Bridgestone to Raise Truck and Bus Tyre Prices in Japan
As of March 1, 2011 prices of Bridgestone’s Japanese market truck and bus tyres will increase by an average of seven per cent. This increase applies to both summer and winter tyre lines.
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Bridgestone Ecopia OE for Nissan Leaf
NewsNissan’s ‘Leaf’ electric car goes on sale in December 2010 and will hit the streets fitted with tyre’s from Bridgestone’s Ecopia range as original equipment. In Europe and Japan the Ecopia EP150 is being supplied to Nissan in size 205/55R16 91V while North American customers will receive their Leaf fitted with a size P205/55R16 89H version of the Ecopia EP422, a product designed for all-season use in this particular market. Beyond this fitment, Bridgestone states it will “continue working to bolster its line-up of Ecopia tyres, roll them out globally, and increase their use as original equipment.”
‘Tree Guru’ Brings Arboreal Talents to Yokohama’s ‘Green Week’
NewsThrough its ‘Forever Forest’ project, Yokohama Rubber hopes to transform the grounds at its factories into verdant, leafy areas. The company has held numerous tree planting ceremonies both in Japan and around the world, and now Yokohama Tire Corporation is going one step further by conducting a ‘Green Week’. Between November 30 and December 3 the US based operation is staging a series of eco-themed events, culminating with a visit from one of the world’s most famous ecologists.
Yokohama-Sponsored Baja Racers Happy with Geolander Tyre
MotorsportOne of off-road racing's toughest tests, Yokohama Tire-sponsored racers took on the SCORE Baja 1000 between 17 and 20 November using the manufacturer’s Geolander M/T+ tyres. Heidi Steele achieved a third-place finish in Class 6 for unlimited, production mini trucks. Driving her customary Ford Ranger, Steele, the two-time defending Class 6 champ, and her co-drivers and Desert Assassins teammates Rene Brugger and Pat Dailey, finished the gruelling 1061.69-mile course in 27:43:10.
Conti Celebrates 10 years of Not Popping Moët et Chandon Corks
Company News, NewsContinental Industrial Tyres has partnered with the world’s leading champagne producer, Moët et Chandon, for ten years now – all the time cooperating so the brand which is so famous for producing celebratory wine can avoid popping a cork for the wrong reasons.
Just as Continental Industrial Tyres are able to develop and produce products tailored specifically to customers' specifications and requirements, so the vintners and champagne makers at Moët et Chandon are able to meet individual demands. Both companies can also look back on long traditions. Admittedly, the champagne manufacturer was founded in 1743, making it older than Continental, which was established in 1871. Continental produces over 100 million tyres every year. In 2008 Moët et Chandon produced some 36 million bottles of champagne, with a good 100 million bottles being stored in the manufacturer's cellars, up to 35 metres below the ground.
Latest Sumitomo Financials See Company in Stronger Position
Company NewsSumitomo Rubber Industries’ financial results for the nine months to September 30 show a 19 per cent increase in net sales plus a return to the black. During the nine-month period the company took in net sales of 424,514 million yen (£3.2 billion), as opposed to 356,662 during the same period of 2009. Operating income amounted to 28,640 million yen (£215.2 million), 190 per cent more year-on-year. Ordinary income was for the nine months was 25,311 million yen (£190.2 million) and net income 14,036 million yen (£105.5 million).
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Apprentice Highly Recommended at EEF Awards
NewsOn November 11 the EEF announced the Midlands region winners in its 2010 Future Manufacturing Awards, and Dunlop Aircraft Tyres’ apprentice Adam Cox was honoured for the quality of his work. At a ceremony held in the Warwickshire town of Gaydon, Cox was named runner-up in the Outstanding Achievement by a Final Year Apprentice Award for his work in the design of aircraft tyres for some of the world’s newest civil and military aeroplanes.
Bridgestone to Make Final F1 Appearance at Abu Dhabi GP
NewsAfter fourteen continuous seasons at the pinnacle of international motorsport, Bridgestone makes its final Formula One appearance at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. At the end of this race, Bridgestone will have contested a total of 242 Grands Prix since making its full time F1 entry at the Australian Grand Prix in 1997. There will have been 175 wins, 168 pole positions and eleven drivers’ and constructors’ championships attained with Bridgestone Potenza tyres.
Toyo Increases European Tyre Sales 12% in H1, 2010
Company NewsToyo Tire & Rubber reports a global 9.0 per cent increase in tyre sales volumes during the first half of the 2010 financial year, with European sales volumes surging 12.0 per cent. In total, the company produced 88,900 tonnes of tyres during this six-month period until September 30, 76,200 of this in Japan. Net sales within the half-year reached 143,431 million yen (£1.1 billion), 10.7 per cent above the corresponding six months of 2009. This improvement, Toyo notes, has occurred due to a recovery in demand. During the quarter between July 1 and September 30 Toyo reported net sales of 71,269 million yen (£546,4 million).
Bridgestone Reports 12% Sales Increase
Company NewsThe first three quarters of the 2010 fiscal year have been described by Bridgestone as a period “plagued by rising raw materials and materials prices and the appreciating Japanese yen.” Despite these hurdles, the tyre maker reports achieving a 12 per cent increase in net sales and 838 per cent rise in operating income during this time, having reached figures of 2,091.2 billion yen (£15.9 billion) and 113.4 billion yen (£861.5 million) respectively. Ordinary income for the nine months was 100.8 billion yen (£765.7 million) and net income 66.7 billion yen (£506.7 million), compared with an ordinary loss of 9.2 billion yen and net loss of 27.4 billion yen for the corresponding period a year earlier.
Yokohama’s Home WTCC Stage to Equal Japanese Entrant Record
MotorsportJapanese racing talent will go head-to-head with some of the world’s best touring car drivers when the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) returns to Okayama, Japan, on 31 October, 2010. The home race of official tyre supplier Yokohama will have four local drivers competing, equalling the 2008 record for the most Japanese entries in a WTCC race.
Yokohama/MTV Partner in Eco Fundraising
NewsOnce again Yokohama has held its LIVEecoMOTION event in partnership with MTV Japan. The ‘one coin’ live charity event has been held annually since 2007 and the October 1 concert in Tokyo raised 492,500 yen (£3,780) in admission fees. On October 12, Yokohama donated this amount plus a further 37,280 yen in contributions to WWF Japan, which is – sorry wrestling fans – the local chapter of the World Wide Fund for Nature. The proceeds will be utilised for the organisation’s activities aimed at combating global warming.
Bridgestone On Track With Indian CV Radial Rollout
NewsRadialisation is taking root in India’s commercial vehicle tyre market, and Bridgestone is taking steps to secure its share of this potentially huge market. At a the opening of a Bridgestone Fleet Point outlet in Chennai on October 11, the managing director of Bridgestone India confirmed the tyre maker was on target to begin truck and bus radial production next May. Initial TBR manufacture will take place at Bridgestone’s Kheda plant in Madhya Pradesh state, where truck radial capacity is being added through a US$36.7 million investment. Daily production will start at 200 units and almost double within a year.
Best Choice Introduces New “Mazzini” Own Brand
International News, News, Product NewsAt this year’s CITExpo, Best Choice International Trade didn’t just present a large portion of its existing range – visitors were also shown a new brand. By the end of the year this new line-up, produced under the “Mazzini Tyres” name, should be available in 13 sizes between 15 and 18-inches. As export manager Stephen Wu explained, the Mazzini brand will be separately positioned in the market to the company’s existing “Sunew” own brand. “We wanted a new brand for new customers,” elucidated Wu, stressing that the necessity to supply various distribution channels with a variety of brands. In light of this the company is looking around the world, particularly in Western Europe, North America, Australia and Japan, for new distributors.
Red Bull Sets Practice Pace in Japan
NewsBridgestone’s soft tyre took Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel to the fastest lap of the sinuous Suzuka Circuit on the first day of the Japanese Grand Prix today. The German set a 1:31.465 lap time in the afternoon session after earlier setting the fastest time with the hard tyre in the morning. Bridgestone director of Motorsport Tyre Development, Hirohide Hamashima said that both compounds for the race were looking “strong”, but that wet tyres would also come into play at some point over the weekend.