Nokian Tyres has awarded the contract for constructing an additional extension to its Russian facility near St. Petersburg, with work to commence immediately. According to a company press release the 24,500 square metre construction should be ready by March 2009, with the administration facility completed the following November. Earthmoving work necessary for construction began last November.
Nankang is proceeding with the sale of its factory in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei. The facility, located in the city’s Nankang district, mainly engaged in the manufacture of bias tyres and passenger car radials, ceased production in February 2008. The site will be redeveloped according to a Tapei municipal urban redevelopment plan.
The fully automated 190 million tyre manufacturing facility Bridgestone has built in Tatabánya, Hungary, officially opened for business on April 3. The factory is the first in Europe to feature the tyre major’s BIRD (Bridgestone Innovative and Rational Development) technology and only the second facility outside Japan to do so. Plant production of high-performance and large-rim sized radial tyres for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles is scheduled to reach 8,000 units a day in 2009.
More than 150 guests attended the opening ceremony, including senior Hungarian figures from local, regional and national authorities. Amongst this group of dignitaries was Mr. Ábel Garamhegyi, Hungarian State Secretary, Ministry of Economy and Transport, Mr. János Bencsik, Mayor of Tatabánya and Mr. László Beke, Mayor of Környe. Representatives of Hungary’s national and local media, officials from local organisations in Tatabánya and Környe, and managing directors of neighbouring companies also attended.
Feel as if others stand head and shoulders over you? Chances are that what you lack in stature will be made up for in the wheel department – but only if you’re a man. A researcher in Austria has uncovered a strong inverse correlation between male height and the diameter rim a person selects for their car.
“It seems more than co-incidental,” commented Dr. Felix Schmutzig from the Linz Institute. “Our study involved approximately fifteen hundred participants, ranging in height from 156 centimetres (5’1) to 193 centimetres (6’3), and the results show a clear preference from shorter men towards wheels with a rim diameter of or greater than 19-inches.” Taller men, in turn, were more likely to maintain standard factory fitted wheels on their vehicles. Dr. Schmutzig added that the shortest man in the study had recently purchased a US built SUV that he’d “pimped up” with 28-inch chrome “monsters,” to quote the driver’s own nickname for the wheels.
Curiously, this phenomenon does not appear to apply to women. From the 400 or so females participating in the study, no discernible relationship between height and wheel size could be ascertained. Addressing media in Linz, Austria on April 1, Dr. Schmutzig says that he now intends to widen the scope of his study to determine whether any additional correlation between physical attributes and tyre, wheel or vehicle size can be found.
Continental and truck and bus manufacturer Scania have furthered their relationship by establishing a long-term agreement for Scania’s global tyre supplies from 2008 to 2010. The contract includes both truck and bus tyres and will grow the business in both segments. “As well as the positive growth of the European business, we have also entered the Brazilian market, securing the local tyre production by contracting significant volumes from 2008 to 2010,” says Markus Junk, key-account manager at Scania.
Conti has also renewed its supplier contract with MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG for supply to the heavy truck segment. Running from the start of this year through to 2010, the agreement covers 19.5-inch tyres and above for heavy-duty trucks and buses. This is not the first renewal of the contract – three years ago, Continental and MAN extended their working relationship by 36 months. ”The continuation of the supplier contract is further confirmation of a long-standing and intensive partnership between the two firms”, said Heinrich Schmitz-Horsch, key account manager for original equipment in Continental’s Truck Tyres division.
Yokohama is reported to be planning a new tyre manufacturing facility in India. According to the Indo-Asian News Service, the plant in the northern state of Haryana will be built with an investment totalling more than Rs 9 billion (£112.9 million). Details of the project were announced by the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation on April 1, including news that it has allotted Yokohama a 25-acre section of land in an industrial estate in the National Capital Region of Delhi.
Cooper Tire & Rubber has issued a tyre recall in the US for 20 product lines manufactured at the company’s factory in Georgia, including the Discoverer, Wildcat and Wild Country ranges. The voluntary recall, instigated on March 14, has been put in place to address sidewall separation issues and covers a total of 48,037 tyres.
This is Cooper’s second recall in the US within a 12 month period; in July 2007 the company recalled 91,747 Dominator Sport A/T tyres as a result of allegations of tyre failure. Analysis and testing carried out by Cooper found “no manufacturing or design defect” in the tyres, however the company still chose to issue a voluntary recall.
The city in the US state of Georgia where Kumho is to set up a new factory has approved a US$250,000 incentive package. A Macon City Council committee agreed to the request in response to the incentive deal previously promised by local officials, in which permits and fees related to the plant’s construction would be waived.
The council says that its policy is not to exempt companies from the payment of permits and fees, so officially the quarter million dollars will be cash contributed to the $12.5 million Kumho has set aside to pay for acquisition of the Macon site plus various infrastructure and preparation expenses.
2008 will see Maxxis maintain its title sponsorship of the Xtreme Rock Racing (XRRA) Series for a second year. The Maxxis XRRA Series is covered extensively on cable’s Speed network and started this March with the first race in the western division, followed by the eastern division opener in April. US finals are scheduled for September, while the series also has international perspective – the German Championship runs between April and October.
“I believe that we are starting to see the industry recognising the series as the Maxxis XRRA. With the factory support we receive, not to mention the individual event support of Creighton King, we believe this is a great opportunity to capitalise on our momentum coming out of 2007. With this momentum and branding, 2008 is certain to outpace any previous race season,” said Jodi Weaver, president of XRRA. Brad Williams of Maxxis’s automotive department added: “Maxxis is very excited to sponsor XRRA for a second great year. The XRRA team is outstanding and we’re delighted to be working with them.”
Continental AG is reportedly set to recruit another 1,350 people for its factories in Timisoara, Carei and Arad, Romania, by the end of the year. As a result the total employees count in the area is expected to reach 7,500. Continental’s tyre factory in Timisoara intends to hire 200 people during the course of 2008, Bucharest’s Ziarul Financiar reported. Currently, Continental runs five production facilities in Romania with 6,150 employees, a figure that includes 2,300 graduate engineers. If the proportion of engineers remains the same, the company will recruit around 500 engineers this year.
Amtel Vredestein has reportedly shut down production at the Moscow Tyre Plant. Informed sources told Tyres & Accessories that the move paves the ways for the sale of the factory’s tyre production equipment. The news came only a day after the AK&M agency reported that Alexei Gurin has been appointed as the director general of the Moscow Tyre Plant. This report stated that the plant continues to manufacture pneumatic tyres for cars and trucks under the Taganka trade name. No-one at Amtel Vredestein’s press department in Russia was available to comment.
Continental’s 4×4 tyre range has been further expanded this season, with no fewer than six summer tyre models now available in this segment. The German manufacturer is releasing 60 new sizes for 4×4, SUV and crossover vehicles this year, and continues to supply OE for numerous manufacturers, including Audi, BMW, Land Rover, Mercedes, Porsche and Volkswagen.
The ContiCrossContact UHP is designed for particularly powerful 4×4 vehicles. Its performance characteristics – including short braking distances and enhanced cornering stability – are geared specifically to the requirements of vehicles like the Porsche Cayenne or BMW X5. To satisfy specific tyre fitment requirements the ContiCrossContact UHP is also available in 23- and 24-inch sizes. The range thus covers the lion’s share of retrofitting and tuning requirements for V, W, Y and Z speed ratings (for speeds in excess of 210 km/h to more than 300 km/h). The ContiCrossContact UHP has already managed 330 km/h under controlled conditions in a high-speed event at Italy’s Nardo Ring.
The UK distributor for Yokohama tyres, Yokohama HPT Ltd, has announced several key new original equipment fitments in the Japanese manufacturer’s range for the UK market. The latest brand to select Yokohama as the tyre of choice is Volkswagen, for its new Touareg model. The choice follows Porsche, which recently adopted the Advan Sport model on its high-performance SUV, the Cayenne. The new Volkswagen model leaves the factory with both 19 and 20-inch wheel options fitted with Yokohama’s Advan Sport, sized 275/45R19 and 275/40R20 respectively.
Union employees at the Firestone Polymers plant in Orange, Texas, in the US are considering strike action in protest against alleged plans to replace a number of union members and reduce the pay of others. The local union, part of the USW, alleges that management wants to replace about 20 operator-helpers with contract employees who he said would earn less, and reduce pay of 22 other union workers by US$8.40 per hour.
Gloucestershire based Haweka UK Ltd claims to be able to balance any wheel on any machine in the world, and the company recently had this weighty declaration put to the test when presented with a balancing conundrum nobody else could master. It all began with a telephone call…..
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