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Drifting driver Oliver Harrsch recently competed in a round of the Dutch Open Drift Championship held in Kalkar, Germany (held 11 – 12 September) equipped with Infinity tyres. Harrsch was supplied the tyres by Venlo-based Infinity distributor Euro-Tyre and according to the company, the small and technical course was suited to lower powered cars and the more skilled drivers.
On the first day, dry conditions allowed Harrsch to push the Infinity 050 UHP tyres to their limits and to experiment with tyre pressures. He commented: “Lots of grip and very smokey! Infinity are unbelievably good tyres!" In extremely wet conditions on the second day, Oliver took a very commendable fourth position.
If Hankook Tire has its way, van drivers will not be excluded from a future that includes more environmentally friendly tyres. The Korean manufacturer has shown off its vision for a more fuel-efficient and lower rolling resistance van tyre at the IAA Commercial Vehicle show in Hannover, Germany. Hankook calls this prototype tyre Concept Blue and says it anticipates future trends starting at the tyre dimension 195/45 R 20. The tyre’s diameter of 700 mm is relatively large by comparison to its width, proportions that Hankook says yield a characteristically narrow yet high-profile silhouette that “fits perfectly with the overall image of electric and hybrid vehicles.” From a technical standpoint, the combination of a low air drag coefficient and low rolling resistance means that less energy is used. Hankook also points to the sidewall and shoulder area’s aerodynamic properties as two other design highlights.
In early September, Bridgestone released its latest European market Ecopia passenger car tyre. The introduction of this environment-oriented product has now been followed up with the European launch of an Ecopia truck tyre range. At the IAA Commercial Vehicle show in Hannover, Germany, Bridgestone Europe CEO Mac Ohashi formally announced the line-up’s debut in our region.
Tony Wilson Chairman and COO of the Klarius Group has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by a panel of judges acting on behalf of EN magazine, which bills itself as ‘the magazine for Entrepreneurs.” Wilson is credited with purchasing and swiftly returning to profitability the emissions control division of Arvin Meritor in 2007. He then repeated the move with the larger £300 million turnover Quinton Hazell buyout in February of this year, and reportedly returned that part of the business to profitability within three months.
Germany’s Evonik Industries has decided to divest its carbon blacks business. This divestment, claims Evonik Executive Board chairman Klaus Engel, provides “the best basis for sustained investment in carbon blacks, new growth prospects and for securing future-oriented jobs in the long-term.” Engel also states that the company’s declared aim in divesting the business is to find a solution “that is equally convincing for customers, employees and business partners.”
Nokian has launched a new summer tyre range, the Hakka Green. The Finnish tyre maker describes the Hakka Green as a tyre that “uniquely combines the needs of drivers on northern roads” and can reliably deal with all summer conditions, whether it be hot roads, wet weather conditions or late autumn’s steadily cooling weather. Green credentials for the tyre are earned through “extremely low” rolling resistance; Nokian says it is 15 per cent lower than that of its predecessor, the Hakka H. This equals a decrease in fuel consumption of almost three per cent, and Nokian adds that fuel savings in comparison with “average” summer tyres is some five to eight per cent.
Germany’s World Cup aspirations may have crumbled in a one-nil defeat at the deft and athletic hands of Spain in July, but the country has nevertheless gone on to achieve its own global football victory. On September 19, some two months after the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa drew to a close, the men’s team from Continental’s Korbach factory in the German province of Hesse emerged victorious in the ContiTeamCup 2010 after defeating Brazil by three goals to nil. In the women’s league Germany had to settle for second place, however, following a one-nil loss to Mexico.
On 14 September Continental Tyres Ltd gave Conti 360° Fleet Services its official UK launch. Sharp eyed Tyres & Accessories readers will have spotted news of the European launch of this programme on tyrepress.com back in February as well as in March’s magazine. Seven months later, the UK launch revealed further details of how this will be rolled out across the UK and Europe and how the British ContiNetwork model gave the impetus for what is now know as the Conti 360° Network.
Dates first. Despite being initially announced as operational as early as February this year, the official launch of Conti 360° Fleet Services was – as we can see in mid-September, however the big UK switch-on in is scheduled for October. The Republic of Ireland will join the ranks of the programme with it own independent dealer network – a first for Continental Eire – being launched in November.
The Office for Fair Trading raided Mercedes-Benz’s UK headquarters this week as part of an investigation in alleged price fixing and cartel behaviour in the commercial vehicle industry. According to a Telegraph report the OFT has also requested information from Sweden’s Scania and Germany’s MAN.
In the past year Watts Tyre Group has attained the new ISO 9001:2008 standard and renewed its Approved Supplier status from Toyota Industrial Equipment SA, and now the UK based industrial tyre and wheel producer reports it has again passed the ongoing assessment for ISO 14001:2004 and its Environmental Management system. In announcing this latest achievement, company CEO Jean-Paul Mindermann commented “our quality accreditations are very important to us as a business and we are delighted that we continue to keep our standards high. As a key supplier to the world’s leading materials handling manufacturers it is vital for us to ensure that the quality of our products and processes is world class.
Germany’s Lanxess AG reports it is evaluating viability of building a new neodymium polybutadiene rubber facility in Asia. The company has already taken steps to increase its capacity for producing the substance, an essential ingredient in the manufacture of high performance tyres, at its plants in Germany, Brazil and the US. The decision to expand capacity at existing plants was made in order to meet demand in the “green tyre” market, which Lanxess notes has an annual global growth rate of about 9.0 per cent, making it the industry’s fastest growing segment. A study into the feasibility of a 100,000 to 150,000 tonne per annum Nd-PBR plant in Asia is currently underway, and Lanxess says a final decision on the project will be made within the next six months.
A number of senior management changes are scheduled to take effect at Bridgestone Europe on October 1. Yuji Takeuchi, chairman and former senior vice president of Sales & Marketing, and Yasuhiko Tanokashira will both return to positions in Japan. Mitsuhira (Mike) Shimazaki will join the Bridgestone Europe management group as senior vice president Business Operations. This latest posting will be Shimazaki’s third assignment to Europe.
Yokohama has been promoting its ‘Zenvironment’ concept – the reduction of global emissions through tyres that last longer, are retreadable and can be recycled – in Europe since 2008. The current range includes the 104ZR steer axle and 901ZS winter steer axle fitments, and at the upcoming IAA commercial vehicle show in Hannover, Germany, the company intends to extend its Zenvironment portfolio. New additions to be shown in Hannover include the prototype 106ZS steer axle tyre and 107ZL steer axle tyre for long-haul operations.
Bridgestone’s Ecopia EP150 eco-friendly tyre, unveiled at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt, Germany just under a year ago, has finally been launched in the European market. The tyre will be introduced as an integrated replacement and original equipment product, targeting compact and mid-sized passenger cars with 14 to 16-inch rim sizes in 55 to 65 series. At present seven 14 and 15-inch sizes have been released, with a further one 15-inch and two 16-inch fitments scheduled to be launched in January 2011.
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