The Viking tyre brand has been established in the UK for over 30 years. During this time it has developed a reputation for quality as a mid-range tyre and offers excellent profit opportunities for Viking dealers.
(Akron/Tire Review) Amtel-Vredestein NV says it will invest another $124 million to expand its Voronezh, Russia, tyre plant. The Voronezh II project, previously announced, will see a state-of-the-art tyre plant built on the grounds of Amtel-Vredestein’s existing Voronezh facility. The new plant will produce some 2.5 million Amtel and Vredestein branded tires annually, and could be expanded to 4.1 million tyres.
According to this agreement Amtel-Vredestein will invest $124 million into its new Voronezh-II production facilities. Within this project, state-of-the-art facilities will be built which will produce 2.5 million tyres annually, with a possibility for further expansion to 4.1 million tires per year. Production is set to start in September 2008.
(Australian Tyre Dealer) Bandag has just completed a 12 month testing program with new buffer and extruder machines that is reported to have led to improvements in processing, tyre preparation and tread adhesion, together with a reduction in manufacturing costs. Designed and built by Bandag Inc. in the United States, the key feature of the 8400 Buffer is that every tyre is buffed perfectly every time. Bandag National Marketing and Sales Manager, Greg Nielsen, said this was achieved by initially programming the exact buffing specifications into the 8400 for every tyre that is produced.
To some of his competitors Derek Zhang is known as the “godfather” of the aluminium wheel business in China. He has been dubbed with this moniker in appreciation of the rapid development of the China Wheel, which he leads as CEO, and his deep knowledge of the competitive situation in the enormous People’s Republic.
At the moment there are about 200(!) different producers in the country. Some are so small that they are liable to disappear from the map, or have already been forced to cut production. Zhang expects a large consolidation wave, whereby the capacities of the smaller companies are taken only partially from the market; many will be absorbed by the larger players.
Tenneco Inc., manufacturer of Monroe® shock absorbers, is celebrating the 90th anniversary of the start of its shock absorber manufacturing activity with a number of initiatives that support its new brand promise “Monroe is More®”. The company, which was one of the first to invent shock absorber technology in the early 1900s, today supplies more than 200 vehicle platforms worldwide with its original equipment ride and emission control products. To mark the occasion, Tenneco is expanding coverage of its Monroe® range of aftermarket shock absorber, providing more training and introducing an all-new look for its aftermarket shocks.
Bosch has reached a production milestone by announcing that it has produced 20 million Electronic Stability Program (ESP) systems since the technology was developed just over a decade ago. The company makes braking control systems at seven plants in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The active safety system detects the onset of skidding in a vehicle and works to counter it without any action by the driver. Recently published studies prove that car driver whose vehicle are fitted cause accidents much more rarely. If every new car were to be fitted with ESP, the number of “single vehicle accidents” resulting in serious injury could be reduced by up to 50 percent.
Continental AG and Motorola, Inc. have jointly announced that the
companies have entered into an agreement under which Continental will acquire Motorola’s automotive electronics business for approximately US$ 1 billion in cash. The transaction includes Motorola’s controls, sensor, interior electronics and telematics businesses.
Michelin will actively support the GreenFleet drive-day event at Silverstone 11 April. The company says the event will demonstrate the value of its new Primacy HP tyres which are said to deliver “at least 25 per cent more miles than equivalent competitors’ products and the huge fuel saving benefits of its Energy low rolling resistance tyre range.”
(Akron/Tire Review) Continental AG CFO and Continental Tire North America President and CEO Alan Hippe told media sources in Germany that the company has not yet made a decision on its tyre production plans in China. Hippe did, however, tell AFX News that the company favours setting up a Greenfield plant in the country, allowing the company to take advantage of growing market opportunities in China as well as export to other Asian markets.
The alloy wheel aftermarket in the UK has seen a number of changes over the past decade many of which are continuing today. If we go back 10 years, the majority of the wheels sold were sold by tyre dealers. Admittedly, not every tyre dealer felt comfortable selling alloys and many shied away from what they perceived as potential technical problems, but for those who did, it was a nice little earner. The market potential was not lost on the Auto Accessory stores and they began to make inroads.
What was worse from the tyre dealers’ viewpoint was that the Auto Accessory stores more often than not offered a wheel and tyre package, so not only was the tyre dealer losing the wheel sale, but the tyre sale as well. One of the people who supplied information for this article – and I pass on my thanks to those who contributed, whether they asked remain anonymous or not – estimated that nine out of 10 Auto Accessory store sales were wheel and tyre packages, with customers either fitting the wheels themselves, or going to local garages for fitment. Apart from the loss of business for tyre shops, fitting tyres at home offers potential for incorrect fitments, wrong sizes and so on.
Maccess has unveiled a range of automotive World Cup merchandise, which it claims will offer stockists high earning potential throughout Spring and Summer.
The football World Cup 2006 takes place throughout the month of June in Germany and is a fantastic opportunity for UK automotive accessory retailers to offer England football team memorabilia to supporters.
Following the return of the most successful Fulda Challenge UK team ever, organisers of the extreme arctic adventure are now accepting applications for the 2007 event.
The Fulda Challenge takes place early each year, in the Yukon Territory of Canada. After touching down in the Yukon’s capital of Whitehorse, the demanding schedule for the weeklong event will see the teams cover over 2,000km surrounded by spectacular frozen scenery.
Continental has announced a further enhancement of CBS with its ‘DriveOn Time’ guarantee, which reimburses the customer 100 euros should a predefined maximum breakdown repair time be exceeded.
In the event of a tyre puncture, the truck driver can call ContiEuroService (CES), which immediately instructs one of its 4,500 European CES partners to attend the breakdown in the shortest possible time.
Summer tyre comparative tests carried out recently in Germany saw Pirelli surpass all its other competitors and achieve outstanding ratings. This despite the severity of the tests, conducted by the top car magazines as well as ADAC, the country’s motoring organisation.
These extremely favourable test results repeated the excellent results achieved in recent months by Pirelli’s winter tyre ranges.
Automechanika Shanghai 2006, which is being held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre from 30 November to 2 December “will be twice the size of its predecessor in 2004”, say the organisers. 23,000 square metres of space in two halls has been earmarked for the show.
The 2004 event was the show’s debut and the fact that National pavilions from Germany, Singapore and Turkey have already confirmed their participation in this year’s show demonstrates the growing importance of China in the world automotive sector.
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