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Winter Tyres Get the Cold Shoulder in New Zealand

Public perception of cold weather tyres in New Zealand has been dealt another blow, with the country’s leading motor industry organisation, the Motor Trade Association, again calling for a ban to be placed upon the importation of cars fitted with cold weather tyres, more commonly known in New Zealand as snow tyres. The association has also proposed denying a warrant of fitness – the 6-monthly New Zealand equivalent to the MOT – to any vehicle fitted with cold weather tyres outside the cold season and away from “colder regions of the country.” Demands for such measures have been repeated throughout this year following the occurrence of two well-publicised fatal accidents involving vehicles fitted with a combination of summer and winter tyres, and this negative attention appears to have overshadowed the benefits that correctly fitted winter tyres may bring to motorists.

16th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Winter Tyres Get the Cold Shoulder in New Zealand

Public perception of cold weather tyres in New Zealand has been dealt another blow, with the country’s leading motor industry organisation, the Motor Trade Association, again calling for a ban to be placed upon the importation of cars fitted with cold weather tyres, more commonly known in New Zealand as snow tyres. The association has also proposed denying a warrant of fitness to any vehicle fitted with cold weather tyres outside the cold season and away from “colder regions of the country.” Demands for such measures have been repeated throughout this year following the occurrence of two well-publicised fatal accidents involving vehicles fitted with a combination of summer and winter tyres, and this negative attention appears to have overshadowed the benefits that correctly fitted winter tyres may bring to motorists.

16th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Reach 50,000 Tyre Milestone at Bathurst 1000

Dunlop proudly supplied its 50,000th tyre to the V8 Supercar Championship Series at the most prestigious race on the Australian motorsport calendar. Dunlop reached their 50,000th tyre milestone after beating rival manufacturers to win its third consecutive contract to supply its highly-acclaimed control tyre to teams participating in the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series. Since 2002, Dunlop has been the sole tyre supplier to the Championship, providing and servicing more than 9,000 tyres per year.

10th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Points to New Winter Tyre Engineering Breakthrough

Did you know that it is actually more hazardous to drive on ice when the temperature is between -6 and 0 degrees Celcius than when temperatures are colder? Yokohama engineers at the company’s headquarters in Japan have proposed the concept that a “danger zone” exists when ice can be more slippery. According to the company, understanding what makes ice slippery was the first step in creating a new generation of winter tyres better able to deal with this dangerous condition.

Tyre engineers have long understood that the very act of driving a car on ice makes the ice more slippery. The weight of the car and the friction of the tyre rolling over the surface of the ice acts to melt the ice under the tyre. The layer of water between the ice and tyre acts like a lubricant, reducing the traction the tyre can achieve. The engineers at Yokohama Rubber Company Ltd. studied the phenomenon and discovered that the thin film of water created by the tyre actually grew when the temperature was between minus six and zero degrees.

10th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Recycled Tyres to Help Protect Olympic Horses

A product produced by Hong-Kong tyre recycling company Jets Technics products will be used in The Hong Kong Jockey Club Parade Ring in Shatin Racecourse. Jets Technics, beat overseas rivals to win a major contract for the equestrian events at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The company also makes flooring and wall tiling products that will line the stables and a clinic at the Olympic equestrian venue in Hong Kong to protect the valuable horses taking part in the event.

Jets Technics has been developing green technology in various markets for the past 27 years and sees the contract as “a significant coup.”

“There will be a good number of valuable horses coming for the 2008 Olympic Equestrian Event,” said John So Chi-chun, Assistant Director of Jets Technics. “To protect the horses’ hooves from being hurt, special materials need to be used in the walls and floorings of stables and the equestrian hospital.

9th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Starts Run-Flat Mass Production in South Africa

Bridgestone Corporation has announced that Bridgestone South Africa (Pty) Ltd., has started the mass production and shipping of run-flat from its Brits, factory. Bridgestone South Africa Holdings (Pty) Ltd. is a holding company which is a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation for South Africa. The factory will produce 205/55R16 Turanza ER300 tyres for use on new BMW 3 Series automobiles produced in South Africa.

The Brits Plant started operation in 1971 with the production of radial tyres for passenger cars, light trucks, and trucks and buses, predominantly supplying the South African market. With the start of run-flat production and shipping at the Brits Plant, Bridgestone Group now boasts a “quadripartite production system” of run-flat tyres spanning Japan, the United States, Poland and South Africa. A special ceremony was held at the Brits Plant on September 13 to celebrate the start of mass production and BMW approval.

8th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Senior Management Changes at Bridgestone

On September 28 Bridgestone announced that its board of directors has approved the following proposals of the changes in member of the board and in corporate officers.

1. Changes in position and responsibilities of members of the board (effective October 16, 2007)
– Tatsuya Okajima
New position and responsibilities: Senior vice president, advisor to the president
Current position and responsibilities: senior vice president, chief compliance officer, responsible for original equipment tyre sales and quality management; concurrently chief risk-management officer

– Masaharu Oku
New position and responsibilities: Vice president & senior officer, advisor to the president. Oku has been seconded to Bridgestone Cycle Co., Ltd where he will serve as chairman.
Current position and responsibilities: vice president & senior officer, responsible for production technology

3rd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Tire Changes Executives

(Akron/Tire Review) Yokohama Tire Corp. has seen a number of its executives reassigned. Takao Oishi was named YTC executive vice president of operations, and is relocating from Yokohama Rubber Corp. in Japan. Kenichi Shirai was named chief advisor for strategic marketing, and is also coming from YRC headquarters in Japan. Also relocating to the US will be Iwao Shimomura, who was named YTC senior director of corporate quality assurance. At YTC, Satoshi Miyata was promoted to CFO and treasurer. He had been serving as YTC’s treasurer for the last four years.

As a result, three YTC executives returned to Yokohama’s Japan headquarters: Takaharu Fushimi was named YRC general manager of tyre overseas sales and marketing department No. 1; Tadayoshi Hiraga was named general manager of tyre overseas technical service department; and Takeshi Masatomo assumed the new title of manager of passenger car and light truck tyres product planning department.

2nd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

US Trade Group to Visit Bridgestone HQ

The US state of Ohio is keen to let Bridgestone know that they are welcome in its part of the world. Lieutenant Governor of Ohio Lee Fisher is heading a delegation of almost 50 business and financial development leaders to Japan in order to foster relationships that will create new jobs and investment in the state.

The delegation’s itinerary includes a visit to the headquarters of the world’s largest tyre major. Bridgestone already has a strong presence in the city of Akron and adds much to the local economy. ”Anyone who is here already, we want to thank them for being here and assure them of the state’s commitment to them,” said Carin Rockind from Team NEO, one of the organisations participating in the visit. Rocksin added that if Bridgestone, or indeed any other company, is looking to expand their US presence, ”we want those new investments to come our way.”

10th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

S.drive OE for Beefed up Smart

Yokohama’s S.drive tyres have been approved by smart-Brabus GmbH as OE for the new “smart fortwo Brabus” – just as similar tyres have been used since 2002 on the model it replaces. The current tyres are the latest additions to Yokohama’s sport-oriented S.drive series, and are being supplied in 175/50R16 77T for the front and 225/35R17 86Y (reinforced) for the rear. The “smart fortwo Brabus” was developed by smart-BRABUS GmbH, a joint venture between DaimlerChrysler AG and leading German tuner Brabus GmbH, on the basis of the already unique “smart fortwo”. The Brabus version, with its brand-new 98hp/72kW turbo engine, is the high-end model and combines outstanding driving dynamics and low fuel consumption. It will be available in Europe, Australia and Japan as of October 2007.

Yokohama, who has been in a technical partnership with Brabus GmbH since 2005, states it is proud to have met the high technical standards required in the process of development with smart-Brabus GmbH. The new generation fine-tuned S.drive tyres for smart-Brabus offer outstanding kinetic performance and improved wet grip.

7th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Redline Completes Progetto Marangoni

After six months of hard work, this summer saw Redline complete is Progetto Marangoni project car. The magazine t translated readers’ ideas into “the coolest, meanest and quickest Toyota Yaris ever.” Back in Japan its designers could never have envisaged the transformation from a daily commuter car to a fire-breather.

Progetto Marangoni represents a unique first for the Italian tyre manufacturer and top tuning magazine Redline. Said Derek Carruthers, Marangoni (Car Tyre Division) Sales & Marketing Director: “We decided to adopt a totally new route to reach the young tuning market, which is such a feature of today’s motoring scene. Linking with Redline magazine whose target market this is, has proved to be a success that has surprised both Redline and ourselves. Such a unique media/tyre company partnership has caught everyone’s imagination. For Marangoni it is proving a fantastic opportunity to communicate our message to what is a new, demanding and highly influential market, while for Redline it dramatically shifts their highly regarded project car programme to a new and elevated platform.

4th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Donates to WWF Japan

(Akron/Tire Review) Yokohama Rubber Co. donated more than 1 million yen to the World Wild Fund for Nature Japan, an amount matching the total of admissions paid by visitors to LIVE ecoMOTION, a charity music event held on July 29 in Shibuya and contributions collected at the event.

Yokohama has been a corporate sponsor of WWF Japan since October 2006.

The Yokohama-sponsored LIVE ecoMOTION communicated the importance of preventing global warming, the company said, and attracted some 1,700 visitors.

30th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Opens First “Full-Scale” Engineering Centre in Asia

In a move that acknowledges the importance of Asian manufacturers to global vehicle production, Continental AG’s Automotive Systems Division has opened its first full-scale integrated engineering centre in the region. The facility, located in the Japanese city of Yokohama, has been established as part of the Continental Automotive Corporation (formerly known as Continental Teves Corporation) joint venture between Continental AG and brake assembly and component manufacturer Nisshinbo.

Upon the opening of the 11,000 square metre Continental Engineering Center, Continental Automotive Systems reiterated its commitment to Asia, stating that it aims to raise its commitment and investment in the Asia market to the “next level” following decades of successful operation and development in a region Conti says is seen to be “key for the future of the global automotive industry.” Indeed, the very reason for establishing the Engineering Center in Yokohama was to bring the company’s products and services even closer to Japanese and Korean OEMs.

The centre incorporates the company’s engineers and testing equipment from existing company facilities in Yokohama, Chiba, Hamamatsu, and Hiroshima. One of Conti’s first priorities following the establishment of the new centre is to expand the Automotive Systems business by focusing on Advanced Drivers Assistant Systems, its Hybrid and Electronics business, as well as its core business of Electronic and Hydraulic Brake Systems.

22nd August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New marketing director at Bridgestone UK

Bridgestone UK has made a new addition to its Warwick-based team after appointing Sam Enya as marketing director. Mr. Enya, 39, has been with Bridgestone since 1993, when he joined the company’s head office in Japan straight from college.

After spending 12 years working for the tyre major in its home country, progressing into a role looking after sales for the motorsport and aircraft tyre divisions, Enya transferred to the UK. Most recently, he has worked as a manager at Bridgestone Motorsport in Slough, handling the Formula One operation, but has now moved to Bridgestone UK’s Tachbrook Park head office to oversee the firm’s marketing strategy.

“Having worked for Bridgestone for 14 years, I’m looking forward to a new challenge within the company,” he said. “My aim is to ensure that Bridgestone continues to strengthen its position within the UK market.”

21st August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Begins Run-Flat Production in South Africa

Bridgestone’s wholly owned South African subsidiary Bridgestone South Africa has become the country’s first tyremaker to begin the commercial production of run-flat tyres. The tyres will be manufactured at the company’s Brits plant in South Africa’s North West Province, a facility that has received a R700 million (£48 million) expansion and upgrade over the previous five years.

The first OE deal for the new South African run-flats was officially approved by carmaker BMW in June. At this stage, however, Bridgestone South Africa chairman and CEO Yasuhiro Ito reports that BMW is the only manufacturer fitting run-flats to locally assembled cars, and Bridgestone is not involved in talks with any other OEM.

20th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors