LEGISLATION
The important subject of the role tyres will play in meeting the demands of ever more environmentally oriented hi-tech vehicles was addressed by Michelin at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. During a press conference on January 12, Dr. Patrick Oliva, the Michelin Group’s global vice president for Sustainable Development, shared the tyre major’s view of the tyre’s place within the future of automotive transportation.
Tire Technology Expo is set to celebrate its tenth anniversary this February, and the show’s organiser is confident the more than 130 exhibitors in attendance will deliver an outstanding tyre manufacturing and technology exhibition alongside what it says is “undoubtedly the best conference” in the event’s decade-long history. The conference will be opened by Franco Annunziato, vice-president of Bridgestone Europe, and speakers include Bridgestone’s Rudi Hein plus many other high-level experts from the major tyre manufacturers and suppliers. The Cologne, Germany show will also feature the established Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence, which will be announced at the event’s Gala Dinner on February 10, 2010.
At the end of December, ETRMA published details of a set of exposure scenarios covering the use of chemicals in the rubber industry in order to support European rubber chemicals manufacturers and importers that operate within the framework REACH legislation. The latest REACH legislation took effect on 1 January 2010.
Following the closure of a share swap agreement between Slovak Republic based CBp Carbon Industries, Inc and US company Carbon Green Inc. (formerly known as Neema Inc.), both companies will effectively hold an ownership stake in CBp Carbon subsidiary Greenwood Commerce Ltd, who now holds the worldwide exclusive ownership rights to a proprietary technology that allegedly enables the by-products of tyre pyrolysis to be converted into recovered steel, a diesel equivalent oil that can be employed to generate green electricity in many countries, a nano-particle compound said to be a tyre industry-tested and accepted competitive substitute for commercial carbon black, and a clean-burning gas Greenwood will use to power its processing plants.
The Secretary of State for Transport, Lord Adonis, has confirmed in Parliament that the EU tyre noise regulation (Regulation EC No 661/2009) has direct legal force and consequently does not require transposition into UK law. In response to a question from Liberal Democrat peer Lord Dykes as to what steps the Government plans in order to reduce vehicle tyre noise following the recent EU decision, Lord Adonis stated that it would implement enforcement powers and penalty provisions to ensure the regulation’s requirements can be adequately enforced in the UK.
In what Tyre Wholesalers Group chair, Ashley Croft called, “a clear challenge to the tyre industry”, Jim Rickard – managing director of Michelin Tyre plc – called on the members of the TWG to match the “sophistication…of the manufacturers within the whole supply chain”. Speaking at the Group’s Annual Lunch in Droitwich Spa, Rickard expressed uncertainty about the way information about tyres is transmitted to customers: “I’m not sure the message about performance characteristics gets through at the point of sale.” He argued that new legislation – exemplified by forthcoming tyre labelling laws governing noise, wet grip etc – was making visible to the consumer proof of a tyre’s superior characteristics over rival brands, thus allowing components of the supply chain to justify to customers the relative cost of one product to another.
In the New Year Kwik-Fit Fleet is expanding its range of services with launch of its Vehicle Health Checks – a service it says will help companies comply with duty of care legislation. Specifically, Kwik-Fit Fleet says the checks are being launched to meet fleet customer demand to help them with their occupational road risk management compliance obligations under health and safety legislation. The company is already operating a pilot scheme with two fleet customers ahead of the planned January 2010 roll out of the service for both outright purchase fleets and contract hire and leasing companies.
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UK and Irish truck and coach operators driving on Continental roads this winter can benefit from a new guide Continental Tyres has released. The guide outlining the various tyre requirements they can expect to encounter in Europe has been updated for the 2009/2010 winter season and can be downloaded free from Conti’s UK website.
The European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers’ Association and its twelve leading tyre corporate members have “welcomed” the objectives of the mandatory tyre performance information requirement voted upon by the European Parliament yesterday. Noting the braking performance and fuel efficiency aspects covered by the upcoming tyre labelling, ETRMA says it is “happy that these aspects are fully reflected in the regulation”. The organisation adds that expected fuel savings from the increased use of fuel-efficient tyres will lead to saving an estimated 20 million tonnes of CO2 per year and 10 billion euros of fuel per year.
On November 25 the European Parliament approved the draft regulation on tyre labelling without a vote. This means that, come November 1, 2012, light and heavy duty vehicle tyres (C1, C2 and C3 tyres) will have to be supplied with information that informs consumers about fuel efficiency, wet grip and noise classes in any technical promotional material, including websites. Retreaded tyres, off-road professional tyres and racing tyres will be exempt from this requirement.
On November 23 the European Parliament’s Industry Committee unanimously backed a compromise draft of the tyre labelling regulation agreed by Members of the European Parliament and Council Presidency negotiators in early October. The committee vote is the last step before the plenary vote, scheduled for November 25.
Mytyres.co.uk – the UK part of Europe’s largest online tyre retailing group Delticom AG – is warning the increasing number of motorists considering part worn tyres that this is an example of false economy and a potentially dangerous decision. Whilst it is difficult to establish the number of part-worn tyres on sale in the UK, research suggests that the number of tyre retailers looking to supply this type of tyre because of the current economic climate is increasing. Tyres & Accessories’ best estimate for the size of this market puts the figure at up to 2 million units.
Government has committed to create an Automotive Council to strengthen engagement with industry and set a long-term plan for its development. This follows its endorsements of the New Automotive Innovation and Growth Team's (NAIGT) recommendations on the development of the sector over the next 20 years. NAIGT, consisting of a cross-industry group of senior executives, produced the report earlier this year setting out a framework for industry development to ensure it maximises the opportunities presented by the transition to a low carbon agenda, and to promote the UK as a key player in a global industry.
An innovation on the day of the NTDA's recent Annual Dinner was a "Question Time"-style seminar, in which a panel drawn from all sectors of the tyre industry answered questions from the floor. Here’s our synopsis of questions, answers and comments from the delegates. The event was sponsored by the Tyre Industry Federation and it attracted an audience of more than 30. TIF chairman Peter Gaster chaired the panel and the other members were: Alan Baldwin, Micheldever Tyre Services; Mark Brickhill, Goodyear Dunlop Tyres; Derek McMartin, Maxxis UK; Patrick O'Connell, Bandvulc Group; Noel Pope, Merityre Specialists and Tim Stott, Sapphire Energy Recovery. Thus, between them, the panel covered all segments of the tyre business, from manufacturing and importing tyres, to wholesaling, retailing, retreading and scrap tyre disposal. Here's a summary of what was said:
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