Bridgestone Europe has launched a new website focused on the Firestone agricultural tyre range. The site is aimed at end-users, agricultural dealers and tyre professionals, and Bridgestone says it has been created “with user experience firmly in mind.” The www.firestone.eu/agri/ site is available in 18 European languages and is compatible with tablets and smartphones.
Very high load capacity, an avoidance of downtime during harvesting and minimal soil compaction – these three qualities are priorities when agricultural operators purchase new tyres, and Firestone says its latest product for this market segment was launched to meet these criteria. Bridgestone Europe reports that this tyre, the new Firestone Maxi Traction Combine, is now available in several sizes for replacement market and original equipment fitment.
Bridgestone’s title sponsorship of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational has been extended through to 2018. The continuation of this arrangement, which began in 2006, was announced by Bridgestone Corporation CEO Masaaki Tsuya and Bridgestone Americas CEO and president Gary Garfield together with Commissioner Tim Finchem, who represents the International Federation of PGA Tours, during a press conference prior to the leaders teeing off for the final round of the 2013 Bridgestone Invitational. Bridgestone also extended its official marketing partner relationship with the PGA Tour through 2018 and will remain the “Official Tire of the PGA Tour and Champions Tour.”
The management and employees of Firestone-Liberia signed a new three-year collective bargaining agreement aimed at “increasing productivity and promoting working relationship between the management and employees of the company,” reported allafrica.com.
Former Bridgestone Americas CEO Mark Emkes is retiring from his current role as commissioner of the Department of Finance and Administration in the state of Tennessee, reports US trade publication Tire Review. Emkes was selected for the role following an election held in 2010, and Tire Review shares that Emkes told a local newspaper that he now has “absolutely no political aspirations.” He will finish as commissioner on 31 May.
Firestone has announced details of its first tyre for the agricultural sprayer market, the Performer Row Crop. Displayed for the first time at SIMA 2013 in size 270/95R48, Firestone will expand the Performer Row Crop tyre size line up to include 85, 90 and 95 series in the near future. “Firestone concentrates on solutions that give farmers a more efficient and sustainable way of working, through savings in fuel consumption and working time” says Harald Van Ooteghem, senior manager marketing planning, Bridgestone Europe.
The emphasis at Trelleborg’s stand during the upcoming SIMA agricultural show in Paris will be efficient farming practices. Taking centre stage at the ‘sustainable farming’ themed exhibit will be a LED waterfall, which Trelleborg says reflects the company’s sustainable stance. This display will reportedly “create water-made images to promote Trelleborg’s environmentally friendly approach and also entertain visitors with an amazing visual experience.”
A number of new Firestone branded tyres will be displayed at the upcoming SIMA International Agri-Business Show in Paris. Bridgestone Europe says show visitors will have the opportunity to see no less than three new products up close:
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations has supplied Firestone tyres to the IZOD IndyCar Series since the league began in 1996, and the tyre maker recently announced it will remain the series’ sole tyre supplier through the 2018 race season. “Firestone performance and safety have been synonymous with IndyCar racing for more than 100 years,” commented Al Speyer, executive director, Firestone Racing. “We are excited about the opportunity to continue the on going success of this series by extending the Firestone brand’s history in the sport through the 2018 season. We treasure the relationships we have fostered with the league, drivers, owners and various other partners involved with the sport through the years, and look forward to continuing our legacy of high performance for which Firestone tires are known.”
Firestone’s agricultural Tyre Pressure Calculator app for iPhone has reportedly stormed to 10,000 downloads, confirming demand from farmers for this information to reduce soil compaction and maximise successful germination.
After 38 years with the company, the executive director of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations’ motorsports activities will retire next year. At present no successor has been named.
Firestone is presenting its latest agricultural tyre innovations at the EIMA 2012 agricultural fair in Bologna between 7-11 November. The brand says its 201sqm stand (Hall 36, A11) presents the three pillars of Firestone’s business approach to the agricultural industry: its tyre innovations, Agri Point, the Europewide network of agricultural tyre service professionals, and E-tools to “make the farmer’s life easier”, such as its new tyre pressure smart-phone application.
Sustainable materials company, Lehigh Technologies has appointed a former Bridgestone and a Reko International executive to drive the adoption of its micronized rubber powder (MSP) material across target markets. The addition of two tyre and plastics industry executives, Greg Henwood and Michael Kruzynski respectively, to the company’s business development team is aimed at expanding the company’s reach in the tyre, plastics and polyurethane markets. Henwood is a new sales director for Plastics and Polyurethanes, and Kruzynski has been appointed to the position of major account manager for Tire and Industrial Rubber.
Firestone is a car company. This is the message at the heart of Bridgestone America’s new brand campaign. Titled “Drive a Firestone”, the campaign hinges on the notion that, while it doesn’t actually produce cars, Firestone is indeed a car company. The tyre maker’s message is that regardless what a motorist drives, Firestone tyres and the service its retailers provide can help make their car run stronger, longer.
In addition to its research into guayule and Russian dandelion-sourced rubber, Bridgestone has looked into the potential applications of soybean oil in tyre manufacture. The company’s American operation has now unveiled a concept tyre it says contains more than ten per cent soybean oil. Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations displayed the Firestone branded 800/70R38 Radial Deep Tread 23 agricultural tyre at the Farm Progress 2012 Show in Boone, Iowa, and says soybean oil may be present in its production agricultural tyres as early as next year.
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