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Bridgestone US Retail Outlets Now Hybrid-Ready

Bridgestone’s BFS Retail & Commercial Operations, LLC (BFRC), owner and operator of the world’s largest number of automotive retail outlets, has announced that selected Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus, ExpertTire and Wheel Works centres in the US are now equipped for the servicing of hybrid vehicles.

“Almost 40 per cent of our stores are now approved to service hybrids,” said Darrell Rowe, BFRC manager of Education & Development. “We’re committed to providing our store teammates with the most current training and information available to ensure that our customers have a positive experience every time they visit one of our locations. In order to service hybrid vehicles, a store must complete a comprehensive training programme.”

24th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

BFNAT Delay Decision Over Tech Centre

The future location of 600 jobs at the Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire technical centre remains undecided after the company delayed the decision until the end of the year.

The tyre manufacturer has yet to produce an initial recommendation in order to decide whether to keep the technical centre in Akron, Ohio or to relocate the 600 roles to Nashville, Tennessee, in which BFNAT’s headquarters are currently located. The decision was initially planned for the end of May, but the recommendation will now be made by executives in Nashville and Japan in late 2008.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

News Show Reveals Sale of Old ‘New’ Tyres in US

An undercover investigation conducted by media in the US has shown that some of the country’s largest tyre retailers are selling tyres that are well beyond the age limit recommended by safety advocates and some car manufacturers. The hidden camera investigation was carried out by the news show “20/20” and ABC News network affiliates throughout the US in an attempt to see if tyres more than six years old – the maximum tyre age recommended by Ford and other carmakers – were being sold as ‘new’ tyres.

In California reporters found a tyre made in 1999 and two from 2002 being sold as new by Goodyear, the seventh largest US tyre retailer. At Walmart, the third largest tyre seller, tyres dating back to 1999 were also found at more than one location. Sears, the fifth largest US tyre seller, sold tyres ranging from seven to twelve years old.

14th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Alliance to Present Recovered Carbon Black at Bridgestone TC

Alliance Recovery Corporation has announced that company representatives have been invited to attend the Bridgestone Firestone US Technical Center in Akron, Ohio to present merits of their carbon black products. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the use of Alliance carbon black in Bridgestone Firestone rubber formulations. The proposed meeting is scheduled to take place in late May 2008.

Alliance’s carbon black is produced as a by product of the thermal chemical process utilized to recover the fuel oil resource in scrap rubber that will be subsequently used to make electricity at Alliance installations. Alliance are presenting themselves as the green option in comparison to conventional carbon black production that uses large quantities of virgin fossil fuels. “We expect that each Alliance installation will be capable of producing approximately 15 Million pounds of carbon black annually as a byproduct. Commercial grades of carbon black that Alliance can produce are currently sold in the range of $.55/ pound to $.70/ pound. European market prices are significantly higher,” company representatives explained in a statement.

13th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Excellence Award Acknowledges Bridgestone Firestone OTR in US

The quality of Bridgestone Firestone OTR tyres produced in the US, and the company’s delivery of such products, has been acknowledged by construction and mining equipment manufacturer Caterpillar. The company has awarded the Bridgestone Firestone Off Road Tire Company (BFOR), a division of Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, (BFNT), one of its annual supplier quality excellence awards – a distinction given to those suppliers deemed to meet the highest standards of quality for Caterpillar components.

The particular award given to BFOR was the 2007 “Supplier Quality Excellence” award. Shawn Rasey, vice president, BFOR, and Greg Halford, manager of the company’s Bloomington facility, accepted the award on behalf of BFOR during a recognition ceremony held on April 15, in Bloomington, Illinois.

29th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone & Firestone Prices to Rise in North America

Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire and Bridgestone Firestone Canada have announced price increases for Bridgestone and Firestone brand tyre lines, as well as all associate brand tyres. The announced increases of up to 10 per cent apply to passenger car, light truck, truck and bus, agricultural and OTR tyres, and will affect replacement, original equipment and export market products. Implementation of these price increases is scheduled to begin on June 1, 2008.

28th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Coker Names VP for Performance Division

Coker Tire has appointed racing industry veteran Mike Crutchfield as vice president of performance brands. He will lead the new division as it strives to provide the best high performance race tyres with the absolute best service to amateur, sportsman, and professional drag racers, according to Coker.

In the past 20 years, Crutchfield represented and distributed Firestone, Phoenix and M & H Performance tyres. “Mike’s knowledge of the sport and his relationship with the racers and track owners alike puts us in a unique position to propel this business forward rapidly,” said Corky Coker, owner of Coker Tire. (Tire Review/Akron)

24th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Firestone Locations Offer First ‘Green’ Oil Change Service

Portland has become the first market in the US where motorists can receive the nation’s only environmentally friendly oil change service, now offered at all 17 Firestone Complete Auto Care store locations in the greater Portland area. Owned and operated by BFS Retail & Commercial Operations, (BFRC), Firestone Complete Auto Care is the first of the major chains in the automotive repair industry to offer customers a “greener” oil change service, the company said.

The environmentally friendly oil change service uses a recycled, twice refined, high-quality motor oil product called EcoPower. The re-refined motor oil, which meets or exceeds the highest North American standards for motor oil performance in gasoline engines, requires up to 85 per cent less energy to produce than regular motor oil. In addition, oil removed from vehicles during oil changes is sent to a re-refiner so it can be reused, BFRC said.

23rd April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Sameer Importing Chinese Tyres to Meet Local Demand

International News, News

Kenyan manufacturer Sameer Africa has begun importing tyres from China to meet a strong demand for low priced products in its home market. This, however, says Kenya’s Business Daily newspaper, is a measure placing the company in deeper debt as it must borrow heavily to pay invoices. The company installed a new £84,000 light truck tyre assembly machine last July and also increased capacity, however the company continues to struggle, as it has since changing its name from Firestone to Yana tyres three years ago.

“We were not making enough money from our tyre production unit so we borrowed to finance the importation of tyres that we don’t make” said Sameer managing director, Eric Kimani. The Chinese brands imported, says Mr. Kimani, include Dyna and Triangle. “The tyres are affordable but very durable. When we import we don’t just bring anything, we buy quality,” he added.

8th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

BFNT Factory Going Green with Hydrogen Forklifts

Quiet, emission-free forklifts powered by hydrogen fuel cells are now moving materials around the Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire (BFNT) plant in Aiken County, South Carolina. BFNT officials, along with the Economic Development Partnership of South Carolina, unveiled at the plant on March 31 a new “green-powered” forklift fleet that is replacing traditional battery-powered forklifts. Officials also announced the installation of a hydrogen fuel pump across from the plant that will be used by BFNT as well as other surrounding businesses. The plant is exchanging 23 forklifts this year and 20 in 2009 to create an all-hydrogen fleet. The fuel cells are a direct replacement that last longer than batteries and save time by refuelling instead of recharging.

“We are very excited about this new green initiative,” said Plant Manager Mike Rose. “This is a natural step for a technology-focused company like Bridgestone. Using this cutting-edge technology in a practical way helps our teammates and plant visitors get familiar with this clean, alternative energy. We’re proud to be among the first in the neighbourhood to use this green, clean fuel in our material movers.”

1st April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Firestone Sole Tyre Supplier for Combined IndyCar Series

In Europe Formula 1 is considered the leading motor sport, but in the US IndyCar is king, but for the past 12 years this single-seater championship has faced rivalry from Champ Car. Now, however, the two championships are combining under the IndyCar Series banner – and Firestone has been selected as the sole tyre supplier to the series.

Bridgestone and Firestone have supplied both championships for the past 12 years and, for the previous few seasons, been sole official supplier to both. As official tyre supply brand, Firestone will act as title sponsor for the Firestone Indy Lights series, while still, says Bridgestone, benefiting from the tyre major’s racing work over the past five years.

31st March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

John Deere Acknowledges Bridgestone’s OE Contribution

Firestone agricultural tyres have a relationship with John Deere agricultural equipment dating back more than 20 years, and Bridgestone Germany is the largest tyre supplier to the John Deere factory, which is located in the German city of Mannheim and, in the 2007 fiscal year, produced more than 40,000 units of agricultural machinery.

The manufacturer of tractors and other items recognises the quality of product and service delivered by its suppliers with its “Achieving Excellence” awards, assigned primarily for good technical advice, outstanding delivery reliability, efficient problem solving and information exchange, and a low reject rate. Bridgestone comments that, overall, the collaboration between John Deere and Bridgestone Germany is an extremely successful one, and confirmation of this working relationship has come in the form of an Achieving Excellence award, recently awarded to the tyremaker.

26th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Tyres an OE Option for Andretti/Benelli Motorcycles

Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT) and Power Sports Factory, Inc. have announced that a range of Bridgestone brand motorcycle and motorbike tyres will be available on the entire line of Power Sports Factory’s Andretti/Benelli premium motorcycles by the end of 2008. As the only motorbikes endorsed by racing legend Mario Andretti, the range of bikes combines high performance, competitive pricing and design by Benelli. The Andretti/Benelli line is known for its high-quality construction and attractive styling, comments BFNT, making it a smart choice for consumers.

“Given BFNT’s long-standing relationship with Mario Andretti, and the Bridgestone brand’s reputation for high performance motorcycle and motorbike tyres, we found this to be a great opportunity to tie the two together,” commented Phil Pacsi, vice president, Consumer Marketing, BFNT. “We are proud that Mario wanted to ensure that our tyres would be available on the motorbikes that carry his name.”

25th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Greatec Tyres Earn US SmartWay Certification

Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT) announced its Greatec wide base drive and Greatec wide base trailer radials have been added to the EPA SmartWay-certified list of commercial tyres. Besides meeting SmartWay’s fuel efficiency specifications, BFNT says that Greatec radials offer the additional advantage of allowing fleets to increase payloads.

Tyres that earn EPA SmartWay certification must achieve at least three percent better fuel economy than the average new tyre. Last summer, four Bridgestone-brand commercial truck tyres were approved for EPA-certified SmartWay tractors and trailers. The R287 steer, R280 steer, M720 drive and R195F trailer radials – and now Greatec drive and Greatec trailer radials – have earned EPA SmartWay certification.

20th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Firestone Announces Production of IF Product Line

On March 13 Firestone Agricultural Tire Company (FSAG), a division of Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT) previewed production plans for tyres built to a new industry standard that company officials say will “generate performance improvements on a scale with those produced by the switch from bias to radial technology a generation ago.”

The IF standard – “IF” stands for “Increased Flexion” – was approved by the European Tire Rim Technical Organization two years ago and has received experimental approval from the North American Tire and Rim Association. Tom Rodgers, Marketing Manager for FSAG said the increased size and power of modern four-wheel-drive agricultural tractors, which are increasingly used in pull-type scraper applications, are driving adoption of the IF standard.

14th March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors