Goodyear Dunlop Archives - Page 21 of 28 - Tyrepress

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Tyre Specialist Becomes Sheep Midwife

When Goodyear Dunlop UK off-the-road tyre specialist, Brian Eastman, visited a farm in Shurford he ended up using a more “hands-on” approach than he bargained for. In January Eastman was visiting Richard Parris at Cutliffe Farm when farmer Parris received a call informing him that one of his sheep was in a bit of bother during labour. He leaped to the rescue, taking an intrigued Brian Eastman with him, whereupon they found the sheep was struggling with a lamb in a breach position. Parris took control, whil Goodyear’s Eastman held the sheep in place and kept it calm. “It was an interesting night at the farm and certainly a first for me! Mother and baby are doing well!” Brian Eastman told T&A. Perhaps his example will lead to animal midwifery being added to OTR tyre training!

25th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Equipment Defect Caused Production Shutdown at Fulda

Goodyear’s Fulda Reifen unit in the German town of Fulda was forced to halt production on Tuesday due to defective equipment, and production remained shut down for about 24 hours. This enforced down time led to the loss of production of approximately 20,000 tyres. A spokesperson from Goodyear Dunlop confirmed that production resumed on Wednesday afternoon, however she declined to comment on how much the lost production will cost the company.

11th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Previews SP Sport Maxx TT

Today Dunlop unveiled the new Kevlar-equipped Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TT tyre at the Autosport International Show at Birmingham’s NEC exhibition centre. In an exclusive preview ahead of its official European launch (scheduled for March), Tyres & Accessories was given details of Dunlop’s latest ultra-high performance (UHP) offering and marketing strategy.

The Sport Maxx TT will initially be available in a small selection of 17 – 18-inch diameter sizes. Ranging from 205/50 to 235/35, the initial range will consist of just 15 stock keeping units (SKUs), that Dunlop has specially selected to cover 81 per cent of the fast-growing large UHP segment. ERMC Europool data shows that the 17-18-inch plus section of the UK market grew 26 per cent year-on-year in 2007.

10th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Ploughs its Way to the Championships

The Goodyear Farm team reports that it had “yet another successful year” in 2007. In addition to launching several new tyres in their Optitrac range, they helped some of the UK’s best ploughmen to perform and gain the opportunity to compete in the 2008 World Ploughing Championships in Austria. To win a position in the World Ploughing Championships the competitors first had to plough through the British championships which took place at Crockey Hill near York in October. The event was so well attended that the car park had to be extended on the second day. 16 of the 22 plough-off entrants used Goodyear tyres. These included the winners of the top three competitions who ploughed their way to success on Goodyear tyres.

2nd January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

HiQ Set to Sponsor BTCC

HiQ has announced that it will replace the Dunlop brand as title sponsor of the MSA British Touring Car Championship. According an Auto Express report, Goodyear Dunlop’s recently overhauled retail equity and franchise network has signed up for the next three years, beginning in 2008. Executives see the BTCC sponsorship chance as a good opportunity to raise awareness of the HiQ brand amongst consumers. Dunlop will reportedly remain in its position as official BTCC tyre supplier.

7th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Who Wears the Trousers?

Editorial/Comment, News, UK News

The subject of grey marketing raises the hackles of wholesalers and manufacturers alike, with each blaming the other for its existence. So imagine my surprise when Kumho UK managing director, Steve Tidmarsh tackled the subject head-on, telling delegates at November’s Tyre Wholesaler’s Group (TWG) lunch that it is “the manufacturers who drive the grey market.”

4th December 2007/by Chris

Dunlop Website Takes Silver PR Pride Award

Goodyear Dunlop had great success during November’s Midlands PR Pride awards. The Dunlop driversknow.co.uk website picked up a Silver Award for Best Website, an achievement for the brand that Dunlop says emphasises its drive to be “first with premium brands.” The Dunlop brand experience site driversknow.co.uk was revamped and relaunched in April 2007, with the focus of the new site being to connect with the ‘passionate driver’ who is at the heart of the Dunlop Brand target segment. In designing the new site Dunlop set out to continue in its quest to build a community of passionate brand advocates for Dunlop within this very competitive segment.

The DriversKnow site showcases Dunlop’s involvement at the heart of British Motorsport, including the company’s 2007 highlights in this arena – the Race Academy competition, said to be the best ever, with over 9,000 entrants; the launch of Fantasy BTCC; Dunlop’s successful season with the Dunlop Great and British Festivals and the ongoing success in the British Superbike series.

26th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Dunlop Names New Supply Chain VP for EU and EEMEA

Goodyear Dunlop has announced the appointment of Robert Scholte as vice president of supply chain for the company’s EU and EEMEA regions. Scholte joins the company from Nestle Purina Petcare where, for the past 3 years, he has been European Supply chain director. The appointment is effective 1 January 2008.

In a joint statement, Arthur de Bok, president EU, and Jarro Kaplan, president, EEMEA, said: “This appointment follows our recent announcement of the new supply chain organization across both regions. Robert joins us with an outstanding background, covering all the supply chain elements….he has held senior positions with responsibilities for raw materials, manufacturing, logistics, through to the final delivery of products to customers. We have underlined the strategic importance of this position and have found an individual who will work with all areas of the company to provide the most effective supply chain to our customers.“

5th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Climbing the Ladder

In every sport a handful of championships typically bask in the lion’s share of media coverage and public attention, and motorsport is no exception to this phenomenon. Mention motor racing and most people will automatically think Formula One, WRC or one of the leading touring car events. Top drivers at this competitive level enjoy the status of being the Wayne Rooneys of their chosen series, and in terms of sponsorship can do very well indeed in their chosen profession.

But just as quality football also can be found in divisions below the Premier League, placing a focus solely upon the big name motorsport championships is to miss out on the opportunity to both witness a spectacle every bit as – and sometimes more – exciting than the high profile series events, and to follow the progression of racing’s most talented drivers through the various championships.

26th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Removing the Strain

Not all industry training takes the form of a structured learning module, delivered in a location removed from the regular working environment. The experiences of Goodyear highlight that training can be akin to a component in a machine, one part amongst many but essential for its proper functioning.

Towards the end of 2004 a number of senior executives at Goodyear examined data on workplace injuries at the company’s facilities. What surprised them was not the occurrence of injuries commonly associated with a factory environment, such as cuts, grazes and the occasional more serious mishap – it was the prevalence of strains, sprains and other preventable injuries. As a company that has long made efforts to minimise workplace hazards, Goodyear decided the figures indicated room for improvement.

3rd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Ordered to Pay US$15 Million in Accident Ruling

A woman in the US state of South Carolina has been awarded $15 million after a federal jury concluded that Goodyear Dunlop Tires North America was responsible for the accident that left her with severe brain damage. After deliberating for 15 hours the jury returned with the decision that the tyre fitted to the motorcycle on which Michigan woman Trish McCloud was riding as pillion in May 2002 contained a defect that caused it to deflate. The motorcycle flipped and crashed, resulting in Ms McCloud striking her head on the footpath with so great a force that her helmet was not sufficient to prevent serious brain injury. The driver of the motorcycle was not seriously injured.

“The jury agreed with us that the tyre was made with a defect that caused it to fail prematurely,” stated one of Ms McCloud’s attorneys, Randy James. “Goodyear Dunlop refused to take responsibility for this tragedy and, instead, tried to blame others for its defective tyre.” Goodyear spokesman Scott Bachman said the company feels for the McCloud family but believes the accident resulted from a combination of the tyre being insufficiently inflated and too much weight being placed upon the motorcycle. He added that Goodyear is reviewing the verdict and is yet to decide its next course of action.

30th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

What the HiQ “Revolution” Looks Like

On the same day that Which? Magazine published details of disappointing car franchise dealer inspections, HiQ has started what it calls a “revolution” in fast-fit retail. According to the company, the launch represents much more than simply a new look, and is rather a completely new concept in tyre retail, designed to counter negative consumer perceptions of the industry. Currently HiQ sells in the region of 700,000 tyres, but the plan is increase this to 1.4 million during the next three years. This is mainly expected to be achieved through the expansion of its brand-new franchise network from 150 branches at the moment to 250 in three years time. Overall, Goodyear Dunlop is said to have invested a figure in the high single-digit millions of pounds into the HiQ overhaul.

10th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin to Use Pneu-Logic Tyre Inspection Technology

Michelin has signed a five-year contract that will see the French tyremaker utilise tyre inspection technology produced by Advanced ID Corporation. On August 6 the RFID technology specialist announced that its tyre division, UK based Pneu-Logic, will provide Michelin’s French reseller EDP with a hardware platform and software application specifically designed to meet the needs of Michelin’s global Business Partners. This product has been named URM and implementation of the technology has begun in more than ten European countries.

Ken Field, Pneu-Logic’s Sales Director for Europe, stated, “This is an excellent example of working with a very good reseller and Michelin to deliver a solution with substantial benefits to Michelin’s partners and customers. Based on the Pneu-Logic platform, EDP has developed the URM software to meet the exact needs of Michelin’s partners who deliver much of Michelin’s world renowned service.”

7th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Maurice Westmacott – “Sorely Missed”

Goodyear Dunlop have regretfully announced that Maurice Westmacott, Credit Control Manager, passed away on Sunday July 29th after a painful battle with cancer, at the age of 55. Maurice was well known in the tyre industry having managed Goodyear Dunlop’s customer accounts since joining the company in 2000. He was a familiar contact for many tyre dealers and wholesalers over the last seven years. A company spokesman said: “Maurice played a major role in building a customer facing accounts team. He will be sorely missed and our thoughts are with his family – and many friends at TyreFort and in the industry.”

3rd August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Dunlop Invests in Next Tread Production Machinery

Next Tread, the commercial vehicle retread business of the Goodyear Dunlop group, has announced an investment in new machinery at its Wolverhampton plant. The investment in nail-hole detection equipment, which will be used on every tyre that enters the Next Tread process, is designed to ensure that Next Tread tyres are only produced using the best quality used truck and bus tyres (casings) available. This new-generation machinery is an integral part of the Next Tread Quality Assurance process and will be used on every tyre before it enters the retreading process.

Next Tread products are warranted for four years and are produced to the highest standards. Only quality casings, such as from Goodyear and Dunlop, are used to ensure the total quality of the product and its performance. The new machinery detects hole damage in the casing that may be invisible to the naked eye.

24th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors