Vredestein has announced a new collaborative partnership with Belgian body styling equipment designer Caractère. The two companies will collaborate in development and advertising along with media activities and trade fairs under the tyre maker’s ‘Premium Styling by Vredestein’ concept. The latest deal adds to similar partnerships Vredestein has already formed with Arden, Carlsson and Lumma.
A complete review of Continental’s passenger car tyre segment brand communication strategy has been carried out and the tyre maker reports that a resultant new global campaign is already starting to be implemented online in some markets. The new strategy is, says Conti, “integrated and highly target-group specific.” What this means is Continental recognises that “in the years to come, women and families will increasingly become one of the most important target groups alongside the still mainly male tyre buyers.” Thus the new campaign will focus on both female and male drivers, with and without children and in different driving situations.
Automotive supplier Continental and ten other European and Israeli companies active in the electric vehicle sector, have joined together to form ‘Easybat’, a consortium dedicated to furthering EV development. On March 2 the consortium announced formal approval from the European Commission for a research and development programme into means of facilitating the European production of electric cars with switchable batteries. The March 2 announcement is the first switchable battery electric car project approved by the Commission.
Bike tyre manufacturer Metzeler has launched a new interactive blogging website with stories, images and videos contributed by a diverse line-up of its racers and adventurers. Ridexperience.com has reports from multi World Enduro Champion David Knight, trials legend Dougie Lampkin, Metzeler Superstock Champion Jon Kirkham, around the World explorer Tiffany Coates and stunt girl team ‘Stunt Starz’ amongst others. Since their launch in 2007, Metzeler says its community websites have “grown in numbers and gathered momentum all over the world”.
Continental says it has “latched onto” results of a university study into the latex properties inherent in dandelions. A research team at the University of Münster subjected the Asteraceae family flower to a number of lab tests and observed they produce a gum elastic equal in quality to rubber tree latex. Since learning of this discovery Continental reports working hard to promote the idea, and today is a member of a consortium of research institutes and research partners who intend to transform the research results into market products.
Details of the comprehensive Starco range of tyres and related products have long been available in catalogue form, and the company has now taken the first step in transferring this information online. Customers in Germany are the first to experience the company’s new “STARCOshop” and Starco intends to roll out online catalogues for its aftermarket customers throughout the whole of Europe within two years.
Walsall based Parry’s International’s transport manager Mark Ramsden has reported a marked reduction in noise levels and a softer ride from coaches fitted with Continental’s HSL and HDL tyres, took careful note. Parry’s International runs an 11-strong fleet is made up of 14-metre, tri-axle Van Hool T917 Astron touring coaches specified to the highest level of luxury and its latest investment is worth in the region of half a million pounds.
“We had been using another premium tyre brand but supply problems led Van Hool to ask us if they could fit Continentals,” Ramsden explained, adding: “This provided an opportunity to compare performance and we were immediately impressed. Our drivers said that they noticed a significant lowering of noise levels and they also felt that the overall ride was better.
Many batteries in electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles generate some 400 volts, almost twice the voltage employed in standard domestic plug sockets and enough to give a potentially fatal jolt. Vehicle occupants risk exposure to this electric charge in the event of an accident, and US legislators have already stipulated that vehicle power supply voltage must drop to below 60 volts within five seconds of an accident occurring. No comparable laws yet exist in European markets, yet Germany’s Continental is switched onto the challenge of reducing electric vehicle battery voltage to safer levels following a collision. The automotive supplier has now come up with the evSAT, a sensor that will immediately shut off high-voltage batteries in the event of a collision while the vehicle is in charge mode, enabling emergency service personnel to recover the vehicle without the risk of receiving an electric shock.
Hankook Tyre UK Ltd has appointed Gang Seung Lee (Tony) to head up its Daventry based operations. He takes over the role from Richard Page who will continue to work for Hankook for the next 12 months during the handover period ahead of his retirement.
Lee is no stranger to Hankook in the UK having worked closely with Richard Page for four years before working in Hankook’s European head office in Neu-Isenburg, Germany for two years where he worked in both sales and marketing together with distribution channel planning.
An experimental 40 tonne truck running on xlite wheels has achieved a fuel consumption improvement of more than 20 per cent during a trial conducted on the continent. According to xlite distributors Motor Wheel Services, the test was conceived by Andreas Loechter, managing director of Lifetime Technologies GmbH in Germany, using a standard MAN 446hp SZM TGX 18.440 XLX tractor unit, a Krone Profi Liner Eco trailer, xlite wheels and Michelin low rolling resistance tyres.
This year Continental intends to hire around 1,500 university graduates and young professionals worldwide, for both its tyre and other automotive businesses. Announcing Conti’s planned intake for 2011, the company’s Executive Board member for Human Resources, Heinz-Gerhard Wente said some 400 from this total would be based within Germany. Recruits with engineering and natural science majors are particularly sought after, however the company will also take on business and economics graduates – Conti says recruits with a commercial background will account for approximately 300 of the 1,500 new positions, while the remainder will join the 30,000 or so engineers that currently work in various areas of production and research & development at Continental.
Germany, like many western nations, has an aging population. This creates challenges for employers wishing to retain their skilled workforce in operating environments that require physical strength and endurance. Continental AG is one such employer, and to tackle this situation it studied the workplaces of 25,000 of its employees within Germany with a view to adapting the jobs carried out to the varying needs of its staff. After completing this study Conti introduced what it calls the “workplace traffic light”, a system of identifying workplaces that are suitable for workers of any age (green), those in need of improvement (amber) and workplaces that are not age-diverse (red). One of these three colour designations has been given to each workplace following a profiling that includes the physical strain involved, concentration requirements, lighting conditions, noise, vibrations, draughts and temperatures. Continental reports that a total of 25 to 30 per cent of the industrial jobs at its sites within Germany are undergoing a redesign to enhance their suitability for older workers.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems Americas Inc has moved its North American corporate offices in Ohio about 25 miles (40 km) to Fairlawn from Hartville. “We are very pleased with our new location for the business’s industrial and agricultural tyre divisions,” says Ydo Doornbos, managing director. “The city of Fairlawn has been very welcoming.” The Hartville location will remain as a satellite distribution centre. The main Ohio distribution centre is located in Akron, Ohio.
Korean tyre manufacturer Nexen is in the process of establishing a European Technical Centre in Frankfurt/Höchst, Germany. The company says that the Centre underscores its efforts to establish itself further on the European market. Two experienced tyre specialists and developers have been involved with the interface between Europe and Korea since the beginning of the year – engineer Hee-Jong Lee and Dr. Hendrik Stevens.
Annette Forster has recently taken on the role of group marketing Ddrector at the Klarius Group. Formerly of £104 million turnover polymer specialist Victrex Plc, Annette has global experience of marketing to the automotive industry. Her previous employer reportedly had double digit growth year on year since she joined as global marketing communications manager in 2003.
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