Yokohama Tire Corporation has provided further details of the tyre Team Yokohama will use in its conquest of Pikes Peak in an electric vehicle on June 27. The lithium-ion battery powered vehicle will be fitted with Advan ENV-R2 orange oil infused race tyres, a product that Yokohama says cuts petroleum use in the manufacturing process by 20 per cent by utilising sustainable resources such as orange oil and natural rubber.
The new Ma5da MX5 Cup started on 24 April at Snetterton and continues at Rockingham, Brands Hatch and Croft during the season, with a “Winter Championship to take place at Donnington and Brands Hatch in October and November – and Taiwanese manufacturer Federal has announced that it will supply its 595 RS-R sport competition line as the official tyre of the new series throughout the year.
India’s Monotona Tyres Ltd has become a subsidiary of fellow Ruia Group company Falcon Tyres Ltd. This arrangement allows Monotona to take advantage of the technical assistance agreement Falcon has operated with Japan’s Sumitomo Rubber Industries since 2007 and will lead to its products being marketed in the Indian replacement market under the Dunlop brand name.
According to data released by Pirelli & C. SpA, Europe’s passenger car and light commercial vehicle replacement tyre market grew 14 per cent year-on-year during April 2010, below the 20 per cent improvement observed in March yet a three point improvement on the market’s 10.5 per cent year-to-date improvement. Original equipment sales of all tyre brands in Europe improved one per cent year-on-year during April, considerably lower than the 19.25 per cent improvement seen in the year-to-date. Replacement market truck tyre sales showed a 20 per cent year-on-year improvement during the month, down on the year-to-date increase of 32.75 per cent. The original equipment truck tyre market in Europe shot up 60 per cent in April, by far the largest monthly year-to-date growth so far this year. Year-to-date, growth in this sector have improved by 16 per cent over last year.
The short-lived dip in raw material costs the industry experienced in 2009 helped Yokohama Rubber towards a better bottom line result in the recently concluded financial year. The company has announced net earnings of 11.5 billion yen (₤83.5 million) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010. This gain compares with a net loss of 5.7 billion yen in the previous fiscal year and reflects a surge in operating profitability. Operating income rose 67.5 per cent, to 21.5 billion yen (£156.1), on a 9.8 per cent decline in net sales, to 466.4 billion yen (₤3.4 billion). Underlying Yokohama’s surge in operating income were the abovementioned reversal of the upward trend in raw material costs and the company’s progress in reducing selling expenses and other costs. Net profitability benefited additionally, meanwhile, from a sharp reduction in losses on currency translation adjustments.
On April 28 Bridgestone held an opening ceremony for its Global Manufacturing Education Center (G-MEC) in the Bridgestone G-MEC Building, a training building established in Kodaira City, Tokyo. The ceremony, held at the newly opened G-MEC Building, marked the official launch of the new G-MEC training and education programme.
Following the postponement of the Japanese Grand Prix (thanks to a certain Icelandic volcano), Bridgestone is heading back to the scene of its pre-season testing in Jerez, Spain this weekend for the second round of the 2010 MotoGP Championship. The Jerez circuit is “a good test circuit because of the diversity of the corner layout”, says Tohru Ubukata, manager of Bridgestone’s Motorcycle Tyre Development Department. “This means that we require a tyre with a very balanced character to provide good handling from low speed to high speed and from flat corners through changes in elevation,” Ubukata continues.
Bridgestone Corporation expects aggressive growth in China this year, regardless of how the country’s currency sits against the US dollar. Sales of cars, SUVs, buses and commercial trucks in China are expected to exceed 2008 levels by more than 10 per cent, according to Bridgestone China managing director Yujiro Kanahara.
In Japan, only 1.4 per cent of executives are women, so Sakie Fukushima’s rise to become the first woman ever to be elected to Bridgestone’s board of directors is gaining plenty of attention, not least from CNN, which describes the move as “breaking the ‘bamboo ceiling’”.
Working with local Chilean organisations and through the Embassy of Chile in Japan, the Bridgestone Group donated more than 11 million yen (£76,700, US$118,000) to support Chilean relief efforts following the earthquake that occurred on February 27, 2010. Bridgestone Corporation donated 3 million yen through the Chilean Embassy in Japan while its Bridgestone Americas subsidiary donated $50,000 (equivalent to 4.5 million yen) through Fundación Imagina. This organisation will use the funds to help build two new classrooms as part of its initiative to replace schools damaged during the earthquake. In addition, Bridgestone Americas’ subsidiary in Chile, Bridgestone Chile, S.A., provided aid equivalent to approximately $40,000 (equivalent to 3.6 million yen) by donating bags and school supplies through the Boy Scouts of Chile. In addition, through the scouting organisation, Bridgestone Chile donated 40,000 children’s toys collected from spectators at race events.
Engineering company Laursen & Toubro (L&T) and Japan-based Mitsibishi Heavy Industries (MHI) are reportedly planning to enter into a “heavy industrial tyre” joint venture in India. According to reports in India’s Business Standard, L&T has “initiated discussions with MHI to form a joint venture that would manufacture a wide range of heavy industrial tyres in the country.” Quoting a source close to the talks, the newspaper added: "This would bring in a good blend of high-technology from Japan and low-cost manufacturing from India. The JV would also help to create a great synergy in L&T's construction business."
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations has notified the US National Highway Transport Safety Organisation that it intends to recall a total of some 768 non-compliant tyres imported from Japan between 2006 and February 2010. The offending items, Potenza RE050A, B390 and Turanza ER30 products, were manufactured for use on North American built vehicles intended for export markets and thus do not feature the DOT symbol and other labelling information legally required in the United States.
Belgium’s Prime Minister Yves Leterme has paid Bridgestone Corporation’s headquarters in Tokyo as part of his April 7 to 10 visit to Japan. During the visit, Mr. Leterme met with Shoshi Arakawa, Bridgestone’s chairman of the Board, CEO and president, and several other company executives.
The Hangzhou Yokohama Tire Co., Ltd factory in China’s Zhejiang province has become the first Yokohama Rubber site outside of Japan to achieve "complete zero emissions" status. After conducting on-site investigations of all contractors commissioned to dispose of waste from the passenger car tyre production plant and associated sales operation, Yokohama has verified that none of the waste is subject to direct landfill disposal.
The second phase of expansion planned for Bridgestone’s Kitakyushu factory in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan has begun three months ahead of schedule. In October 2007 Bridgestone Corporation announced a July 2010 date for the next stage of work on the facility, which has been producing large and ultra-large off-the-road radial tyres for construction and mining vehicles since June 2009. Increasing global demand for these large and ultra-large ORR tyres, however, has now seen preparations for second phase expansion plans accelerated and the start of work brought forward to April.
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