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.
Truck tyre retreading is an integral part of Michelin’s sustainable mobility strategy and the company offers numerous solutions in Europe under its Michelin Remix, Laurent and Recamic brands. It has introduced a new long-haul transport tread for drive axle use, the Recamic Line D. Michelin says this addition to its Recamic pre-cure tread range offers up to 15 per cent higher mileage than the previous-generation product, the Recamic XDA2 Energy.
Scandinavian Enviro Systems (publ) and Michelin expect the final agreement regarding their strategic partnership will be reached during the fourth quarter 2020 rather than at the end of October, which Enviro previously communicated. The coronavirus pandemic is cited as the reason for the delay in negotiations.
Michelin has added to its portfolio of non-tyre business assets with the acquisition of all outstanding shares in Le Fooding three years after the two companies first began collaborating. The deal is the culmination of an agreement signed with the co-founders of Le Fooding in 2017 – after Michelin acquired a 40 per cent stake in its share capital – that provided for Michelin’s future acquisition of the remaining interest.
Torsus has revealed the Praetorian School Bus, an extreme and special-made version the durable, heavy-duty and versatile Praetorian intended for the toughest school run routes in the world.The Praetorian is based on an upgraded heavy-duty MAN chassis and is powered by MAN engines and drivetrain. The School Bus edition of the vehicle features uprated off-road Michelin tyres and coating on body parts meaning that Praetorian is engineered to take on any terrain, anywhere in the world.
For hauliers, fuel consumption is of paramount performance and fuel is one of the major costs for fleets. Just how much of an effect tyres can have in keeping costs down was illustrated recently when tyres from Michelin’s X Line Energy range – designed for fleets seeking the lowest possible carbon footprint – were fitted to two Volvo trucks which have set new fuel efficiency records on demanding press road tests in the UK.
Good news in a year where this has been in short supply: Michelin reports that global demand for its tyres “picked up more strongly than expected” in the third quarter of 2020 after falling steeply in the second quarter. That said, demand is still below where it was this time last year.
Camso, the off-road tyre specialist acquired by Michelin in 2018, has grown its off-highway transportation tyre service and distribution presence in North America with the acquisition of two material-handling solutions businesses from Metro Industrial Tires. These businesses are based in Chicago and provide service to the market via their own press truck fleets.
Campaign group Mighty Earth has published a report alleging that Michelin “covered up industrial-scale deforestation of over 2,500 hectares of rainforest in the run-up to the launch of its flagship ‘eco-friendly’ sustainable natural rubber joint venture project in Sumatra, Indonesia”. The project is currently seeking an additional $120 million in investment from green financiers. Michelin’s joint-venture Indonesia natural rubber project Royal Lestari Utama (RLU) robustly denied the allegations.
Michelin has entered into a new 2.5-billion-euro revolving credit facility with a group of 19 banks. The agreement, signed by Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin and the banks on 16 October, replaces the existing 1.5-billion-euro facility dated 12 July 2011 and amended in 2012 and 2014. Michelin describes the new facility as a “back-up facility” that, jointly with the company’s euro commercial paper program, has been increased to take the group’s growth into account.
For the fourth year in a row, Michelin can be found at the top of Tyres & Accessories’ 2020 UK social media ranking. Indeed, such is Michelin’s dominance in the annual table, only Goodyear (in 2012) and Dunlop (in 2016) have done enough to overtake the UK arm of the French tyre brand since our research began in 2011. In both cases, Michelin still managed to take second place.
No obvious successor was in sight when Michelin phased out its Energy Saver and Energy Saver+ ranges last year; the tyre maker recommended its Primacy 4 as an alternative. But the wait for a true replacement to the Energy Saver will soon be over. Next month Michelin will present what it calls its “most eco-friendly tyre range”, the Michelin e.Primacy.
Einride, which began working with Michelin last year, has launched a range of Autonomous Electric Transport (AET) pods into the global market. Costs are expected to range from around 10,000 euros per pod. The goal is for such technology to replace conventional commercial vehicles with an interim goal of 30 per cent of the market.
Bridgestone’s Blizzak LM005 tyre has won the Auto Express Winter Tyre Test 2020 beating 205/55 R16 tyres from seven other manufacturers to the top of the table. Auto Express cited the tyre’s performance in the wet as a key factor. The tyre, which boasts an ‘A’ tyre label grade for wet grip across the full range, has secured Bridgestone’s first Auto Express test win and follows on from a series of improved results in recent times. However, there were strong performances from Hankook’s Winter i*cept RS2 (2nd) and Michelin’s Alpin 6 (3rd). At the same time, we have to note that Hankook Goodyear and Dunlop each won individual categories as well as Bridgestone, of course. Looking forward, Continental’s TS 870 has to be described as the one that got away because it’s market-beating performance couldn’t be counted owing to the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic has delayed the new tyre’s release for a year.
It’s two years since Michelin began merging the Tructyre commercial vehicle tyre and service business it acquired in 2017 with its ATS Euromaster heavy tyre operation. Tructyre reports it is now in the process of removing the ATS logo from its service vans and other branded items in order to create a more unique brand identity. In future, the ATS moniker will only be used in the UK by the Michelin-owned car and van tyre and service specialist, ATS Euromaster.
Michelin has launched a new web portal that gives commercial vehicle customers quick “direct access to expert online tyre advice, the latest promotions, services and news about its tyre range”, according to the company. Michelin MyPortal replaces Michelin MyAccount, launched five years ago, and has been designed to provide users with “additional benefits and improved functionality”.
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