Yokohama Rubber’s North America division, Yokohama Tire Corporation, has announced two new executive appointments: Naoki “Nick” Takeda, executive vice president and chief financial officer; and Taketoshi Morita, vice-president, OE business.
Jorge Lorenzo’s victory at the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi means the Yamaha Factory Racing rider has set up an intriguing final round in Valencia, where the championship leader, Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez will seek to fend off Lorenzo’s challenge. Marquez finished second in Japan, limiting the extent to which Lorenzo could close the gap at the top; a similar finish in the last of three rounds held in both riders’ home nation would present Marquez with the title. Shinichi Yamashita, general manager of MotoGP supplier Bridgestone’s Motorsport Tyre Development Department, said he was happy with the performance of the manufacturer’s softer allocation this year, despite the lack of time to practice due to rain.
Dunlop has announced a softer set of compounds than in 2012 for the Japanese Moto2 and Moto3 races. The announcement comes one week after the Australian grand prix at Phillip Island, where the new aggressive track surface led to shortened races in both the Moto2 and Bridgestone-supplied MotoGP.
Bridgestone has received the Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM) supplier award 2013 for delivery performance. The award was presented to Bridgestone at the HUM Annual Supplier Convention held at its Swindon manufacturing plant in the UK on 1 October. The tyre manufacturer supplies tyres to HUM for the Civic and Jazz models.
We’ve found a forwarding address for Mr. and Mrs. Fussy: According to the results of the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2013 Japan Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Index (OE-TSI), vehicle owners in Japan expect the tyres that come with their new vehicle to be “perfect”. J.D. Power shares that “even a single problem with their factory-equipped tyres has a significant impact on their satisfaction.”
Within the coming 12 months, Bridgestone Corporation will close its steel cord facility in Kuroiso, Japan and consolidate production into its remaining Japanese steel cord plant, Saga. The company says these measures will commence immediately and it expects to complete them by late September 2014.
Although Bridgestone’s new passenger car radial factory in Vietnam has yet to enter operation, the tyre maker has announced the plant’s first capacity increase. An additional 17.9 billion yen (£113.9 million) will be invested to further raise capacity to 49,000 tyres a day by the second half of 2017. This further growth will see the plant’s workforce expand from approximately 1,900 employees in the first half of 2016 to around 3,800 some 18 months later.
The 2014 Chevy Spark EV, now on sale in the US states of California and Oregon and scheduled for release into some European markets, Canada and South Korea, is being supplied with Bridgestone’s Ecopia EP150 tyres as original equipment. Bridgestone says the 140hp 119 combined miles-per-gallon equivalent (MPGe) compact car is fitted with Ecopia EP150 tyres manufactured at its Hikone plant in Japan; size 185/55R15 82T tyres will be mounted on the front wheels and size 195/55R15 85T on the rear.
Pirelli has announced its tyre compound nominations for the forthcoming grands prix in Korea, Japan and India. The P Zero White medium tyre is present for all three events – it seems likely that Monaco will remain the only grand prix of 2013 at which it was not amongst Pirelli’s allocation. Each of the other three compounds will feature once, with the two hardest compounds deployed for the seventh time this season at Japan’s Suzuka.
Deutsche Bank’s decision to downgrade its advice rating for Bridgestone shares from “buy” to “hold” on 12 September resulted in a 1.4 per cent fall in the Japanese tyre manufacturer’s share price to 3,430 yen in response to the report.
Bridgestone’s title sponsorship of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational has been extended through to 2018. The continuation of this arrangement, which began in 2006, was announced by Bridgestone Corporation CEO Masaaki Tsuya and Bridgestone Americas CEO and president Gary Garfield together with Commissioner Tim Finchem, who represents the International Federation of PGA Tours, during a press conference prior to the leaders teeing off for the final round of the 2013 Bridgestone Invitational. Bridgestone also extended its official marketing partner relationship with the PGA Tour through 2018 and will remain the “Official Tire of the PGA Tour and Champions Tour.”
Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ recent development of a highly purified form of natural rubber may take on tyre form as early as next year. The Japanese manufacturer says it plans to utilise its UPNR (Ultra Pure Natural Rubber) in several tyres, starting with new ranges scheduled for launch in 2014.
Yokohama has added another high performance PCR to its ranks following the introduction earlier in the year of its leading UHP product, the Advan Sport V105. The Japanese manufacturer has added the latest evolution of its Advan Neova AD08 tyre, a product it describes as its “most aggressive road-going product.” The new version, the Advan Neova AD08R, appears similar externally; however, Yokohama assures its customers that alterations made to the tyre’s compound have resulted in significant improvements to the high levels of grip and response that made its predecessor a tyre of choice for ultra-high performance road and track day use.
The printing technology Bridgestone previewed at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show is now a commercial reality. The Japanese manufacturer has released the first tyre featuring its sidewall printing process – now known as ‘Colorside’ – in the domestic market.
On 16 July, Bridgestone’s domestic tyre subsidiary, Bridgestone Tire Japan, opened a new facility that integrates its Osaka Bandag retreading factory and waste tyre processing plant into a single location. The new 7,100 square metre plant takes in used casings collected from the within Osaka and Kyoto, Hyogo Prefecture, Wakayama Prefectures and has the capacity to produce 3,000 truck and bus retreads per month, including Ecopia retreads. This figure is 30 per cent higher than the combined output of the two previous facilities. Tyres not suitable for retreading are shredded and sold as fuel.
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