Off-road tyre specialist Titan International has formed a new company, Titan Mining Services. The initial location where this company will operate is Fort Mackay, in the Canadian province of Alberta; Titan Mining Services will offer complete tyre, wheel and track services for end users.
Pirelli Tire North America has appointed Rafael Navarro, III to the newly formed post of vice-president, Communications and Media Relations. In his new position, Navarro is responsible for all internal and external communications for Pirelli in the NAFTA region. His job description involves integrating public relations and working closely with the marketing and motorsport departments of all three country offices, overseeing brand activity. Additionally, he will continue to manage key influencer relationships in the region.
A licensing agreement signed between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and US firm Xerion Advanced Battery Corp. is expected to exploit a technology said to potentially enable the charging of electric vehicle batteries within minutes. Under the terms of the agreement, announced on July 19, Xerion has been granted the exclusive right to bring the University’s ‘StructurePore’ battery-charging technology to market.
Austrian football team SK Rapid Wien has welcomed Kumho Tyres as its newest sponsor. Upon signing an agreement on July 15 the Vienna based club, which participates in the Austrian Bundesliga, stated that in Kumho it had found a prestigious sponsor. The three-year deal between Kumho and SK Rapid Wien gets underway immediately.
The Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC), run by the country’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), has launched its second annual “Your Safety” tyre campaign in partnership with Al Dobowi Tyre Company. The aim of the Your Safety campaign is to educate taxi drivers on techniques for correctly inspecting tyres before starting a day’s work. Another goal is to stress the important role tyres play in vehicle safety.
American Le Mans Series drivers on Dunlop tyres took two victories from pole position at Lime Rock this weekend in the Le Mans Prototype (LMP) class and the GT category in the gruelling 2h45m race. Sanjay Khanna, managing director, Dunlop Brand EMEA, stated: “Dunlop focuses on endurance racing to build longer lasting tyres for road performance.
Taiwanese manufacturer Federal has announced that it has made the first shipment of its Himalaya WS2 winter tyre to Canada. The tyre, available in six sizes – 175/65R15, 195/65R15, 215/60R16, 205/55R16, 215/65R16 and 215/45R17 – is manufactured at its Jiang Xi Tires (JFT) plant in China. The shipment was purchased in March by Vancouver’s Uniwell International Enterprises Corp., and will be arriving at its warehouse in Canada on schedule by the end of July, according to Federal’s Global Sales Division director, Henry Lin: “We are very happy as the major trading company Uniwell International Enterprises Corp has made significant contribution to the wintry development.
Falken Tyres recently took a group of top Micheldever tyre dealers to the world renowned Nurburgring 24 hour race, an event that is followed by hundreds of thousands around the world. Micheldever’s guests enjoyed VIP hospitality as they were entertained in the Mercedes Benz suite over the weekend by Falken.
Continental Tyre Group has appointed Irish Global Logistics (IGL) as its distribution partner for the Republic of Ireland on a 32 county basis. Under the terms of the agreement, IGL will be responsible for transporting the various Continental Tyre Group tyre brands, including Continental, Semperit, Uniroyal and Barum, from Continental’s UK distribution centre to customers in Ireland. The agreement brings dealers in Ireland a number of benefits, including enhanced 24 hour deliveries and improved ‘track and trace’ on all deliveries. Continental Tyre Group will have the use of dedicated office space at the IGL headquarters in Swords, County Dublin.
Kumho has announced that it will use an “interactive display” including its “Invisible Car” at this year's Australian International Motor Show in Melbourne with a green influence after making its debut at last year's International Motor Show in Sydney. The exhibit will both allow visitors “to see the tyres as a starting point in building the car from the ground up” and convey “the message that a lower carbon footprint is something we should all be striving for,” according to the manufacturer. Kumho will emphasise its Ecowing low rolling resistance tyre, the Kumho Aroma tyre which is the world’s first scented tyre and the coloured Smoke Tyre at the event.
Renault Sport has chosen Bridgestone’s Potenza RE050A as original equipment for its 265hp Mégane R.S. Trophy, which was released onto the market on June 20. This limited edition of 500 cars is fitted with the Potenza in size 235/35R19; this choice of tyre will, Bridgestone comments, allow the Mégane R.S. Trophy “to reveal its sporty spirit, versatility and comfort.”
The Carlyle Group (an asset management firm) has confirmed that it has reached an agreement to acquire RAC Limited from Aviva plc for £1 billion. The deal is subject to regulatory approval, but is expected to complete by the end of the third quarter of 2011. Moving forward Carlyle’s strategic involvement appears to centre on the access to “additional capital for future investment” it can provide for expansion into other areas of motor service amongst other things. And the intention appears to be to expand “in the area of the motor services market.” Aviva bought RAC for £1.1 billion in 2005.
On June 16 Kumho Tires announced it has entered into a strategic customer services partnership with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, and will soon launch a full-fledged joint marketing programme. In unveiling the details of this arrangement, the Korean tyre maker commented that these days many businesses “are creating synergies through partnerships with other sectors.”
The Parts Alliance has announced that it has signed a contract woth more than £20 million with Kwik-Fit to supply braking products to the fast fit network. Under the new agreement, which The Parts Alliance calls one of the largest to be awarded for a single product group in the UK aftermarket, the network will supply all replenishment stocks and on demand braking requirements nationwide. Kwik-Fit currently has 676 retail centres in the UK, and is a major installer of braking, though its supplier says it will seek to develop the product group further in its new partnership.
Austrian retreading materials supplier Kraiburg sees the market for HGV retreads in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and in Dubai in particularly, as offering “unequalled” opportunities. For retreading businesses standing one’s ground in such a limited sized market when competing with a large number of rivals was hard enough when the economy was still booming and much trickier in the current climate against the backdrop of the financial crisis. Against all the odds, Kraiburg reports that Standard Retreads can now look back on a “five-year success story.”
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