LEGISLATION
Very few people have heard of EoPlex, but this startup company in Redwood city USA hopes to make their mark on the tyre world.
The company have come up with a way of ‘printing’ three-dimensional metal and ceramic objects. The process involves a special ink and ultraviolet light. The exact ingredients of the ink used remains a closely guarded secret, but the EoPlex technique enables the manufacture of items far too small to be made by conventional means.
Pneumatics Components Ltd (PCL) has generated a fair amount of global interest at the SEMA show, particularly from US companies. The Sheffield based designer, manufacturer and marketer of tyre inflation technology has benefited from an increased awareness of the importance in terms of safety and economic benefits of guaranteeing the accuracy of air pressure delivered to tyres.
On 1 January the End of Life Vehicles Directive (ELV) took effect, forcing car manufacturers to pick up the cost of scrapping unwanted cars. As a result of the new law car firms have had to sign agreements with two service providers, Autogreen and Cartakeback, which have set up a network of authorised disposal facilities for the ELVs designed to meet approved environmental standards.
In the US a 33-member task force comprised of tyre manufacturers, automotive industry officials, independent experts and government have given their endorsement to a proposal to test the durability of aging tyres. This test, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) hopes to implement in 2007, will most likely involve placing tyres in a high oxygen environment and subjecting them to temperatures of up to 66° Celsius (150 degrees Fahrenheit) for periods of 8 or 10 weeks.
From January 2007 the Tyre Industry Council (TIC) will be known as TyreSafe. It also aims to raise its profile and will become a more proactively consumer-facing organisation. The news follows decisions from TIC director Peter Taylor and chairman, Brian Smith, to step down at the end of 2006. According to a statement released by the organisation, TyreSafe will “address the challenges facing the tyre industry and in particular the issues of corporate responsibility and duty of care legislation as they relate to tyres and their use.”
The Automotive Distribution Federation (ADF) has urged the entire automotive aftermarket industry to support the Kitemark for Garage Services. In a stark message to the ADF’s membership of leading aftermarket suppliers and distributors at the organisation’s Annual Dinner, President Alan Seal warned against the possible threat of government legislation facing garages, favouring the BSI‘s Kitemark for Garage Services as the only route for effective self-regulation.
From January 2007 the Tyre Industry Council (TIC) will be known as TyreSafe, will raise its profile and will become a more proactively consumer-facing organisation. The news follows decisions from TIC director Peter Taylor and chairman, Brian Smith, to step down at the end of 2006.
TyreSafe has already received support and funding from influential companies including: ATS Euromaster, Continental Tyres, Cooper Tyres, Goodyear Dunlop, Hi-Q, Just Tyres, Kumho Tyres, Michelin, National Tyres & Autocare, Pirelli, Stapletons and Viking International. The organisation is also in talks with other well-known manufacturers, not to mention logistics and leasing companies.
The reuse of scrap tyres is steadily increasing in the US according to figures released by the Rubber Manufacturers Association. A report released by the RMA indicated that almost eighty seven per cent of tyres disposed of each year are given a new use, compared to eleven per cent in 1990.
This high proportion of re-use means that tyre stockpiles are dwindling. Sixteen years ago the US faced the environmental problem of having more than a billion stockpiled scrap tyres on it hands, however today this figure is now down to 188 million, an eighty per cent drop.
In the last month the subject of metrification has caused something of stir. But if the reports that such a blanket conversion would cost billions are true, it is easy to see why. The furore all boils down to a new proposed EU directive designed to standardise all measurements to the metric system – and in so doing literally decimate inches. EU directive 80/181 also seeks to do away with the kind of imperial/metric dual markings that are currently commonplace with supermarket weights and alcoholic drink quantities for example. According to reports, the threatened legislation aiming to ban all non-metric measurements is scheduled for introduction in 2010 – only three years away.
(Akron/Tire Review) The United Steelworkers union has attacked a report by Himansho Patel, an analyst with JP Morgan Securities, which suggests a key date in the union’s current strike against Goodyear could be 3 January – the date plant worker medical benefit coverage lapses. USW International Vice President Tom Conway sharply criticized the report. “The facts are that the real cut-off date is in mid-April,” Conway Stated in a press release issued 29 November “COBRA legislation gives you 60 days to make a decision to continue (your health care coverage) and another 45 days before you have to make a payment.” However, workers electing to continue medical coverage under COBRA are still liable for those premiums.
A report by the HM Treasury, recommending major changes in the frequency of MOTs, has been labelled a “naive view of the contribution MOT’s make to safety on our roads” by the NTDA. “We have been aware for some time that the Treasury have been reviewing the current MOT regime in the UK,” commented NTDA director Richard Edy, adding: “These initial findings, that motorists would save £465million if the tests were done after the first four years and then every two years, takes no account of the importance of regular vehicle testing plays in reducing accidents on our roads.”
Industry research shows vehicle manufacturers’ dealer networks are losing share of the lucrative new car service and repair market to independent garages. The Trend Tracker report on the UK car service and repair market shows that franchised dealers’ traditional near-monopoly of servicing and repairs of cars under manufacturer’s warranty is declining. In 2002, the European Commission introduced legislation to make the car service and repair market more competitive by opening up the market to independent garages and the research shows that car dealers’ share of the lucrative service and repair market for cars under four years old has fallen from 67 per cent of all services and repairs in 2003/04, to 65 per cent in 2005/06.
Earlier in the year, the European tyre and rubber industry formed the ETRMA as a successor to BLIC. The idea was to update the way that this industry association was organised and position it to inform the European legislature on subjects relating to tyre and rubber manufacture. Following the completion of this changeover, Tyres & Accessories interviewed ETRMA secretary general, Fazilet Cinaralp and got a clearer picture of the role and function of the organisation.
Exide Technologies has introduced a new scheme which goes by the name of SCRAPS (Scrap Collection, Recycling and Protection Scheme) and which is designed to offer a hassle-free collection, disposal and recycling service at an affordable price. The scheme not only aims to ensure the safe disposal of waste batteries, but also safeguards customers against legal action.
The BSI has landed itself in hot water with the OFT by claiming the Office of Fair Trading will begin closing down garages from January for inadequate repairs. The OFT was responding to a media statement issued by BSI and headed “OFT warns garages can be shut down from January 2007”. It said that the organisation will begin inspections “with a view to taking prompt action and enforcing legislation on the industry when the NCC’s supercomplaint happens in 2007”.
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