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 Retread Technologies has announced that it is adding a new press at its Covington, Georgia facility in the US, Trucking News has reported. The new MRT press is designed to produce new high-technology treads and to take advantage of Michelin’s advanced co-extrusion technique, a process where two different rubber compounds are combined to produce cooler casing temperatures, maximising the life of the casing.
Kumho’s ECTSA V70A has won a tyre test of road-legal track day tyres. The test, run by German motoring magazine Auto Bild test & tuning, pitted semi-slicks from Michelin, Toyo, Yokohama and Pirelli against each other. Auto Bild testers praised the winning tyre for its excellent lateral and directional stability as well as its dry braking. The magazine awarded Michelin and Toyo joint second place, Yokohama took fourth position, while Pirelli came last. Auto Bild testers also praised the generally high quality of all of the entrants.
The threat of strike action at the Michelin tyre plant in Ballymena has been lifted, the Belfast Telegraph has reported. Workers at the plant voted by a substantial majority not to embark on a course of industrial action. As a result, union negotiators have told management that a pay offer, which had been rejected in November will now be accepted.
Bridgestone has announced that it build its third factory in Mexico at a cost of $220 million (£117 million). According to Bridgestone, the factory will be the company’s first automated plant overseas from “initial processing of materials to final inspection of the finished tyres.” The plant will feature Bridgestone’s first installation of its BIRD (Bridgestone Innovative and Rational Development) system.
Michelin has removed one of its gourmet guides from sale after it emerged that it carried a top review for a restaurant that had not yet opened.
Michelin North America Inc lost approximately 320,000 tyres because of fire at a South Carolina distribution centre, according to a Tire Business report. The fire was started on 13 January after a tornado (possibly two) lifted the roof off the facility and slammed it back down again. Residents living within half a mile were evacuated.
Michelin reports that the loss of tyres represents only a fraction of 1 per cent of the manufacturer’s unit sales in North America. Michelin added its financial loss is negligible since TNT carried insurance on the building and property, the US trade magazine added.
Michelin has launched the first road legal multi-compound racing tyre, the Power Race. The hypersport bike tyre utilises Two-Compound Technology (2CT), which the manufacturer says represents a “leap forward in the development of commercial motorcycle tyres.”
Tyres played a significant part at this year’s Autosport Interntional/Aftermarket Show. Yes some of the biggest players (Michelin, Bridgestone and Continental) were noticeable by their absence, but the shows still managed to attract some 92,000 people of whom 25,000 were registered trade and international visitors. Importantly, a number of these visitors will have found themselves ‘crossing over’ to the other side, from consumer to trade or vice versa.
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Workers at Michelin’s Ballymena plant are to vote over possible strike action. The outcome of an indicative vote on industrial action at the Michelin tyre factory should be known early next week. The vote follows the news that workers at Michelin’s Dundee operation have accepted the terms, while workers at the company’s Stoke-on-Trent site are in the process of postal ballot about the strike action.
The Malcolm Group, one of Scotland’s largest road transport companies, has signed a three year contract with Michelin for the supply of truck tyres for its fleet. The deal covers 335 tractor units and 1,000 trailers, all to be fitted with Michelin E type tyres.
Sébastien Loeb has won his third Monte Carlo Rally. The French driver’s success brings Michelin’s total to 20 wins in the principality since the creation of the World Rally Championship in 1973. In a repeat of last year’s Monte Carlo classification, Citroën and Ford secured first and second places. Sébastien Loeb and the Michelin-shod Citroën Xsara WRC dominated the season’s opening round from start to finish and Michelin’s tyres were competitive from the very first group of stages, which saw Loeb pull out a significant early lead.
This year’s Monte Carlo Rally also marked the introduction a new tyre regulation which, for this event, allowed drivers to use a maximum of 55 tyres from their allocated quota of 80 asphalt tyres and 50 snow tyres (although the latter weren’t actually fitted given the conditions). After consultation with their engineers and Michelin technicians, the drivers had to finalise their choice on the Monday before the event. The 80 asphalt tyres included the three or four compounds they believed would be competitive but the difficulty was determining the ideal quantity of each option for the three-day event. According to Michelin, its one-two finish in Monaco shows that the work put in by its technicians and partner teams and drivers in pre-event testing paid dividends.
Michael Bair, former senior technical and regulatory advisor to the legal department at Michelin North America, has been named senior manager of technical services and sales for Smithers Scientific Services.
In his new role, Mr Bair will be responsible for the development of new tyre business, project management and product analysis. He will focus on business opportunities with various tyre manufacturers, suppliers, government agencies and military organisations, says Smithers in a recent news release.
“Mike has an excellent technical understanding about tyres, their performance characteristics, and proper selection and application,” said Raymond Farmer, Smithers’ vice president and chief operating officer.
Ducati Corse CEO Claudio Domenicali has announced that it is to set-up a special tyre test team in collaboration with Bridgestone, reports MotoGP News.
The MotoGP project will see Japanese rider, Shinichi Itoh, become the official test-rider alongside a group of technicians, including a Ducati Corse engineer.
Michelin CFO, Michel Rollier has met with analysts in order to discuss the main effects of the Group’s transition to International Financial Reporting Standards or IFRS. The company previously used the French GAAP system. Michelin say its wishes, in line with French market authority recommendations, to provide the financial community with all available information. According to the company, adoption of IFRS standards has had consequences both in terms of measurement and presentation. Michel Rollier indicated that the main impact on Group consolidated accounts has been identified.
Michelin has published its latest guide, this time to Great Britain and Ireland. Out tomorrow this year’s guide sees the addition of two new symbols, one indicating a good wine list and the other relaxation and well being facilities.
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