Production is being cut back at Continental’s three German tyre production plants. From December 4 until early January no truck tyres will be manufactured at the company’s Hannover-Stöcken facility, and other production adjustments will take place at this and the Conti factories in Korbach and Aachen.
Workers at Goodyear Dunlop’s six plants in Germany will return from their Christmas holidays two weeks later than normal following the decision to extend the winter holidays at all the sites. Production will end on 19 December, with workers returning on 5 January, 2009.
The spokesperson for Goodyear Dunlop in Hanau, Gabriele Velte stated, “The crunch is hard on all of us – also at the Fulda factory.” Citing this example, Goodyear Dunlop’s Fulda plant, which produces the Fulda brand as well as other brands, employs 1,400 workers. In previous years, the facility has worked throughout the Christmas and New Year period – the usual holidays excepted. “This has never happened before, as long as I can remember,” continued Velte.
Deldo reports that Tom Van Dyck is ‘back in business’ with the company, in the role of director, Sales & Organisation. The 29 year old initially joined Deldo in 2002 as sales manager for Germany, and later became sales manager for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In 2007 he left the company and started working for the KBC Group as an internal consultant, where he actively participated on several strategic projects.
In his latest role at Deldo, Van Dyck will be involved in the management of eight sales teams, realising Europe-wide sales in the replacement tyre market. His activities include organisational optimisation in order to achieve both strategic and operational business goals.
The consistent further development of synthetic rubber has resulted in a significant improvement in the overall performance of vehicle tyres. Synthetic rubber manufacturer Lanxess AG highlighted recent progress in this area at the recent 4th Intelligent Tire Technology Congress, held on October 21 and 22 in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Newly developed production processes have paved the way for the use of solution styrene-butadiene rubbers (S-SBR), reports Lanxess. Trials performed at the company’s test laboratories and in customer trials have shown that, with these new tyre tread elastomers, it is possible to simultaneously raise wet grip and rolling resistance – formerly totally contradictory properties – to a completely new level.
The Cumberland News reported today that the boss at Pirelli’s Carlisle plant will leave early next year to take up a position at the company’s plant near Frankfurt, Germany. Mr Carducci-Agostini has worked at the Carlisle plant for four years, spend the first three as production manager before landing the top job last year. His new position will also be heading up the Frankfurt factory.
The paper also understood that the person to take the reigns at Carlisle has been appointed, though further details were as yet unavailable. The change of personnel will not – the News understood – have any impact on operations at the facility.
The UK Advertising Standards Authority has banned a Continental tyre advertisement, concluding that it could not substantiate its claims that “nothing stops better than a Continental tyre.” Following a complaint by competitors Goodyear and Michelin, the ASA analysed the braking results of all 2007 tyre tests of summer tyres and found that Continental’s competitors had performed better in 28 instances.
As a result the ad – which in technical speak breached substantiation, truthfulness and other comparisons clauses – must not appear again in its current form. An internal document shows Goodyear made its case by submitting the results of all 2007 UK independent tyre tests (which were all won overall by Goodyear HydraGrip or Eagle F1 Asymmetric) to the ASA.
Tim Bailey, Continental Tyre Group Ltd’s advertising and sponsorship manager explained that the company commissioned TUV research that demonstrated the braking ability of its tyres: “We commissioned a special report by the TUV in Germany to test our tyres and those of our competitors in 2007 and this demonstrated that Continental tyres in the pattern and size tested are superior in braking performance in both wet and dry conditions. The claim that ‘nothing stops better than a Continental tyre’ is truthful based on this evidence.
Following the recent launch of its Monityre tyre pressure monitoring system in the UK, manufacturer Safe Europe plc is now looking to develop a network of the distributors and agents across Europe. After attending several key European trade exhibitions, Safe Europe plc reports several interested parties are considering distributor status in both Germany and the Benelux countries.
According to Paul Marriott, Operations Director at Safe Europe plc, “the proven benefits of Monityre, in terms of improved fuel economy and its green credentials, are equally as important to operators across Europe as well as here in the UK. Already we have attracted interest in our product from certain European countries and we are now a position to make further ongoing distributor appointments throughout Europe.”
Ireland based tyre management solutions company TyreCheck has received 2.4 million euros from Enterprise Ireland and the Allied Irish Bank Seed Capital Fund, which will be invested into the company’s R&D and international sales capabilities. TyreCheck says the funds will create 11 new jobs.
Zesu, an international leader in tyre flat proofing for large earthmover, OTR and industrial tyres, is now offering “a complete solution for the prevention of all punctures, blow-outs and inconsistent tyre pressures in tyres used by straddle carriers.”
This unique solution lies in Zeus’s new and next generation three-part ‘TRIOfill’ poly-urethane flat-proofing product. This completely redesigned formulation, not only incorporates revolutionary virgin rubber content, but also delivers a much cleaner, greener and higher level of physical properties not to mention a new electrically driven tyre filling system.
Delticom AG has reported revenues of 175 million euros in the first nine months of 2008. Preliminary figures show that by the second anniversary of its IPO (26 October 2006), the company had increased revenues by 20 per cent compared with the same time in 2007 (146 million). Preliminary third quarter revenues can in at over 53 million euros compared with 44.0 million last year.
According to the company, Delticom has acquired more than 480,000 new customers. In addition, almost 170,000 repeat customers have bought Delticom’s products in one of the 95 online shops in 35 countries. This equates to a customer base of more than 2.4 million at the end of September, up around 37 per cent year-on-year.
The leading e-Commerce tyre retailer in Europe, Delticom, has announced that it is to merge its current car fleet business with the company’s buff new online portal. The change means that trader fleet owners can now purchase tyres through user-customised settings at the e-tailer’s online presence, www.flotten24.de.
The site will allow any user wishing to buy tyres from Flotten24.de to register free; following which visitors will be able to access the site’s comprehensive web-based catalogue of tyres and accessories. In this way, car tyres, lorry tyres, light truck tyres, motorbike tyres and high-quality motor oils will be offered in the fleet shop, while a personal sales contact will give advice to fleet customers and negotiate individual fleet solutions. In addition to these services, Delticom states that a network of professional service partners – which currently numbers over 5,700 in Germany alone – is available to fit online purchases. The average delivery time, the company adds, is between 48 and 72 working hours.
On 22 October SmarTire Systems Inc. announced it was in the opening stages of selling its business and related assets to Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC, the North American affiliate of the Munich, Germany-based Knorr-Bremse AG. According to a company statement the companies have signed a “term sheet,” selling the business for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition by Bendix CVS is subject to corporate approvals.
Following two demanding days of rally action, the European winners of the Pirelli Star Driver have been named. Challenges faced by the 18 candidates included a series of interviews with the judging panel and a demonstration of practical skills on six driving stages, and based on their performance Finland’s Jarkko Nikara and the Czech Republic’s Martin Semerad were selected to represent the region.
Maywood Equipment Group has been appointed sole importers in The UK for the Cartec range of car and commercial brake testers. All Cartec brake testers are approved for MOT and ATL applications. Cartec are a company within The Snap-On Corporation and are one of the leading manufacturers of brake testers in the world with their manufacturing base and head quarters in Germany. Cartec have large design and development facilities and claim to be always at the forefront of brake testing technology. Many brake testing innovations have come from Cartec.
Behave like a saint when out on your bike? Or does your darker side take control? Either way, come next march you’ll be able to fit tyres that suit your disposition. According to Motorcycle News, during October’s Cologne Motorcycle Show in Germany Pirelli gave a sneak preview of the replacement tyre for the Diablo Strada, complete with angel or devil tread pattern.
“This is a tread pattern that is not only functional but it also has a design that communicates our new concept,” Pirelli product manager Federico Bodini explained to Motorcycle News. “We have the shape of angels and demons as the tread pattern as it translates to how the consumer wants to use their motorcycle.”
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