On 1 January 2012, Tatsuo Mitsuhata will take over from Yashushi Takagi as president and CEO of Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp.; Takagi, who has held this position at Toyo Tire U.S.A. since January 2009, will return to Japan as Toyo Tires’ general manager of corporate planning. This appointment is Mitsuhata’s second US-based position – he previously worked for Toyo Tire U.S.A., as the company’s coordination manager between 1994 and 1998.
With its “Evergreen” brand, Chinese tyre manufacturer Shandong Jinyu is making a voluntary environmental commitment. As the company explained at the CITExpo show, which took place in Shanghai during September, it has committed itself to use the most environmentally-friendly materials possible in the production of its Evergreen brand passenger car and truck tyres and has simultaneously introduced environmentally-friendly production processes at its factory in Dawang, in China’s Shandong Province.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems’ manufacturing facility in Tivoli, near Rome, Italy, was the venue for Massey Ferguson’s international presentation of its completely new MF 7600 Series tractor range. The event, held on 15 and 16 September 2011, was attended by key management from Massey Ferguson and Trelleborg as well as specialized media from 16 European countries.
Pirelli has announced plans to invest some $500 million in a new truck tyre factory in Argentina that will meet increasing demand for commercial vehicle radials there and in the surrounding region. Construction of the new facility is scheduled to begin early next year and the first phase of development, which will continue until 2014, will require an investment of $300 million in order to give the plant a 700,000 unit per annum production capacity. Second phase development is expected to double the plant’s capacity through an additional $200 million investment and increase its workforce from 700 to 1,200 people.
Italmatic Italy reports that it has taken over MGT Tyre, an OTR and aviation tyre retreading equipment manufacturer, in a deal that includes the brand and the related technology and know-how. Dr. Massimo Ghitturi, CEO of Italmatic Italy, pointed out that the takeover of MGT forms part of the company’s plans to invest in its technology and human resources with a view to becoming “the leading company in the worldwide retreading equipment market.”
Pirelli has committed itself to support road safety campaigns in Italy, particularly those aimed at students and young drivers, through a number of joint projects with the Italian government. On October 6 the tyre maker signed a protocol of intent with Italy’s Interior Ministry and the Ministry for Education and Research to select and support joint projects and other initiatives. Under the terms of the agreement, Pirelli will work with the two government bodies on various road safety projects for at least three years.
At its most recent Investors Day, held at the company’s Cuneo site in Italy, Michelin confirmed its growth outlook for the coming decade. The French tyre major anticipates the global passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyre market reaching 1.5 billion units in 2015, a figure representing a 25 per cent growth on 2010 figures. Looking further ahead, an additional 20 per cent growth in the years between 2015 and 2020 is expected, with 1.8 billion tyres sold in this sector worldwide in 2020. Michelin notes that 70 per cent of this volume growth should occur in ‘new’ markets.
Nexen Tyre Europe GmbH recently invited partners from numerous European countries to the Nürburgring to test the quality of Nexen’s new Nexen N’Blue ECO and Nexen N’Blue HD fuel-saver tyres.Over fifty dealers from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Great Britain, France and Italy travelled to the Eifel (Germany) on 7 September to learn about both Nexen and its newest products. Participants were offered extensive test drives on the Nürburgring grand prix track. Using VW Golfs equipped with either the new Nexen N’Blue ECO or Nexen N’Blue HD summer tyres, the market specialists were shown the fuel-saver products’ driving and handling properties.
As of October, Continental’s service package for fleet operators will be available in a further European market. The Conti360° Fleet Services package for truck tyres, first established in the core markets of Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Poland and the Czech Republic in 2010, and extended into Austria and Ireland this year, is scheduled to be launched in Hungary next month.
Pirelli has launched its first Formula 1-derived UHP road tyre. This latest offering from the Italian tyre maker, the P Zero Silver, sits alongside the P Zero in Pirelli’s product portfolio and is intended to increase the company’s premium range and cater to the ever more differentiated needs of Pirelli’s top market segment – a segment that Pirelli aims to grow in all geographic areas. The P Zero Silver was officially unveiled in September at an event attended by, amongst others, Pirelli chairman and CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera, Pirelli Tyre CEO Francesco Gori, Team Ferrari technical director Stefano Domenicali and Team McLaren driver Jenson Button.
Pirelli has now been in the truck tyre business for exactly 100 years and the Italian manufacturer enters its second century in the sector by launching several new products. In mid-September the company introduced three tyre lines that round out its ‘01’ series; the FW:01 and TW:01 for winter conditions, FH:01 and TH:01 long-distance haulage tyres, and FG:01 and TG:01 for construction machinery.
TAFF Industry Advertising Campaign Award nominee Hankook has launched the second phase of its global television advertising campaign, running with the slogan, “Be One with It”. In Europe campaign will run across September and October having first launched in May 2011, on air in France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Russia and the UK.
Pirelli has good reason to anticipate this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza more than other events in the calendar; located in parkland just half an hour from the Italian firm’s headquarters to the north of Milan, the track – one of Formula One’s fastest with an average speed in the region of 250kmh – has been integral to the brand’s motorsport history. Pirelli will bring its P Zero White (medium) and P Zero Yellow (soft) tyres to Monza, which the supplier anticipates will provide plenty of scope for the teams to use different tyre strategies.
Previewing the weekend’s Formula One action, Pirelli has called Belgium’s Spa Francorchamps circuit “an epic track… a true driver’s track. With the longest lap of the season, the track poses plenty of questions for the tyres too: the Eau Rouge corner puts the equivalent of 1,000 kilograms on the front-left tyre and 950 kilograms on the rear tyre; Pouhon is a demanding downhill left-hand corner with 4G of sideways acceleration throughout the bend; the third sector demands full speed for a long period of time, leaving the tyres to cope with a vertical load of 1,100kg from downforce; and during the final part of the lap, the drivers brake hard for the Bus Stop chicane.
Reuters reports that, in a move to alleviate the euro zone crisis Italy faces, Pirelli & C. SpA has signed a newspaper petition offering to buy government bonds. The tyre maker is said to be one of 24 Italian companies that added their names to a petition instigated by the business daily Milano Finanza.
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