The Marangoni Group has announced that it will use the Marix brand – until now reserved for car, off-road and light commercial vehicle retreads – to represent all products made at the factory in Rovereto (Trento), the second biggest retreading production site in Europe. Retreads for trucks and earthmoving machinery will therefore now also be branded Marix by Marangoni.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems has announced a price increase on agricultural and forestry tyres and wheels effective 1 January, 2011. The increases will be in the range six to 10 per cent in Europe and North America. The price hike includes all tyres and wheels for agricultural, forestry and light industrial application and is the result of escalating raw material costs, according to the company.
Having brought its first Formula One tyre test to a satisfactory conclusion, Pirelli reports that its next private test will take place in Bahrain from 12 – 16 December. There will be another private test session in Europe during January, before all the teams reconvene at the beginning of February for the first official test.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli's motorsport director commented: "We've passed our first test with full marks. All the teams have done plenty of laps and everyone has worked very hard. We've focused on the development of the front tire and that has given us the most satisfaction. On Monday, we begin to analyze the data collected over the last two days"
The recession of 2009 is fast becoming little more than an unpleasant memory and companies within the tyre industry are looking forward to a good and profitable 2011. Many are already preparing for this by investing in advertising for the coming year. Tyres & Accessories’ sister publication, Neue Reifenzeitung, is sent to German-speaking tyre industry professionals and thus provides an ideal platform for those wishing to maintain and expand market share in the important Central European region.
Alcoa Wheel Products Europe has introduced a new 22.5 x 11.75 wheel with 120 mm offset and a 5000 kilogram load index. The product, which is designed for truck front steer axles and trailer axles, reportedly weighs just 23.6 kilos and is available with 26 mm mounting holes in four finishes – Brushed, Mirror Polished, Dura-Bright and Dura-Flange.
Motor Wheel Service reports that it successfully launched xlite coach at Euro Bus Expo 2010, receiving over 100 enquiries for the new forged aluminium wheel range. Available in 9.00 x 22.5 inches and 11.75 x 22.5 inches, the product range has been specially adapted for the coach market and is available immediately.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ financial results for the nine months to September 30 show a 19 per cent increase in net sales plus a return to the black. During the nine-month period the company took in net sales of 424,514 million yen (£3.2 billion), as opposed to 356,662 during the same period of 2009. Operating income amounted to 28,640 million yen (£215.2 million), 190 per cent more year-on-year. Ordinary income was for the nine months was 25,311 million yen (£190.2 million) and net income 14,036 million yen (£105.5 million).
Toyota recently celebrated the sale of its 20 millionth vehicle in Europe, just 10 years after recording its 10 millionth sale in the continent. The company's entry into the European market began in 1963, supplying 190 Crown models to a distributor in Denmark. Today, Toyota has nine production plants in Europe, building vehicles, engines and transmissions, as well as R&D, design and training centres. The company's investment in its European operations stands at 1.2 billion Euros and it employs around 3,000.
Kumho has been the official tyre supplier to the Formula Three Euro Series since 2003. The newly-crowned 2010 Euro F3 champion on Kumho’s slicks is Edoardo Mortara. He contested the series previously in 2008, then had a year in GP2 before returning to F3 this year. He holds duel Italian and French nationality but races under the Italian flag and is responsible for two firsts for the series: the first victory for the French Signature team and the first for a VW-engined car. As official supplier, Kumho makes some 10,000 tyres available to the series per annum.
Kirkby Tyres has announced that it is now offering the Galaxy and Primex tyre brands to the OE and replacement markets in the UK and Ireland. The range includes the popular Mighty Mow, Turf Special, Beefy Baby, Super Trencher and others, says the tyre wholesaler based in Speke. Alliance acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the Galaxy and Primex brands in December 2009, when it bought key GPX International Tire Corp assets. Trelleborg Wheel Systems had previously held the European distribution rights to the Galaxy brand, and had continued to supply European customers in the first quarter of 2010.
Japanese tyre manufacturer Yokohama celebrated its 100th race as official tyre supplier to the FIA World Touring Car Championship earlier this year, having supplied the control tyre to the series since 2006. Commenting on the season, Yokohama HPT’s Motorsport manager, Mark Evans, said: “We’ve seen another exceptional year of competition in the WTCC, which is a superb environment to showcase the brand’s performance.” The ADVAN wet and dry racing tyres have drawn critical acclaim from the competitors, with the manufacturer developing products that suit both the front and rear wheel drive cars competing.
The inability to test slick tyres before the race did not prevent heir apparent to the MotoGP crown, Jorge Lorenzo from reasserting his dominance of the 2010 Championship following a run of victories for Casey Stoner, who lost the rear wheel of his Ducati in the final bend of lap five. Lorenzo comfortably beat his teammate Valentino Rossi to claim the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril, both riders using the medium front and rear Bridgestone slicks.
Cooper Tire Europe has announced a pair of new products designed specifically to cope with the UK’s winter motoring conditions. The Wiltshire-based company’s latest high-performance tyres for winter, the WM-SA2 and WM-ST3, are available now in sizes ranging from 13” to 16”.
Doncaster-based McGregor Logistics, a member of the Pall-Ex network, has appointed ATS Euromaster to supply, fit and service the tyres across its busy fleet of 18 tractor units, 36 curtain side trailers and 6 temperature controlled fridge units. The deal replaces a previous arrangement with a local independent tyre dealer.
The Portuguese Grand Prix this weekend represents the first half of the final back-to-back pairing of the 2010 MotoGP season. The Riders’ and Teams’ championships have been clinched, by Jorge Lorenzo and the Fiat Yamaha Team, but the Constructors’ title is still up for grabs, as is second position in the riders’ championship. Additionally Estoril is described as one of the most technically challenging races on the calendar for Bridgestone’s tyres with a multitude of different corner characteristics, corner loads and surfaces, meaning that a well-balanced setup is important to allow the tyres to perform consistently throughout a lap.
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