken says the race “will be used to develop the next generation of Falken tyres.”
The cost of natural rubber price has reportedly doubled in 2010 and is said to have increased a further 15 per cent during the opening weeks of January 2011, according to an equity research note published by Deutsche Bank analysts Gaetan Toulemonde. So far this month natural rubber costs have continued to surge to US$5.7/kg, a new record high.
The rebranding of Qualitread retreading products in Europe under the Bridgestone brand name continues in January with the renaming of the M729 drive tread and R168 trailer tread as Bridgestone Retread products. In April the Qualitread M729 EVO regional drive tyre will also join the Bridgestone Retread line-up.
China’s Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber has entered into a joint venture agreement with Thai Hua Rubber to establish a tyre production facility in Thailand’s Rayong Province. According to Bangkok based newspaper The Nation, the plant will be set up with a five billion baht (₤102.7 million) investment from the two parties; Hangzhou Zhongce holds an 85 per cent share in the joint venture, with the remainder belonging to the Thailand based rubber company.
The Caterham-Lola SP/300.R will be fitted with brand new ultra-high performance racing tyres developed by Cooper Tire. The new tyre is being developed in parallel with Caterham’s chassis, so that it “evolves” with the chassis, according to Cooper. Caterham has a long-time relationship with Cooper via the US company’s Avon Tyres brand, which has been the OE fitment for all Caterham Cars since 1991.
Market figures released by Pirelli Tyre show Europe’s OE passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyre market to have grown 13 per cent year-on-year during 2010, while eight per cent growth was witnessed in the replacement market. The tyre maker’s information for the European truck tyre market shows 18 per cent growth in the replacement segment during the year. Information for the OE truck sector is currently not available.
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