The road safety partnership RoadSafe has stated its support for near-namesake TyreSafe’s Tyre Safety Month initiative, which runs throughout October. Adrian Walsh, RoadSafe director says: “Tyres are a vital part of your car. You cannot brake, steer or accelerate properly when they are worn or underinflated. Drivers must remember to check them regularly. It can save a life.”
Commercial tyre specialists at Tructyre have become the first to adopt Cam Systems’ new, third party integration (3PI) module within its UniSerV application suite. The platform is designed to streamline the feed of transactional data to and from third party systems, reducing Tructyre administration costs and ensuring customers receive consistent service data. Testing on the new system is planned to occur throughout October. Cam Systems’ UniSerV application suite already handles the call logging and contract management, ePen and Breakdown form processing for Tructyre’s commercial breakdown business.
With 14 years of tyre supply soon to end, Bridgestone Europe celebrated its Formula One partnership at its final race within the region. On September 10, during the Italian Grand Prix weekend, more than 170 guests from Formula 1 racing teams, the press and Bridgestone companies attended the Paddock Club event, the centre piece of which was a question and answer session with leading F1 personalities including Bridgestone past and present champions Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. Racing team principals Martin Whitmarsh of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, Ross Brawn of Mercedes GP Petronas and Stefano Domenicali of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro joined the drivers on stage while a host of fellow team principals and senior team management also added their weight to the occasion.
Michelin has become the 50th ‘business champion’ to join government-backed Driving for Better Business campaign. In doing so, the company has committed to help promote at-work driving safety initiatives to other public and private sector fleets. The tyre maker’s involvement with the campaign comes after reducing its road crash rate by more than 50 per cent in the last five years and adopting a target of zero incidents. Michelin says improving safety has helped reduce accident damage costs by 46%. It has also seen significant savings on indirect costs, such as vehicle hire and driver time.
Renault is in the process of launching several models in Russia through its partnership with vehicle manufacturer AvtoVAZ. Included in this arrangement are the Logan and Sandero, which will be imported in CKD form and produced in AvtoVAZ’s Moscow factory from September 2010 onwards. Sibur-Russian Tyres reports its Cordiant tyre brand is being fitted as exclusive original equipment on these two models. The tyre maker anticipates it will ship some 100,000 tyres for the Logan and Sandero by the end of 2010.
The HiQ fast fit network reports more than 500 bespoke training courses at its HiQ Training Academy were booked in the first half of the year, a volume it believes bucks an industry trend that shows training to have decreased 12 per cent over the past two years. The training offered supports HiQ's partnership-led franchise model and also operates independently as a separate NVQ training programme for tyre technicians.
Rácalmás is a central Hungarian town, located on the right hand side of the river Danube, and is home to some 4,500 people. It’s also home to Hankook Tire’s European factory, and the Korean tyre maker’s contribution to the region was formally acknowledged on August 20 when company vice chairman and global CEO Seung-Hwa Suh was made an honorary citizen of Rácalmás.
Alcoa is increasing its investment in a partnership it operates with Saudi Arabian mining company Ma’aden. The cooperation is focussed on the development of “the largest, most efficient vertically integrated aluminium complex in the world,” according to the two companies.
It’s chokey for Malcolm the fly-tipper. Tower Hamlets Council has reported the sentencing of Malcolm Regan – a man it describes as one of the UK’s most prolific fly-tippers – to four months’ imprisonment for his misdeeds. The 44-year old Mile End man appeared in Blackfriars Crown Court on August 9 along with accomplices Michael Briggs and Anthony Gustave.
In the US the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission is to inhale $5 million into a $14 million project to establish a tyre research facility within the state. A further $5 million is to come from General Motors and $4 million from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), and will be situated in Halifax County, in Virginia’s Southside region.
HiQ has reported year-on-year increases in turnover and gross profit in its half-year report. Turnover has risen by more than 7 per cent, while gross profit increased by “a double digit figure”, the network reported. In addition, HiQ’s 145 centres welcomed more than 8 per cent additional customers. The fast fit network said its partnership-led franchise structure is a major factor behind the increases. The number of HiQ sites has increased by six since the end of April, suggesting this has had a strong role in the continued upward trend.
In April Aston Martin launched its first four-door production car, the Rapide. Bridgestone states that it proposed its latest generation Potenza S001 to Aston Martin on the grounds of its response and precision, combined with its high stability levels in the wet. The result of this offer has been the fitment of Bridgestone’s tyre as standard equipment since the Rapide’s debut.
According to Nairobi based news portal The East African, the nation of Tanzania is “struggling” to end the multi-billion dollar General Tyres East Africa (GTEA) partnership brokered with Continental AG in the mid-1990s. The East African states that Continental, 38 per cent shareholder in the venture, has been “feuding with the state” since 2006. The GTEA facility in northern Tanzania has been closed since 2007, with 400 workers locked out.
Australian football club Brisbane Roar has received a sponsorship boost after signing a one-year deal with tyre maker Shandong Linglong. The team, which plays in the nation’s premier A-league, has welcomed the Chinese company’s Australian presence, Linglong Tyres, as ‘front of short’ sponsors.
The ninth Podio Ferrari awards – the annual awards recognising Ferrari's global partners and suppliers, took place on July 14. In total five awards – Ferrari Technology, Ferrari Innovation, Italian Excellence and the President’s Award together with a Special Award for Sustainable Energy – were presented to companies that distinguished themselves for their technical and technological excellence, innovation and product development in partnership with Ferrari. The ceremony was attended by Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo, CEO, Amedeo Felisa and the Scuderia Ferrari drivers, Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
