LEGISLATION
Were you aware that between 1 November and 15 April operators of trucks driving in or through Austria risk a driving ban and a fine of up to 5,000 euros for not having M+S tyres on at least one drive axle? Or that studded tyres are permitted – albeit sometimes at a cost – during winter in Norway? Or that in Finland motorists may drive year-round on summer tyres, provided their vehicle is preceded by a husky wearing a hi-vis collar?
Bridgestone has developed what it calls a “next generation” compound for its Blizzak winter tyres designed to grip like a studded tyre. Called Tube Multicell, it contains thousands of microscopic tubular cells and “bite particles.” Together with other technologies, the Tube Multicell compound is applied in the new Blizzak WS70 in a bid to offer motorists superior handling in Nordic winter conditions.
A new Infinity range is scheduled for release later this year. The tyre maker has disclosed little about the asymmetric pattern high performance, UHP, 4×4 and van line-up, however Jorge Crespo, European general manager for Infinity Tyres, reports it will be unveiled to dealers at the Infinity Partners Day in Beijing, China at the start of May before its first public showing at June’s Reifen 2012 show in Germany.
Despite being the subject of widespread discussion both inside and outside the industry, the much debated MOT proposals are missing from the latest government plans issued as a result of the Road Transport Red Tape Challenge. The lack of further details updating the public and trade of what is happening with the consultation and proposed legislation had particularly annoyed trade bodies such as the IAAF.
Today trucks carry some three-quarters of all freight transported in Europe and road freight is projected to grow a further 60 per cent over the coming three decades. Yet all is not blue skies and smooth sailing within the sector; according to a report published by Goodyear Dunlop, as many as 15 per cent of European hauliers worry they may be out of business within eight years due to increasing environmental regulation unless substantial progress towards improving fleet fuel efficiency occurs. The 44-page document, titled ‘The Road to 2020’, was released in tandem with a fleet symposium the tyre maker staged in Brussels on 25 January.
UK vehicle tracking, telematics and systems integration, Isotrak has announced an open forum event at its Milton Keynes head office for LGV fleet operators. The event will be run as an open forum, chaired by Isotrak’s product manager, Jon Hannah, who will encourage an open discussion to provide operations and logistics personnel with the opportunity to gain insight into operational issues faced by similar organisations and to contribute actively to the agenda topics.
Brand representatives report that since its launch in 2005, Zeetex has developed a strong reputation for quality assurance, safety and compliance with environmental requirements, and holds an impressive range of certifications. However, manufacturing body ETRMA found at least one Zeetex branded tyre that was non-REACH compliant was found on the European market in March this year. However, speaking in a recent interview with Tyres & Accessories, the global product manager of Zeetex at Zafco, Zafar Jafri, explained explained the company’s perspective on this issue: “ETRMA found a so-called ‘dirty’ tyre. At that time we were running two production lines (one for international sales and one for Europe).” Explaining that the tyre question was certainly not intended for the European market, Jafri continued by pointing out that the mishandling that led to the aforementioned tyre’s arrival in the European Union could only have come as a result of the mishandling at the factory’s warehouse, similarly unintentional mishandling at Zafco’s distribution centre or via grey-imports.
One particular newcomer at last year’s Reifen China, was Anhui Daree Rubber Corporation Ltd. Eager to find out more about the largest of this year’s show debutants, Tyres & Accessories spoke to JoJo Zhao and Vicky Shaw of the company’s global trade department and Lydia Cheung from the Daree’s sales department.
Formed in June 2010, Daree Rubber is a subsidiary operation of the Daree petrochemical group Daree Enterprise Group owned by Bajie Hua and is located in SanShan District, Wuhu City, Anhui Province. Like many newcomers before it, the business has ambitious plans to produce millions of truck and bus radial tyres within two years of formation, followed by the addition of passenger car radials to the range later in 2012 – all under the snappy motto of “pursuit to be perfect.”
At the end of 2011 Rhineland became the first German federal state (after Baden-Württemberg in 2010) to carry out investigations into the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in motor vehicle tyres. The results were published on 12 December 2011. Two of the 19 tyres tested exceeded the limit and show that extender oils were used which do not meet the EU requirements. The offending types of tyres were reportedly removed from the market as a result of not meeting the legal requirements.
Recognising that the integration of the information required for next year’s tyre labelling legislation will be something of a challenge for tyre business, tyre and wheel data provider DriveRight has announced that it has formed EC1222.com. According to DriveRight, EC1222.com will run as an independent body providing “a seamless system to provide labels to all factions within the tyre retailing and manufacturing industry.”
The Westlake tyre brand is named after one of China’s most popular domestic tourist destinations and a 2011 addition to UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites – the freshwater West Lake in the centre of Hangzhou, the home town of its manufacturer Hangzhou Zhongce, located around 180km south-west of Shanghao. Shen Jin-Rong, Hangzhou Zhongce president and chairman, reflects with pride on the link between what is seen as a premier Chinese location and the tyre brand named after it: “Westlake is our tyre brand and also the best place in our city.” The Al Dobowi Group distributes the brand in several European territories through its Eskay Tyres subsidiary; the newly exclusive distributor of the brand in the UK was announced as Axle Group Holdings at the end of September – owner of the Viking International wholesale arm and the National Tyres & Autocare retail chain (see T&A October’s Wholesale feature and the Related News link below). Tyres & Accessories travelled to the town from Shanghai with representatives from the Al Dobowi Group to see the development of Hangzhou Zhongce’s manufacturing facilities, and to witness the growth in interaction between the manufacturer and European dealers of its Westlake brand.
Steve Fulford, chairman of The Parts Alliance says the last year has been a successful one for the parts distributor, with a new, expanded head office opening and continued growth in market share. While 2011 hasn’t exactly provided the sustained growth that one could have hoped for, Fulford says the aftermarket’s continued buoyancy, particularly in the first half of the year, and the trend he reports of more motorists turning to the services of independent garages for cost savings, the prospects for next year are good.
Car parts and garage consumables distributor CES (UK) says that it is working to help independent garages ready themselves for continuing developments in the market, focusing on new TPMS legislation. From November 2012, TPMS will be mandatory on all new vehicle platforms, legislation designed to improve vehicle safety and drive down emissions. Although there is still almost a year until TPMS becomes mandatory, there are already many vehicles in the car parc that use the technology. The company has also recently launched its 2012 catalogue, with 100 pages of consumables, tools and cleaning products that are typically used every day by technicians.
Following the European authorities’ announcement of the latest tyre labelling regulations, Continental has also given more freshly released details of the labelling legislation, breaking them down into a more digestible form. As far as the wet braking category is concerned, vehicles with tyres in Class A stop are set to stop in the shortest distance from 50mph, whilst vehicles with tyres from Class B will take 3-6 metres longer. This trend continues for the subsequent values and results in a braking difference of over 18 metres from a vehicle in Class A to Class F.
Following the publication of Tyres & Accessories’ report on the recent NTDA Tyre Wholesalers Group annual lunch, ETRMA secretary general Fazilet Cinaralp has written an open letter stating her association’s surprise at the issues raised in TWG chairman Ashley Croft’s keynote speech. During the speech, Croft referred to testing, lobbying and the relative importance of the implementation of current tread depth legislation. As our coverage explains, no-one was available to attend the event on behalf of the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers association, so here is the association’s response in full:
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