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.
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”.
Despite the fact that the UK was in the middle of lockdown, Michelin Tyre Plc’s ultra-modern retread manufacturing operation resumed production at the end of April. In fact, according to the company, there were only two reasons that the Campbell Road, Stoke-on-Trent site paused manufacturing at all: because the coronavirus-related closures coincided with a pre-planned maintenance stoppage; and because – again due to Covid-19 – there was trouble securing deliveries of the right raw materials from the continent prior to April (see “Michelin Stoke up-and-running, looking forward to ‘steady market growth’” for Michelin UK factory manager Francois Levert’s view on how things have progressed after reopening). Therefore, Michelin UK’s retread manufacturing operation only actually endured a three-week factory shutdown. The neighbouring UK headquarters opened in mid-July and so now its truck tyre and retreading business is putting the focus on success in the new normal. This began with a communications drive that has seen the manufacturer promote the ecological benefits of retreads. Tyres & Accessories spoke with Michelin Plc managing director Chris Smith in order to find out more.
Michelin has appointed Lee Hulme as UK distribution channel and programme manager. In the new role, Hulme will oversee the manufacturer’s four accredited dealer networks for the motorcycle, car, agricultural and commercial vehicle sectors. With the appointment, Michelin has unified its dealer programmes for each segment. It also marks its growing focus on these accredited networks, which in the UK and Ireland now comprise 374 locations. Previously, its dealer programmes were co-ordinated by separate departments internally.
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.
John Sutch Cranes has confirmed it will specify Michelin tyres across its fleet of mobile cranes, tractor units, trailers and rigid trucks, after a trial set of Michelins covered more than twice the distance normally seen from the firm’s previous tyre of choice. The family business compared the performance of the 445/95 R25 Michelin X-Crane + tyres fitted to one of its three-axle Liebherr cranes, versus an identical crane doing similar work, but running on the same size tyres from another premium brand.
This year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans commences tomorrow, but you’re not invited. Nobody is – for the first time in its long history, the event will take place behind closed doors, sans partners, sponsors and spectators. Michelin will be present though, with 54 of the 59 competing cars running on its tyres.
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Mighty Earth
Photo Mix; Pixabay
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Frédéric Le Floc’h / DPPI