North America
In the United States, Pirelli has announced a price increase relating to car and light truck tyres. Effective 15 January 2023, the company will increase prices by 10 per cent, varying by line and tyre size.
The Vredestein tyre brand has been present in North America for two years now, and Apollo Tyres is expanding the range offered there with the USA launch of the Vredestein Pinza HT. This newest addition to the Pinza family is a highway all-season tyre designed for trucks, SUVs, and crossovers.
Nexen Tire has entered into a further sporting partnership, this time with US ice hockey team the Chicago Blackhawks. Beginning with the 2022–23 season, the tyre maker will feature on a variety of physical and digital marketing assets, including signage at the Blackhawk’s home rink, Fifth Third Arena.
TBC Brands, one of the largest distributors of proprietary brand tyres in North America, has promoted Brent Wolak to the role of Director of Sales. In this capacity he will lead all sales and growth efforts for TBC Brands’ business.
On 7 September, American Tire Distributors (ATD) announced the completion of its Canadian subsidiary’s sale to Groupe Touchette, Canada’s largest locally-owned tyre distributor. By divesting the National Tire Distributors (NTD) business, the wholesaler says it is now “better positioned to serve its customers across the US” and to “invest in the enhanced innovation that is driving its transformation efforts.”
Tyre and construction reinforcement specialist Kordsa is investing US$20 million in its North American facilities with the goal of boosting its cord fabric production for the tyre industry. The company says the investment will enable it to expand the tyre cord dipping line at its facilities to meet increased demand from tyre manufacturers.
The Firestone Polymer Engineering Pilot Center (PEPC) in Akron, Ohio has become the first Bridgestone facility in North America to gain International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus recognition for sustainable raw material transparency and traceability. PEPC is part of the Bridgestone Americas Technology Center, which serves as a hub for Bridgestone’s entire innovation, research and product development within the Americas region.
This week marks the 53rd anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the surface of the Moon, a date of particular significance for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Goodyear supplied a number of essential components for this history-making mission and later developed non-pneumatic tyres for the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle. The tyre maker is once again looking spacewards and is developing tyres for a lunar vehicle that in future may extend commercialism to the Earth’s rocky satellite.
Jason Anzalone is Michelin North America’s new director of motorsports. From 1 August, he succeeds Tony Ménard, who will return to Michelin headquarters in France after three years in North America.
After a short tenure as president of Hankook Tire North America, Curtis Brison has taken on the role of vice president of sales, marketing and strategic growth at TireHub, the US-based national tyre distributor jointly founded by Bridgestone Americas and The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. The vacancy he leaves within Hankook’s regional operation is being filled on an interim basis by Sooil Lee, chief executive officer of Hankook Tire & Technology.
As of 1 July 2022, new faces will join the management team at Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing, Inc. Shinji Tanabe will become chairman and chief executive officer of the company responsible for Toyo’s tyre plant in Georgia, whilst Patrick Matthew Lenz takes on the roles of president and chief operating officer.
This week, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company achieved a further step towards its goal of fully replacing petroleum-derived oils by 2040. Selected products within the Goodyear Metro Miler range, a city transit tyre available to customers in North America, are now produced using a bio-based soybean oil compound that replaces a portion of the petroleum-based materials used.
Bridgestone Americas has commenced an exclusive partnership with carbon capture and transformation (CCT) specialist LanzaTech NZ, Inc. to address end-of-life tyre waste. The two companies will co-develop the first dedicated end-of-life tyre recycling process leveraging LanzaTech’s proprietary CCT technology.
It is the ‘MO’ label on the sidewall that Hankook Tire is particularly proud of. The two letters stand for ‘Mercedes Original’, and only tyres that match strict quality criteria are approved as original equipment for Mercedes-Benz vehicles. These letters appear on the sides of three Hankook tyre models that Mercedes-Benz fits on the S-Class, continuing a supply arrangement that began almost a decade ago.
Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC) has promoted Ray Polentz to the role of senior director of supply chain and logistics. He will report to YTC president and chief executive officer Jeff Barna.
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