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Hybrid & Electric Vehicles Gaining Recognition – But Slowly in the UK

A survey of 8,000 motorists Conducted on behalf of Continental in eight major international markets indicates that electric and hybrid drive vehicles are currently the subject of “remarkable” interest amongst motorists. At the start of 2008 the market research company TNS/Infratest surveyed approximately 1,000 motorists each in China, Germany, France, UK, Japan, Austria, Switzerland and the USA, asking a series of questions focused upon their current knowledge and opinions of hybrid drive systems, driving styles and battery powered cars. The feedback received showed that 36.0 per cent of those surveyed were willing to buy a hybrid drive car and a surprising 45.8 per cent expressed an interest in purchasing an electric car. “This trend holds great potential for us as an automotive supplier and provider of environmentally-friendly drive technologies,” said Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann, Conti Executive Board member and chief technology officer, at a press conference in Austria.

30th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

ADL Releases Catalogue, Receives ISO Certification

ADL S.A., France’s leading designer and manufacturer of theft protection devices for automobile wheels has been awarded with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO/TS 16949 certification. The company is part of Germany’s ABC Umformtechnik – a division of The Altenloh, Brinck & Co Group – which specialises in fastening systems for the automotive industry.

The company, based in Lagny to the north of Paris, has also announced the release of its new catalogues for the forthcoming year. The catalogues detail the appropriate fixing systems by car manufacturer and model. ADL’s brands include Simbolz, Blocky and Fixa.

27th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin’s Pilot Road 2 Tops European Tyre Tests

The Michelin Pilot Road 2 has for a second year come first place in tests conducted by European motorcycle publications. This year, Germany’s Motorrad magazine and France’s Moto Revue have awarded top honours to the Michelin products.

The Pilot Road 2 2CT received an impressive average total of 8.83 points out of a maximum possible 10 points in Moto Revue’s test, obtaining its best individual result, 9.5, in the roadholding category. Motorrad also declared the Michelin product its test winner, with its strongest individual result being in the wet handling category, describing the Pilot Road 2 as “virtually unbeatable” in the wet.

24th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bandengroothandel Mast: Heavy Tyre Development

Netherlands based industrial tyre specialist Bandengroothandel Mast placed a particular emphasis upon its expanded range of very large, heavy tyres for port and quarry duties at Reifen 2008. A key product on display was the large industrial tyre from Tianli, the HarbourMaster. This item, says Mast, attracted much attention from visitors at the show. Company director, Sander Mast, stated: “During the past eighteen months we have extensively increased our activity within the large industrial sector of the market and can provide a very flexible and diverse selection of large patterns and sizes for busy port and quarry and mining environments. The Tianli HarbourMaster is a specialist harbour tyre complete with an L5 compound and extra deep tread which has already been very well received around the world in busy port working environments.”

20th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone and Michelin in Disagreement over Tests

French website autoactu.com has reported details of a conflict between major tyre manufacturers Bridgestone and Michelin over the comparative energy-saving properties of Michelin’s Energy range of tyres. Bridgestone presented the results of an experiment testing Michelin’s promise of reduced fuel consumption when using their Energy tyres. The experiment was carried out at the behest of one of its carrier customers and, as a result, involved head-to-head performance comparisons with Bridgestone’s own conventional tyres. The initial results, said Bridgestone, showed no significant differences in the performance of each tyre. However Michelin were quick to dispute this conclusion, citing 70 tests involving tyres from both organisations, where the Michelin tyre came out on top in terms of fuel consumption and criticising the methodology of the tests, in which the company was not involved.

20th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

A New Breed?

It has both the M+S mark and the Snowflake, but its rolling resistance is said to be comparable with a summer tyre. It reportedly has the slush grip of a premium winter tyre, but weighs 700 grams less and is quieter. No it’s not a riddle, I am of course referring to the new Optimo 4S, a tyre that manufacturer Hankook is promoting as the first in the next generation of all-season tyres.

Hankook’s decision to place the Optimo 4S centre stage on the company’s large Essen show stand (situated right opposite the entrance to Hall 3) is particularly resonant in light of the difficulties the winter/cold weather tyre market has been facing in supposedly safe ‘winter’ markets like Germany. From the talk going round Essen it was clear around 7 million of last winter’s unsold cold weather tyres were still floating around the German market in May. Could that be why Hankook decided to promote the all-season tyre, its hybrid silica compound and its built in ice/snow/slush/rain performance properties?

19th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

New Goodyear Dunlop Europe Truck Tyres Marketing Director

Boris Stevanovic has been appointed Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe BV marketing director for truck tyres, and in this role will be responsible for the company’s operations in this sector within Europe. He takes over from Pietro Saletta, who moves to Italy and begins as the company’s European director of Consumer Tires.

18th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Kicks Off Tyre Pressure Campaign at Eurotunnel

Following on from its 2007 campaign, Michelin’s latest “Fill up with Air” roadshow kicks off at the Folkestone Eurotunnel Terminal on 1-2 July. Motorists travelling to France passing through the terminal will have the chance to get a free tyre pressure check and advice on their tyres from Michelin technicians before setting out on their journey.

This Folkestone event is the start of a UK-wide roadshow designed to educate motorists on the importance of correct tyre pressures. Over two days in 2007, a similar Michelin survey at Eurotunnel concluded that 83 per cent of vehicles checked by the technicians had under-inflated tyres and a staggering 63 per cent were dangerously under-inflated.

16th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

The Long and the Short of It

In Europe more than 80 per cent of total freighted transport is shipped by road. This huge chunk of the logistics industry has been secured courtesy of two main benefits offered by truck transport, plus one disadvantage apparent in the primary alternative. Despite this position of dominance, ever-rising operating costs make optimising value for money a growing priority in all aspects of the business – not least in choice of tyre. Dunlop’s introduction of two key products for the regional and long haul sectors is intended to meet this need plus deliver the safety and handling features drivers have come to expect from the brand.

The popularisation of supply management techniques such as just-in-time since the 1970s has made the delivery of just the right amount of materials exactly when needed a matter of vital importance, and if multiple deliveries of varying product quantities are needed, road freight is clearly the most logical option. Furthermore, the point to point delivery offered by trucks eliminates dependency upon a railhead or other freight interchange facility. Thirdly, those arguing that a shift to rail transport would clear our congested motorways – perhaps a notion many have entertained on occasion – are most likely unaware of how little coordination occurs between Europe’s 25 or so national rail networks. Although a 2003 EU directive permitting the formation of private rail freight operators has brought about a more competitive environment, rail has yet to deliver a product matching road transport in terms of speed and flexibility of delivery.

16th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Announces F1 Tyre Compound for Final 2008 Races

Bridgestone has announced the compound allocation in the Potenza tyres to be used in the final five rounds of this year’s Formula One series. For the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, the hard and medium compounds will be used, the first time these tyres have been approved at this track. In Hungary, the soft and super soft compounds will be used, the same allocation as last season. The European Grand Prix at Valencia – the first Grand Prix at this new street course, will utilise the soft and super soft compounds. In Spa and in Monza the hard and medium compounds will be used, a change from last season when the medium and soft compounds were brought to both of these tracks.

“The data we have gained from the first seven races of the season have enabled us to make our allocation choices for the following five events,” commented Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone Motorsport director of motorsport tyre development. “Of these races, Valencia and Hockenheim are notable. We did not race at Hockenheim last year, so this will be the first time we have raced there with the current family of tyres. Valencia, of course, is a new street track and we do not have any previous data, and there is none from other race series. It will be interesting for everyone concerned to learn the track characteristics here. For Spa and Monza we have moved the allocation a position harder and will bring the hard and medium compounds, instead of the medium and soft used in 2007. We have made this change after analysing the data from last year, as these tracks were harsher than we had predicted. We will make an announcement about the tyre allocations for the final four races in the season later in the year.”

16th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Poole Harbour Terberg Tugs Switch to Michelin

Poole Harbour Commisioners have fitted their fleet of six Terberg TT22 4×2 tractor units with Michelin’s X-Terminal T tyres.

Engineering Manager, Paul Gillingham, explains the reasoning behind the switch: “The new Michelin tyre is on target to increase tyre life on the steer axle by over 300 per cent and on the drive axle by 140 per cent. We are anticipating that the tyres will give our drivers the comfort and traction they need when pulling the trailers or loading the ferry.”

6th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin to Host ‘Company’ Rugby Team in US Match

Sports fans in the US are soon to be treated to the thrills of rugby, thanks to Michelin North America. The tyremaker is hosting a match between top French rugby team Clermont-Auvergne and the US national rugby team, the USA Eagles. The game, to be held in South Carolina on August 9, is the first ever international rugby exhibition match to be played in this state.

Michelin North America will be the presenting sponsor for this first “Michelin Challenge Rugby” event, held in its home state. Since 1911, the Clermont-Auvergne rugby team has been sponsored by the Michelin Group in its home city of Clermont-Ferrand, France. The French team currently sits atop the standings in the country’s Top 14 division and leads its main rival, Toulouse, by nine points in the standings.

30th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Infinity Distributors Mix Business and Pleasure at ‘Partners Day’

The Infinity brand is one that steadily continues to gain momentum in Europe as a popular choice for competitively priced quality in the passenger car and truck sectors. The number of distributors that have been appointed in 25 countries throughout the region is growing and, towards the end of April parent company – The Al Dobowi Group in conjunction with their European associate – Goldspark Trading Limited, organised a special three-day dealership event for both new and existing distributors.

At the ‘Infinity Partners Day’ Infinity distributors from Europe, the UK and Ireland were invited to be the guests of Al Dobowi’s Chairman, Mr Surender Singh Kandhari and his family for a combination of business and recreation in the United Arab Emirates. Attendees came from all corners of Europe and included Bond International (UK), Kings Road Tyres (UK), Daly Tyres (Ireland) Kings Road Tyres (Ireland), Reifen Ruhdorfer (Austria), Fort Pneus (France), Intergomma (Italy), Distyre (Spain), Guitires (Spain), Heuver Banden (Netherlands), Euro-Tyre (Netherlands), AKH (Hungary) and Latex (Poland.)

30th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Next-Gen WTCC Tyres Already in Preparation – Yokohama

According to Yokohama, FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) drivers have universally praised the performance of its Advan tyres in the hard-fought competition, but success has not stopped the Japanese manufacturer from engaging in preparation work on the WTCC’s next generation tyre. Yokohama is confirmed as the WTCC’s official tyre supplier until the end of 2009 but the company says is not resting on the success of its current racing tyre. In the background, development work is already underway on the next series of performance rubber. When the current tender ends in 2009, the ADVAN design used in today’s WTCC will be three years old. Should the FIA and WTCC teams decide to use a different specification tyre, Yokohama says it will already have developed options in line with touring car changes, and be ready to manufacture its latest product.

28th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Eliokem Increases Chemigum Nitrile Polymer Prices

At the end of May Eliokem increased its prices for products made in its Valia (India) plant by up to 13 per cent. The Valia plant specializes in emulsion polymerization of polymers and latices for both the rubber and latex industries. The products are marketed under trademarks such as Chemigum NBR Polymers in Latex, Powder and Bale forms; and Pliolite HSR High Styrene Butadiene Rubber Masterbatches.

“With the strong polymer demand globally and crude oil record highs, all major monomers and notably Butadiene used in rubber manufacturing are continuing to increase further, as are the costs of energy, chemicals, transportation and labour. Therefore, further price adjustments in June and in the third quarter cannot be ruled out”, said Jacques Collonge, CEO Eliokem.

28th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors