Federal Tyres and the Consor Tyre Group report benefitting from their first joint attendance as exhibitors at a trade fair. During Autopromotec 2011 in Bologna, Italy, the two companies held their annual Italian distributors’ meeting. The meeting’s key aim was to emphasise and reinforce the common goal of improving the Federal brand’s image in the Italian market through supplying quality tyres.
The high performance segment’s continued importance in Europe at a time when price consciousness is at a premium gives Cooper Avon’s brands an opportunity. Representatives of the company told Tyres & Accessories that: “The performance tyre sector of the market continues to be a core part of the brand strategy for Cooper and Avon. There is still a very strong demand from UK and European customers for products that deliver optimum grip and performance but at a less than premium price. Our commitment to this sector is illustrated by the development and introduction this March of the brand new Avon ZZ5 tyre. This is a UHP product that has been designed and manufactured in Europe for European roads and conditions… As another indication of Cooper’s commitment to the market, the Avon ZZ5 was also developed and tested on some of Europe’s most challenging roads and race circuit, including the famous Nürburgring, to help to ensure excellent high-speed durability.” The tyre will receive an official launch later in the year, but is currently available on the UK market, where it is also manufactured.
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It is now almost a year since Singapore-based distributor Stamford Tyre International launched its Firenza high performance asymmetric pattern tyres, adding it to the well-established directional ST-08, which continues to be available. Since its introduction, Stamford states that the Firenza ST-05A pattern has become an increasingly popular choice for drivers looking for a stylish looking tyre offering improved safety and comfort at high speed.
Pirelli’s Angel ST sport touring tyres are now available from all outlets with £25 cashback on every set purchased, the manufacturer has announced. The Angel ST tyres recently set a World 24-hour duration record, covering 3191 miles on one set. Using the Nardo test circuit in Italy, the endurance team logged an average speed of 132.9 mph, which in tyre-life terms equates to 7,500 miles under normal road conditions, Pirelli says. The offer runs throughout June and July.
Authorities in the Northern Italian province of La Spezia have seized 50,000 counterfeit wheels, reportedly worth over 20 million euros. The local Guardia di Finanza seized the products deemed to be hazardous to the safety of motorists, having intercepted them on the way into the market from China. In addition to the wheels, police also seized 100,000 accessories featuring logos of car manufacturers and 400 moulds allegedly intended for the production of knock-off wheels in Italy. A number of firms based in north-central Italy implicated in importing the products from China have been reported.
Andrew Warne and Danny Georgiou agree that their VIP trip to Maranello, courtesy of Grouptyre and Pirelli, was a “once in a lifetime experience”. Warne, who runs the BMW and Mini servicing business Warne Motors in Bury St. Edmunds, and Georgiou, whose business is Thetford-based tyre and exhaust centre Burrell Way Tyres, won the all expenses paid visit to Italy in the latest Grouptyre/Pirelli promotion. Both businesses are supplied by Grouptyre member, We Sell Tyres (Wholesale), whose business development manager Danny Jackson hosted the trip.
The results of Delticom’s ‘Tyres online 2011’ survey show a large minority of British drivers are willing to purchase tyres online. In the internet retailer’s survey of more than 5,000 potential tyre buyers in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, 47 per cent of British respondents expressed their readiness to buy tyres on the web; this is, admittedly, far below the 74 per cent of French drivers willing to purchase online, but slightly more than Germany, where 40 per cent of those surveyed answered in the affirmative. In Italy and Spain, only around 18 per cent of respondents answered positively regarding internet tyre purchasing.
The Marangoni Group presented its forklift range at one of the world’s most important intralogistics exhibitions, CeMAT 2011, at the Hanover Exhibition Centre between 2 and 6 May. Following the recession in the industrial goods handling business in 2009, last year average monthly European production of forklift trucks again exceeded the 20,000 mark. This recovery in Europe has led German forklift truck manufacturers to present a new generation of technologically evolved forklifts, so as to satisfy current and future demands in terms of safety and energy savings. For Marangoni, already an OEM supplier to leading European brands, this has meant the development of a series of tyres that match the technology applied to these new vehicles.
Last December iPhone and iPad users were introduced to the ContiTireRace and given the challenge of hitting the racetrack with the ContiWinterContact TS830 tyre. Continental has now released a summer edition, ContiTireRace 2; this time round, the ContiSportContact 5 is the main weapon in the virtual racer’s arsenal and two new race tracks – known as Norway and California – await.
Towards the end of April television viewers in the UK and several other European countries were amongst the first to experience the latest corporate advertising campaign produced by Bridgestone Europe. These television commercials form part of a new multi-prong advertising approach that also involves print, billboard and web advertisements. Bridgestone Europe says the campaign, which was produced in close cooperation with Bridgestone Corporation, will also be used in Bridgestone markets outside of our region.
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations has announced another original equipment deal for its Firestone brand. The manufacturer will supply Firehawk GT all-season tyres in size 185/55R15 82H to certain Fiat 500 models. In announcing the tyre’s OE supply, Bridgestone comments that the Firestone Firehawk GT is sport-performance tyre engineered to provide a blend of sporty handling while also offering practical all-season traction capability in many different driving conditions.
This weekend Cooper Tire enters its 30th season as exclusive tyre supplier to the Cooper Tires British Formula Three International Series, as the formula begins its 60th anniversary season this weekend. The series’ more international flavour of recent years will be represented by its first round taking place at Monza, Italy: one of four held outside the UK. Britain will see six events.
A recently signed sponsorship agreement is expected to boost the profile of Bridgestone’s winter tyre line-up. Bridgestone Europe has entered into an agreement to sponsor the majority of events in the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, and under the terms of the agreement the tyre maker will be a main partner at the 34 World Cup Alpine Ski events in eight European countries – Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland – during the 2011-2012 season.
Available in various fitments for 18 and 19-inch diameter rim sizes in the UK and mainland Europe from March 28, 2011 is the Avon ZZ5 ultra high performance tyre, following high speed durability testing at the Nürburgring, among other places. The tyre has what manufacturer Cooper Avon terms an “Intelligent Asymmetric Tread Design” and “Optinoise” technology for a quieter ride. The company says the tyre’s development on European roads and racetracks have given it improved handling and grip capabilities. The tyre is aimed at the small-medium high performance sector, typified by such models as the Audi S4 and Lotus Evora.
Having sponsored teams in several Brazilian motorsport categories, Brazil-based retreader Vipal has begun sponsorship of the Buggyra team in the 2011 European Truck Racing Championship. “Vipal and Car and Truck Racing have been shoulder in shoulder since the company´s foundation. For thirteen years we have sponsored the Formula Truck in Brazil, contributing to the success of the category in the country. Now, due to Vipal´s expansion in Europe, we have decided for this sponsorship. Furthermore, what’s even better is that we get started in this new phase together with the current champion of the category”, explains Maria Locatelli, Vipal sales and marketing director.
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