Italy Archives - Page 53 of 65 - Tyrepress

Posts

Michelin Voted Most Recognisable Tyre Brand in the UK

Michelin’s long established heritage and iconic mascot has helped it become one of the most recognisable and best-loved brands on the UK market, a phenomenon highlighted by recent survey results released by the Superbrands Council. The French tyremaker was listed as the 38th most recognisable brand in the UK out of a finalists list of 500 companies. This high ranking placed Michelin above market leading companies such as Apple (41st place), McDonalds (45) and IBM (61). The next tyre manufacturer to appear on the list was Italy’s Pirelli, in 69th place.

Judging for the Superbrands scoreboard is carried out by a cross-section of experts and consumers, with a ‘short-list’ of almost 1,500 brand names coming in for scrutiny. A total of more than 3,000 people are surveyed by independent research agency YouGov in order to formulate the results, which reflect public opinion on factors such as quality, reliability and distinction.

23rd August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Marangoni Opens Office in Shanghai

Italy’s Marangoni Group has highlighted its interest in the Chinese market with the opening of its Shanghai office, an initiative initially announced during the Citexpo exhibition in Shanghai at the end of 2005. For the Italian corporation a representative base in China is seen as just the first of a number of steps into the Chinese tyre market. Marangoni’s plans focus upon both the new tyre market and the retreading business, and include the installation of retreading plants and the production of Marangoni retreading materials in addition to a general boosting of Marangoni’s presence in the Chinese tyre market. Furthermore, the office will also be responsible for increasing Marangoni’s exports throughout the region. The new Maragoni office in Shanghai is run by Marcello Gambarini, who has more than 30 years of experience in the tyre business, and by Zhu Pei Fang, who the company reports is very well known in the Chinese tyre market.

20th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Carbon Black Producer to Invest in Europe and Asia

Carbon black producer Columbian Chemicals has announced two key projects it intends to carry out in Europe and Asia. A cogeneration facility is planned for the company’s Trecate Plant in San Martino di Trecate, Italy. This unit will generate up to 15 megawatts of power. And in China production capacity at Columbian Chemicals’ Weifang facility will be expanded to 70,000 tonnes per year. The increased production capacity will be accomplished with the addition of one carcass line and debottlenecking the existing tread line.

“Growing the business in Asia is a key part of our long-term strategy, and success in Weifang is a very important start,” said JS Lee, Columbian Chemicals’ president and CEO. “The cogeneration facility is in line with our long-term operational strategy as well. We are committed to controlling costs, and conservation of energy is a significant part of that strategy.” At present the company is engaged in preliminary engineering work and acquiring long-delivery equipment for the Weifang project, and construction work is expected to be completed in August 2008.

16th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Alcaline: ‘Continental Ideal in the Long Run’

International haulier Alcaline (UK) Limited has reported that it finds Continental tyres ideally suited to the sort of long-distance operation that takes its trucks deep into Italy and increasingly into Eastern Europe. From the UK, the company runs 40 tractor units and 60 trailers out of its base at Ashford in Kent, which is conveniently located for the Channel tunnel and Dover ferry port. Coiled steel, paper and automotive parts are the main products carried and the company plays a key role in the supply chain for several prestige car makers.

Almost all the trucks are DAF’s top-of-the range XF95 and XF105 two axle tractors – the latter being the current ‘International Truck of the Year’ – operating at 40 tonnes gross. Trailers are high-quality, tri-axle curtainsiders by Schmitz Cargobull, including ‘mega cube’ units of up to 104 cubic metres capacity, and all are on air suspension.

9th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

ArvinMeritor Sells European LVA Operations

Vehicle systems and components manufacturer ArvinMeritor reported on August 7 that its Light Vehicle Aftermarket (LVA) European exhaust operations has been sold to the UK based automotive sector investor Klarius Group. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. This sale affects includes employees at the company’s UK LVA facilities in Blackpool, Lancaster and Stoke-on-Trent, as well as those at plants in Dreux and Nanterre in France, and Finale Emilia in Italy.

“This transaction completes the divestiture of the LVA business,” said Chip McClure, ArvinMeritor chairman, CEO and president. “Our strategy is to focus resources and capital on areas within our core businesses that produce the highest returns for our shareowners.”

McClure added, “Completing the sale of LVA is another recent achievement toward strengthening the company and positioning ourselves for profitable future growth.”

9th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti OE for New Fiat 500

Following the successful reinterpretation of the Volkswagen Beetle and the Mini, Italy’s iconic pint sized town car has made a comeback, and in its 2007 guise is equipped with tyres from Continental. The new Fiat 500, the visual if not technological successor to the hugely popular rear-engine car built between 1957 and 1975, will sport Conti rubber on all standard sizes of rim – 14, 15 and 16-inch.

The majority of tyres supplied by Continental will be in the 165/65R14 T size. Roberto Zazzara, who is responsible for the original equipment tyres that Continental delivers to Fiat, explains: “We supply Fiat with the ContiEcoContact 3, a tyre that offers low rolling resistance and thus reduced fuel consumption, and we are Fiat’s sole supplier for this size.” In terms of 15 and 16-inch tyres, Continental is equally well-represented with its ContiPremiumContact 2, which also offers low rolling resistance. Both tyres have been designed to ensure short braking distances on wet and dry roads, good lateral guidance and comfortable driving characteristics, combined with low rolling resistance.

7th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Speed Record for ContiSportContact Vmax

Less than a month after Continental was admitted to the Guinness Book of Records for car performance modifier Jan Fatthauer’s 388 km/h dash, which saw the Continental ContiSportContact Vmax officially recognised as the world’s fastest production tyre, a new record using Conti’s performance tyre has been set.

On July 17 the German tuning company motoren technik mayer (mtm) set a new speed record of 393 km/h at the Papenburg high-speed test track in northwest Germany. The double-engined Bimoto Audi TT, capable of giving out a colossal 735 kW (1000HP), was fitted with ContiSportContact Vmax tyres. Prior to conducting the test mtm owner Roland Mayer conducted evaluations on a number of tyres in order to select the right high-speed rubber to use. Summarising the test results, he noted “at the high speed attained by the Bimoto, the ContiSportContact Vmax displays distinctively good driving stability.”

25th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli to Build ‘Next Mirs’ Plant in Italy

Pirelli Tyre is planning to build a state-of-the-art industrial centre in the Settimo Torinese area of Italy, having signed an agreement with the Piedmont Regional, Turin Provincial, and Settimo Torinese Authorities. The new plant, will produce car and truck tyres, using “ecologically sustainable Next Mirs technology,” according to the company, making it the most modern Pirelli production facility worldwide. As part of the agreement with local authorities Pirelli Tyre and Turin Politecnico have agreed to cooperate on future research and technological projects.

Pirelli currently has two production facilities in the Settimo Torinese area. The industrial regeneration plan will entail transferring the production operations currently carried out in the car-tyre plant to the truck-tyre plant. Amalgamating the two facilities in this way will pave the way for inaugurating a modern centre.

18th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Online Tyre Retail Portal Launched

A new online tyre retail website has rolled onto the information superhighway. Tyres-betterdeals.co.uk is one of the most recent creations of the betterdeals.co.uk network. According to the company, tyres-betterdeals.com forms an example of the network’s innovative consumer orientation. It is interesting to point out that all the tyre selections Tyres & Accessories made while browsing the site pointed straight to mytyres.co.uk, Delticom AG’s tyre retail front-end.

Active since the end of 2003, betterdeals.co.uk publicizes news on the Internet, serving markets that are as different as Italy, Spain, and France on the one hand and Germany, Holland, and the UK on the other. Resulting in 35 launches of new Internet portals in 2007 alone, betterdeals.co.uk is created and managed by Go Advertising Limited in Dublin, Ireland.

9th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

It’s ‘Guinness Time’ at Conti

In the world of high-speed tyres Germany’s Continental has demonstrated it has nothing to be ashamed of following the entry of one of its products, the ContiSportContact Vmax, into the famed Guinness Book of Records as the world’s fastest standard production tyre. Certification experts from TÜV Süd Automotive in Munich recently served as independent technical witnesses to confirm the Conti tyre’s status, a pre-condition for entry in the revered book. First unveiled three years ago, the ContiSportContact Vmax is approved for use at speeds up to 360 km/h (225 mph), and carries a ‘ZR’ rating – the top designation on the speed rating scale, Y, does not accommodate speeds in excess of 300 km/h.

The tyre is based on the ContiSportContact product family and underwent further development to achieve substantially enhanced high-speed characteristics. Top priority in this context was efficient tyre cooling, whilst maintaining good handling and positive characteristics in the wet. “When developing this high-tech tyre, which is approved for road use, we were able to call on experience gained in the design of high-performance tyres for original equipment and for our technology partners in the customising sector” explained Holger Berkmann, tyre developer at Continental. “Adopting Formula One concepts would not help us here, as high-speed tyres approved for road use have to build up grip on wet and dry roads and they are also expected to achieve an appropriate mileage.”

29th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Deldo Shows Wanli Run-Flat

Deldo caught attention recently with the premier of its brand new Wanli run-flat tyre. Deldo representatives told T&A during the Autopromotec that this will be the first Chinese run-flat tyre in the European market. Deldo is also the exclusive distributor of Wanli, Sunny and Fortuna tyres for the European market, and has been since 2002.

Deldo was present with a large booth of approximately 80 square metres. Company representative are reportedly “very happy with the atmosphere and quantity and quality of the visitors.” Besides the large number of Italian customers there were a lot of international people at the show. Deldo has been doing business in Italy for many years. At this moment, Deldo is active with four salesmen in the market and sales are growing step by step.

The company also showed the 26” in Wanli (305/30 R26) tyre. The launch of this product follows increased dialogue between Deldo and South China Tire and the well-known test centre, TUV Germany. According to the company, South China Tire is investing more and more in technology and new developments. Wanli is currently available in more than 200 sizes.

29th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Punch International Acquires Wheel Manufacturer BBS

Belgium’s Punch International NV, the diversified industrial holding company headquartered in Sint-Martens-Latem, announced on June 29 that it has taken over BBS, the German developer and producer of lightweight wheels for premium segment sports and passenger cars. BBS is currently listed on the Frankfurt and Stuttgart stock exchanges but was declared bankrupt in May 2007, however the company is now expected to make a positive contribution to the Punch group’s net profit as soon as it the acquisition is finalised.

Punch will take over all the bankrupt company’s assets as of 1 August 2007, subject to the transaction’s approval by the antitrust authority. The acquired assets will include those of BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik AG and BBS Motorsport & Engineering GmbH, the brand name BBS and the activities of the company’s plants in Schiltach and Herbolzheim, Germany. The transaction also comprises the takeover of all the shares of the American sales subsidiary BBS of America, Inc and the redemption of all lease contracts in progress. BBS has an extensive portfolio of technology patents, which is also included in the takeover. Funds for the acquisition are drawn from a combination of the proceeds of the private placement dated 7 June 2007 and a bank loan. The activities taken over will continue under the name BBS International GmbH and become integrated in the Punch Motive division of the Punch group.

29th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Commemorates 60 Years of Ferrari

Iconic supercar manufacturer Ferrari celebrated its 60th birthday in June 2007 and the tyremaker whose association with the company dates back to Enzo Ferrari’s racing days before the Second World War was on hand to pay tribute to the legendary marque. Pirelli took part in the celebrations held at Ferrari’s home town of Maranello, Italy, awarding a prize to the racing Ferrari judged the most beautiful out of those vehicles participating in the parade around the carmaker’s Fiorano circuit on June 24.

During the festivities Pirelli held a display outlining the close relationship between the two famous Italian brands. The tyremaker began supplying Scuderia Ferrari in the 1930s when Enzo Ferrari’s team was running Alfa Romeos, and when the company began producing its own vehicles after the war Pirelli was again the tyre of choice – on 166 MM Touring Barchetta of 1949 – and remained a Ferrari favourite for the following six decades. The original P Zero was famously designed with Ferrari’s F40 in mind, and today the latest generation of this UHP tyre is fitted as standard to the 599 GTB Fiorano, 612 Scaglietti and the F430.

28th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Former Conti Boss Urban Dies

Former Continental CEO Horst W. Urban passed away on June 21, three weeks after celebrating his 71st birthday. Mr. Urban had been battling the affects of lung cancer, for which he underwent surgery last year.

Together with colleague Helmut Werner, Horst Urban developed proactive strategies to strengthen the tyremaker’s position, including the acquisition of rival brands Semperit and General Tire. During the early 1990s Urban vigorously resisted a takeover bid for Continental launched by Pirelli. Following the successful conclusion of this corporate struggle he tendered his resignation as company CEO in 1991, reportedly due to differences of opinion with supervisory board chairman Dr. Ulrich Weiß. At this time Dr. Weiß also held a position on the board of Deutsche Bank and was, amongst other roles, responsible for the bank’s business in Italy, and was thus considered to possess a more sympathetic view of the Pirelli takeover attempt than Mr. Urban.

26th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kubica Visits Bridgestone Poznan Tyre Plant

Employees at Bridgestone’s Poznan production plant in Poland enjoyed a day with BMW Sauber F1 driver Robert Kubica, who took time away from the track to pay them a visit. Poland’s star driver, who is currently nursing a leg injury after a horror crash at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, toured the factory and saw how tyres are made before choosing Poland’s winner of the Bridgestone “dreams at heArt” children’s drawing competition.

He turned a few heads on the way, chatting to staff on the production line and signing autographs for a lucky few of his enormous fan club in Poland. The Kubica visit was part of official celebrations for the completion of the final expansion phase at the Poznan plant, raising daily production capacity to 22,000 tyres. The increased output will help meet growing demand across Europe for Bridgestone’s high-performance passenger car tyres.

12th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors