Tyre industry pioneers, Michelin has a long history. Having begun in 1889, Michelin is now the second-largest tyre manufacturer in the world after Bridgestone and larger than both Goodyear and Contineantal.
Michelin has launched the replacement to its XFN+ steer axle truck tyre. Called the XFN2+, in its 315/80 R 22.5 guise the new arrival is said to offer up to 10 per cent more grip than its predecessor, prompting the French tyre major to comment that a ‘new level of safety’ has been reached by its new product.
Michelin’s participation in the 2008 MotoGP championship looks assured following reports of Yamaha’s decision to not change the brand of rubber used by Valentino Rossi. The move confirms what Michelin motorsport director, Frédéric Henry-Biabaud, told Tyres & Accessories during an exclusive interview at the weekend.
When asked whether Michelin was planning to walk away from MotoGP, Henry-Biabaud flatly denied reports of this nature. On the contrary, he explained, Michelin is committed to providing a top quality service to its teams in this series, and has actually gone as far as diverting resources from its former Formula One budget into making the very best two-wheel competition tyres.
Advanced ID Corporation has signed an exclusive, three year commitment contract with Malaysia’s Kit Loong Tyre Management for Advanced ID’s RFID and Pneu-Logic’s Tire Inspection products.
Kit Loong Holdings, one of Southeast Asia’s largest retreaders and tyre distributors works with Goodyear, Dunlop, Michelin, Bridgestone, BF Goodrich, Pirelli, Continental Sime and Cooper. With over 500 employees and revenues exceeding US $40 million, Kit Loong has retreading facilities in Malaysia and China and will install Advanced ID’s RFID tyre tags in their retread operation in Malaysia, with other countries to follow. Kit Loong will purchase Advanced ID RFID readers and Pneu-Logic kits as part of this agreement.
Kit Loong’s territory, covered by this agreement, includes Greater China, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myammar.
Michelin and Bridgestone are the dominant online tyre brands, according to the latest research. The report, exclusively published in Tyres & Accessories for the last three years, was conducted by Cambridge-based online brand monitoring specialists, Envisional and found that Pirelli was the biggest faller in its unique online brand ranking exercise.
The analysis shows that the Michelin brand, as observed in previous years, continues to stand well clear of its rivals. Envisional found that this brand achieves the greatest degree of “online prominence” by a significant margin, though this lead has narrowed again since 2006. The top six most prominent brands are the same as those observed in 2005 and 2006 and there is still a sharp drop between the six leaders and the chasing pack.
Europe has overwhelmingly cast its vote in favour of the tyre brand it regards as the safest and most durable, Michelin, putting the company miles ahead of the competition. The French tyre supplier emerged as Europe’s preference during a recent survey of consumer perceptions of chassis technologies conducted by Frost & Sullivan. Its dominance in Europe’s tyre market saw Michelin roll away with the 2007 Frost & Sullivan Customer Choice Award for Brand Offering in the categories of “safe and durable tyres” and “best overall tyre brand” in Europe.
Michelin was selected as the recipient of Frost & Sullivan’s prestigious award based on a recent study entitled, “Customer Attitudes and Perceptions Towards Driving Dynamics” covering over 2,000 respondents across five regions (France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom) and all vehicle segments (A&B, C, D&E, SUV and MPV).
Michelin ranks highest in customer satisfaction among original equipment (OE) tyre manufacturers in all four segments examined, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study. Bridgestone was rated average or below average in every survey, coming last in the sport/luxury research where Bridgestone may have expected to have been strongest.
The study measures overall customer satisfaction with their original equipment tyres in four segments: luxury/sport; mass-market/non-luxury; pickup/full-size van; and SUV. Within each segment, five key factors are examined to measure customer satisfaction. They are: wearability, appearance, traction, ride and handling. Rankings are based on owner experiences with their tyres during the first year of ownership.
Michelin ranks highest and well above the industry average in each segment and performs particularly well in all segments on all five factors. Additionally, the 2007 study marks the fourth consecutive time Michelin ranks highest in the luxury sport and SUV segments, and the third consecutive time within the pickup/full-size van segment.
Petron, the Phillipine’s leading oil firm, has partnered with Michelin to offer consumers free fuel when tyres are purchases. From 1 August to 31 October 2007, Michelin tyre buyers will receive up to P1,000 (£10.44) worth of free Petron fuel gift certificates when they purchase Michelin tyres at participating dealers nationwide. A consumer buying a set of four tyres size 15-inches and above will be issued with P1,000 worth of Petron vouchers; while four 13 to 14 inches tyres gets P500 worth of vouchers; two tyres 15-inches and over also gets P500 worth of free fuel.
According to Riz Dalangin, Michelin country manager for the Philippines: “As a premium brand, Michelin chose to partner with Petron in this promotional activity as we would like to be able to offer greater value to Filipino consumers. Petron’s market leadership signifies that it is the preferred fuel of the majority of motorists nationwide, and we know our buyers will appreciate the complimentary fuel certificates from Petron.”
TM Logistics Ltd is conducting an “extensive” tyre trial across its newly delivered fleet of 10 tractor units. The test will be carried out using 10 identical Euro 4 MAN TGA tractors operating at 44 tonnes; five specified with Michelin ‘E’ segment regional tyres (XZE2+ / XDE2+) and five with low rolling resistance Michelin Energy ‘A’ segment tyres (XZA2 / XDA2), as part of an ongoing equipment utilisation programme for the company’s mixed MAN and Scania fleet.
The company operates approximately 170 commercial vehicles, ranging from 7.5 tonne rigids to 44 tonne tractor units, as well as a fleet of 300 trailers. “As a company, we are constantly looking at ways of reducing our carbon footprint and with vehicles averaging 100,000 miles a year, the biggest challenge is to increase the fuel saving potential of each vehicle,” explains Adam Purshall, Head of Engineering and Compliance at TML.
(Akron/Tire Review) Our industry – at home and abroad – has been building tires for more than a century. Along the way, we allowed ourselves to be fooled every once in a while by ‘technology’ that really didn’t live up to its billing. One example is the single-ply tire promoted as being as strong as a two-ply tire.
Great progress has been made, both in technology and in marketing. Let there be no doubt about the safety advances built into today’s tyres compared to those built in 1908. And, yes, there have been some stinkers along the way, but by and large, this industry has led the world in packing more performance and safety into one single product than any other.
If anything remains unchanged, it continues to be our penchant for putting an acronym or label on everything, the latest being the so-called “global tyre,” which doesn’t sound half as meaningful as the phrase it replaced – “world-class tyre.”
The Chairman of Dunlop Nigeria Jabez Lawuyi chose the company’s September 4 Annual General Meeting as the occasion to announce that the country’s chronically unreliable energy supply has reduced the tyremaker’s production and sales capacity by 20 per cent during the first half of 2007.
Nigeria’s unreliable electricity supply prompted Dunlop Nigeria to set up the means to operate using natural gas power several years ago. However, Mr. Lawuyi reported that this alternate source of power has proven to be no more reliable. “The supply of electricity has remained epileptic while that of gas has deteriorated significantly that together has led to a 20 per cent loss in the volume of production and sales of tyres in the first half of the year,” Lawuyi said.
Mr. Lawuyi also used the AGM as a platform to hit out at tyre importers, whom he accused of manipulating import tariffs in order to flood the local market with “substandard and under-priced tyres,” a practice he believes contributed to the closure of Michelin’s Nigerian operations in January. It was also his duty to inform shareholders than the company has achieved an annual turnover of N5 billion (£20 million) and a pre-tax loss of N370 million (£1.5 million).
At the upcoming Frankfurt show Citroen will display a concept car with a strong all-round environmental flavour. The vehicle is intended to demonstrate that cars needn’t be complex, expensive or ecologically wasteful to produce, and even the tyres get the green stamp of approval.
The rubber featured on the Citroen C-Cactus, a car based upon the C-4, is recycled. Produced by Michelin, the low-profile 21-inch tyres are not only environmentally friendly in terms of their use of recycled materials – they also provide low rolling resistance, a quality that leads to lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
The non-tyre parts of the C-Cactus have also been given the treatment. Power is provided by a diesel-electric hybrid unit consisting of a 70bhp diesel engine and a 30bhp electric motor, which combined deliver an exceedingly frugal 83mpg and carbon dioxide emissions of just 78g/km. The car’s top speed of 93mph may be sniffed at by some yet it is sufficient to earn a speeding ticket on any UK road or motorway, and for low speed city driving an electric only mode provides zero emission running.
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Michelin may bow out of MotoGP racing at the end of the current season if the Honda and Yamaha factory teams switch to Bridgestone for 2008, reports Eurosport.
After ruling the roost for a number of years, the 2007 season has seen Michelin’s fortunes decline, with Bridgestone shod rider Casey Stoner securing eight victories in contrast to Michelin’s four. Both Yamaha and Repsol Honda’s tyre contracts are due for renewal at the end of this year, and to date neither party has offered any firm indication that they intend to re-sign with Michelin.
Should Michelin not retain its factory teams, it may choose to end its relationship with the championship. “If we don’t have any factory teams I don’t think we’ll stay. Or we won’t have a really good reason to continue the development,” Jean Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing, told Eurosport. “If our partners don’t trust in our potential then maybe we don’t have to stay.”
Drinking and driving may not be a sensible combination but pubs and tyre manufacturers seem to go well together. Michelin has launched the 2008 edition of its Eating Out in Pubs guide. Priced at £14.99, this year’s guide includes 564 of the best pubs serving good food in the UK and Ireland – and of these, 76 are new additions.
The guide is divided into counties and regions and each is preceded by a brief overview of that area followed by a map showing the location of each pub. Every pub has a full-page entry with a colour picture and descriptive text giving an insight into its character. Other essential information includes opening times, directions, prices, typical dishes and the beer they serve.
All the pubs in the guide have been selected for the quality of their cooking. However, a number of them deserve a special mention as they boast at least one extra quality that makes them particularly special. This could be the delightful setting, the charm and character, the excellent service, the overall value for money offered or the exceptional cooking. To distinguish these pubs we highlight them with our ‘we most liked’ Bibendum stamp.
Passenger tyre demand increased by 7 per cent in Europe and by 9 per cent in North America, mostly driven by OE demand of +11 per cent and +21 per cent respectively. According to a Deutsche Bank report, July truck tyre demand remained strong in Europe, growing 9 per cent (a positive trend confirmed by truck OEMs who are trying to secure tyre deliveries for 2008) and in Brazil, where volumes rocketed 23 per cent. However, truck tyre demand remains extremely weak in North America (down 13 per cent). According to the analysts this was driven by the very weak OE – down 36 per cent – manufacturers had expected. However, overall July was reportedly a strong month especially for European companies.
According to a new report released by Standard & Poor’s, global tyre manufacturers may actually feel more pressure on margins and cash flow as the prices of raw materials decline. The financial and investment specialist added that the industry could suffer if manufacturers take lower costs as a signal to reduce prices in order to gain market share. The reduced income and cash flow from such a price war would in all likelihood more than cancel out the benefits of lower material costs.
“This is because pricing discipline in the industry may fade if tyre makers start reducing prices on the back of lower input costs in the expectation of gaining market share,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Werner Staeblein. “Therefore, declining raw-material prices could spark more price competition in the industry with likely more negative effects on earnings and cash flow generation than the positive effect from lower input prices.”
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