As part of Heuver Tyrewholesale’s plan to create country-specific sales teams, the Netherlands-based wholesaler has hired Marjolein Dangremond as sales representative for its earthmover tyres business. Dangremond began in her new role on 1 April and will be the ‘right hand woman’ of manager Bert van ´t Holt. Her focus will be on international markets, particularly French-speaking ones.
Following the news that Yokohama established a Mexican subsidiary, Yokohama Tire Mexico S. de R.L., local news reports suggest the tyre manufacturer is planning to use this company to build a passenger car tyre production plant in Silao, Guanajuato, Mexico. According to El Economista newspaper, the plan is for the plant to provide tyres to Honda and Mazda auto plants in the region, as well as for the North American replacement market.
The proposed four year contract for three of Titan International’s factories in the US has been accepted in votes held by the United Steelworkers union. Union members at the company’s Des Moines, Iowa, Freeport, Illinois and Bryan, Ohio plants voted in favour of an agreement that the USW says offers workers “wage and benefit improvements and a variety of contract language enhancements, most notably around the issue of forced overtime.”
It may not be ‘basta’ for Bridgestone in Bari, after all. An Italian-language text published by Italy’s Ministry of Economic Development suggests that Bridgestone’s decision to close its Bari plant in Italy has not been finalised, and the tyre maker may be prepared to entertain alternative solutions. The Ministry’s statement follows a meeting between senior Bridgestone executives and representatives from Italy’s government, including Economic Development minister Corrado Passera, plus a second meeting that also involved trade unions and local officials. Further discussions will be held in the near future.
Italian family-run business Salvadori SRL, which was established in the 1980s, reports a growing global demand from customers. In order to satisfy this, and to combine its retreading and tyre recycling activities in the one location, the firm recently moved to new, larger headquarters and warehouse buildings. Furthermore, Salvadori has announced details of its investment in two brand new production projects, both of which are expected to boost the company’s competitiveness and the quality of its product/service portfolio. The stated primary aim of this investment is to offer customers retreading and tyre repair accessories that are both competitively-priced and, through the application of production and quality controls, products that the customer can rely upon.
Hankook Tire has been awarded two iF Design Awards for its Ventus S1 evo2 Motion Graphic Brochure and Eco Motion Graphic Brochure animated product films. Both have both been awarded the 2013 iF Design Award in the ‘communication’ category. This marks the third time that Hankook has received the internationally recognised design award; the tyre maker also gained this distinction in 2009 and 2011.
The fact that Matteuzzi Srl has always been focused on international markets means that the company has no fear of the current financial crisis. While many Italian companies have pursued internationalisation in recent years as a lifeline out of the difficulties of the internal and European markets, Matteuzzi has been working this way since the early 1970s, making it a key part of its business. Today, with communications even easier thanks to the internet, the Bologna-based company exports 95 per cent of its production and offers customers an English-language website.
Bridgestone has expanded its new motorcycle tyre website across Europe with the addition of six new country versions and eight new languages. The site was launched in June 2012 in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish, with content adapted to Europe’s five largest markets. As of 1 December the site has been available in a total of 13 languages, with Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese and Swedish added to the initial five languages. At the same time, specific product-related country versions have been added for Austria, Belgium, Switzerland and Ireland.
The China Rubber Industry Association says Michelin is assisting it in formulating the provisions of a new tyre label for China. A news release on the CRIA’s Chinese language website reports the French tyre maker is contributing its experience of European labeling to the project.
Goodyear Dunlop brand Sava wants to raise its profile with 18 to 34 year old drivers. To help achieve this aim, US comedians Kenny Santucci und Ben Rameaka have been engaged as Sava brand ambassadors. It is hoped the pair will add weight to the newly-launched brand claim that “Sava drivers have more fun.”
Balancing weight specialist Hofmann Power Weight has unleashed its new website. The site, now up and running in both English and German language variants at www.hofmann-powerweight.de, is said to provide everything that the site visitor needs to know on the subject of wheel balancing and the Hofmann brand.
During an interview with a Brazilian publication, Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery expressed his frustration at the lack of cooperation Formula One teams have provided the tyre maker. Hembery told TotalRace that the small operating window of this season’s tyres could have been avoided had the teams agreed to give Pirelli use of a current race vehicle for testing.
In a move that recognises Spanish’s status as the second most widely spoken language in the United States, Goodyear Tire & Rubber has introduced a Spanish language website targeted at North American consumers. Through this site, Goodyear hopes to “provide better appeal to a growing Hispanic tyre-buying population.”
Bridgestone has announced an overhaul of its consumer focused point of sale material. The action comes following an “extensive review of all collateral”, Bridgestone said. The manufacturer has also formed an independent focus group of drivers, who Bridgestone says have “helped shape the new look and feel as well as content”. The new product posters and leaflets are designed to “position the product with the relevant audience” instantly, with “a plain English explanation of what the main features of the product are, closing with bullet points summarising the main benefits,” Bridgestone states
After studying 2,000 drivers, Continental Tyres drew the conclusion that half of all motorists no longer enjoy driving – and a key reason for this lack of love is the threat of road rage. The study also revealed that around 15 per cent of those surveyed – a number representing five million motorists – have got out of their car to confront another driver.
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