LEGISLATION
Compared with producing a new tyre, retreading saves up to 30 per cent in energy and 70 per cent in raw materials. Retreading also lowers overall cost per kilometre, but despite these benefits the European retreading market has been hampered by a scarcity of the industry’s main raw material – good quality, retreadable casings – and by the availability of new imported tyres whose casing quality is not sufficient for retreading.
VWE (a provider of VRM license plate search technology in the Netherlands and also a reseller of DriveRight products) has produced a case study demonstrating usage of Drive Right tyre and wheel data. VWE has linked the data from DriveRight directly with the Dutch number plate register. This allows customers to get the correct combination of wheels and tyres for their vehicle by using their number plate in the website search, where the VWE solution is available. Profile Tyrecenter from the Netherlands has become the first company to use this database and, in the company’s own words, take a step ahead of their competitors.
The results of a fleet survey carried out for Goodyear in June and July show that 81 per cent of all fleet operators are aware of the EU tyre label. According to the MV2 Conseil survey of approximately 500 fleet managers in France, Italy, Germany, Poland and Spain, 55 per cent know the details of the tyre label legislation and a further 26 per cent are aware of it but recognise a need to learn more. Only 19 per cent of fleet managers responded that they’d never heard of the EU tyre label.
US retreading association the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau is partnering with the Retread Manufacturers Association to offer a ‘Retread Workshop Practice’ course in the UK, commencing in September 2013. The correspondence based course includes two ‘mock’ exams to monitor progress during the periods of study, extending from September 2013 to May 2014, and a final exam, which can be taken at a local university or technical college.
It hasn’t been a good month for global transport’s PR. A runaway train in Canada, followed by a train crash in Spain, a bus crash in Italy and the recent head-on railway collision in Switzerland tragically broke decades long fatality records in each area. Of course mass transport in the developed world has never been safer and incidents like this are thankfully rare. And despite the innate Gestaltist tendency to draw a correlation between the random international happenings, there isn’t one. But that doesn’t stop us being all the more aware of such incidents. Just like when you buy a new car and suddenly realize how many of that make, model and colour suddenly appear despite having been on the roads all along. With this in mind, one of the three incidents that has recently caught public attention stood out particularly clearly for this tyre journalist – the Italian bus crash. Before the investigation was even carried out, my mind was drawn back to another coach crash in the UK. While it is just speculation to suggest that aging was a factor in both cases and there is in fact no clear link between them, one couldn’t help but wonder if it was another case of apparent age-related tyre failure.
For a decade or more the case has been made for the development of winter tyre market in the UK. While there have always been residual levels of winter tyre take-up in the most northerly and mountainous parts of Britain, in the past 10 years or so tyre manufacturers have invested considerable time, effort and resources in making it a relatively normal part of the UK tyre culture. In recent years there has been development in the winter tyre market and it seems clear that this has far from peaked. However, at the same time there is now evidence that sales of all-season tyres have matched and overtaken these. With all this in mind Tyres & Accessories spoke with representatives of Bridgestone, Falken and Hankook and asked what is the right tool for the job in the UK? And is the UK becoming an all-season tyre market?
Cooper Tire Europe describes its seasonal offering as “a focused list of improved winter tyres which provides a better offering for both trade and consumer as soon as the temperature drops”. The range encompasses fitments for all types of cars and 4x4s.
Motor Wheel Service Distribution has welcomed news that the European Parliament (EP) has voted to support the testing of commercial vehicle wheels fitted onto non-standard axles as part of the EU Roadworthiness Package. The measure has also received the endorsement of the Department for Transport (DfT) in MWSD’s home UK market. The company, distributor of Wheels India’s xlite wheel range, has campaigned for many years to achieve greater recognition for the dangers associated with what it believes to be unsuitable wheel safety check requirements. Managing director John Ellis has lobbied for more stringent checks to be carried out on wheels, first to guard the distribution chain against potentially faulty take-off wheels, and latterly to catch signs of premature fatigue and damage for wheels fitted to incompatibly shaped hubs. Ellis presented expert testimony to the EP’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN), and this was raised as an amendment by Transport Committee chair and North West MEP, Brian Simpson following the initial report in March. As a result the compatibility of wheels and the hubs on which they are mounted has been included within new TRAN legislation.
Having launched its initial collection of winter tyres into the European market just over a year ago, Firenza has added a couple of new patterns to a winter range it calls “competitive”. The Firenza Nu Ice NTS-01 and XT-01 patterns enjoyed a successful introduction into the 2012-2013 winter season.
At the end of June, Kraiburg Austria held its inaugural “Retreading summit” in the village of Leogang. Some 70 guests from eight European countries and from Russia participated in the event, which was devoted to the most pressing current subjects of interest within the retreading sector. These included the repercussions of advances related to truck tread design patents and what this means for Kraiburg’s own in-house tread development. A second emphasis was presented by Hans-Jürgen Drechsler from the German tyre trade association (BRV) and Christoph Priewasser, product manager at Kraiburg Austria, about the latest interim results from the BIPAVER “Re-Tyre” project and Kraiburg’s parallel undertaken “tyre labeling” project.
The voting process for the 2013 NTDA Tyre & Fast Fit Awards has already begun and ends on 27th September. The big difference this year is that voting is only via the NTDA website (ntda.co.uk/TAFF) and not by post, as in previous years. For the second year running, the TAFF Awards are sponsored by speciality chemicals company Lanxess.
Great news for lovers of grey skies and indifferent temperatures! Some experts opine that the overly wet summer we’re having may be the pattern for the coming decade. The Met Office put forward this scenario after a new weather pattern was identified in the North Atlantic, and the prospect of ten more years of wet summer weather has prompted TyreSafe to advise motorists that adequate tyre tread depth is more important than ever.
Michelin’s head of Fleet, Dave Crinson, is issuing a warning to drivers against becoming complacent with tyre pressure following the introduction of Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems. TPMS became mandatory on all newly homologated cars in November 2012, and while Michelin welcomes the new European legislation concerning the device, which has been introduced to improve road safety and reduce CO2 emissions by alerting drivers when pressures fall below a certain level (typically 20 per cent under-inflated), Crinson is keen to highlight that TPMS is not an alternative to regular tyre checks.
While Cooper's announcement on Monday that it is to "reintroduce" the Discoverer CTS 4×4 tyre to European markets as part of its product strategy makes sense given the recent development of this segment towards high performance tyres designed for 100 per cent road use. It also posed a few questions about the tyre's history, and whether European drivers should expect different characteristics from markets around the world in which the tyre has been continuously available. Tyrepress.com asked Cooper for a few more details on the newly reintroduced CTS.
Wholesaler RH Claydon exhibited a number of exclusive brands, including the new Basoon range. John Parker, business development and purchasing director, showed a sample selection of the range, attracting a lot of attention, especially from visitors looking for a value for money TBR product. “The Basoon range is expertly manufactured in China under the direction of SD-International implementing innovative European design engineering techniques with all tyres being rigorously tested and approved for all quality control legislation. The range consists of ten pattern options covering all truck and trailer applications.”
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