Alcoa Wheels, recently won the right to supply the wheel program for the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco in the USA. The Chevrolet team awarded the contract after pursuing a wheel providing light weight performance that would further extend fuel economy for the Cruze Eco. The development team of the wheel focused on design, engineering and production techniques to lower the overall weight of the wheel.
Hundreds of people turned out to see celebrities and politicians try their hand at eco-driving when the Bridgestone Eco-Rally travelled from Brighton to London’s Hyde Park on 7 July. F1 fans in particular lined the streets to get a glimpse of F1 heroes, such as Nico Hulkenberg, Eddie Irvine and Patrick Head, just days before the Silverstone Grand Prix. Other celebrities included Kevin McCloud, Quentin Wilson and Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne.
The Bridgestone Eco-Rally showcased the latest in low and zero emission vehicle technology and included a full range of eco-vehicles from the Gutsi Zero Bus to the Honda CR-Z hybrid. The Ford Fusion world record-breaking hybrid also took part, representing Ford's electrification plans for Europe.
With Autodata reporting that over 30 per cent of vehicles on the road have front or rear wheel alignment problems leading to premature tyre wear and replacement, its not a surprise the company believes its new Wheel Alignment manual will assist garage profitability.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems has announced plans to increase prices by an average of 5 per cent in Europe and North America. The price hike – the firm’s second in the agricultural and forestry segments this year – is said to be the result of rising raw material costs. The latest round of prices increased will take affect on 1 Septemeber 2010, according to a company statement detailing the matter.
Singapore-based brand Sumo Firenza enjoyed strong interest in its expanding portfolio of products from visitors from around the world. PCR, UHP and truck tyre specialists, Sumo Firenza presented an extensive display of patterns covering all three market sectors with centre stage being taken by the all new STO 5A ultra high performance range, which the company says is specifically developed and manufactured for the UK and European markets.
UK wholesaler Kings Road Tyres told Tyres & Accessories its presence at Reifen was an opportunity “to sell the Kings Road Tyres brand” at its stand next to one of Hall 2’s entrances alongside other major European tyre distributors. Purchasing and marketing manager Tim Bader said the show offered a “great opportunity for promoting our private brand Kingstone into Europe”.
Occupying a booth in Hall 2, Atturo Tire’s Michael Mathis was enthusiastic about the opportunity provided by Reifen to make contact with the company’s European dealers (Micheldever in the UK), while also gaining new distributors. Mathis mentioned Spain, Italy, Eastern Europe and the Middle East as the territories from which much of the traffic for the stand came. Though the company had expected “a higher quantity of visitors,” said Mathis, “the quality of the traffic has been good. In a month from now, I think we will be pretty satisfied,” he concluded.
Scottish Coal has specified Bridgestone tyres for its 10 new Caterpillar 785D trucks as a part of its fleet modernisation programme. The trucks cost in excess of £1.25 million each and will operate at the company’s Broken Cross open cast coal mine in Ayrshire. No details of how much Scottish Coal are paying for the latest tyre supply deal have been release, but when Scottish Coal last extended its contract with Bridgestone, the firm told Tyres & Accessories that it had was seeking get every penny of value of the tyres that cost around £7000 each. Scottish Coal’s annual tyre bill is estimated to be total around £3 million.
Switzerland’s B&J Rocket Sales AG says its I-Beam spacers have gained a remarkable reputation for durability and reliability in the industry and thus over the years have become a top seller. Thus it comes as no surprise that B&J Rocket has developed the concept further; the company has now introduced the next generation I-Beam spacer, the Alu I-Beam Air spacer. B&J Rocket says this new product provides more cooling and a longer lifetime.
Bridgestone has revised its financial projections the first half of the 2010 fiscal year and released its projections for the entire fiscal year. Its revised first half net sales figure of 1,360,000 million yen (£10.1 billion) is 1.5 per cent higher than that previously given on May 7 and projected net income, now 37,000 million yen (£275.0 million), is 37 per cent higher than the May 7 projection. The company now anticipated annual net sales of 2,900,000 million yen (£21.5), slightly higher than the 2,597,002 million yen earned in the 2009 financial year. Operating income, however, is projected to increase 58 per cent to 130,000 million yen (£966.3 million), projected ordinary income is 113,000 million yen (£839.9 million) and net income to skyrocket from 1,043 million yen to 77,000 million yen (£572.4 million). Despite rising raw material costs, the company still anticipates that operating income, ordinary income and net income will exceed the prior year’s results primarily due to increased tyre unit sales and a corresponding improvement in cost per unit due to increased production levels.
One significant aspect of the Reifen 2010 show for Monarch Vulcanising was that the company received numerous business enquiries from markets where it has previously not been active. Company president Toni Elderfield told Tyres & Accessories that “we’ve had a lot of interest this week from East European visitors, from people based in markets such as Poland. This has been interesting for us as we currently sell very little into Europe.” While the Guernsey based company sells its products around the world, its neighbours have accounted for only a small portion of total sales during the company’s forty years in the tyre repair business.
Ontario Canada-based tyre marketer and distributor Hercules Tire International has joined the Imported Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ITMA). Hercules, which has worldwide sales in excess of US$500,000,000.00, will be represented within the association by its European Sales and Purchasing manager, Paul Sleath.
Fast-Fit Tyres branch manager Darren Freeman, of Salhouse Road, Norwich, attended Ascot after winning a nationwide promotion run by Cooper Tires. Freeman’s branch was entered into the free draw along with all of the other Cooper Tires participating dealers, including the rest of the Fast-Fit chain.
For the third consecutive year Bridgestone has donated tyres to Mercy Ships, an international charity that runs hospital ships that bring medical services to some of the world's poorest regions. The consignment of Dueler 694 4×4 tyres will be used on Mercy Ships’ fleet of 4-wheel drive Nissans. As an On/Off road tyre, the Dueler 694 is ideal for the mixed use and rough conditions faced by Mercy Ship vehicles around towns, air strips and ports.
Bridgestone’s Eco-Rally 2010 will feature appearances from Ross Brawn, Patrick Head and Nico Hulkenberg with more names to be announced. Now in its fourth year, the Bridgestone Eco-Rally takes place on Wednesday 7 July and will showcase all the latest in low and zero emission vehicle technology in a convoy from Brighton’s seafront to London’s Hyde Park. At the finish line, it will join the UK’s largest sustainable transport exhibition, free to attend, at the Royal Albert Memorial.
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