In May 2008 Love’s Travel Stops, a company ranked by Forbes Magazine as one of the top 25 largest privately held companies in the US, began a cooperative agreement with Michelin Americas Truck Tires. A year down the line Michelin has announced that Love’s outlet in Memphis Tennessee has become the 25th truck tyre care service location it has opened since the agreement was signed.
Forty years have now passed since the moment when Neil Armstrong’s boots pressed the first ever footprints on the surface of the moon. Several years later the lunar surface encountered the roll of a specially manufactured moon tyre when the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) became the first vehicle to literally offer out of this world performance. Those with a hankering to get better acquainted with the LRV can now do so thanks to Marangoni, who has produced a replica of this groundbreaking vehicle.
Tyres & Accessories recently printed news of Michelin’s OE supply to Porsche for the new Panamera; Pirelli has also indicated that the new vehicle will utilise its tyres. The Italian manufacturer reports that “the technology partnership between Pirelli and Porsche is renewed with the much-awaited Panamera sportscar, which will feature Pirelli tyres both in summer and in winter.”
Kings Road Tyres has named Bridgestone UK as “Supplier of the Year” for 2008. The award was presented to Julie Plumb, head of UK truck sales, who commented: “We are delighted that Kings Road Tyres have recognised Bridgestone UK with this prestigious award for our overall performance in supply. We pride ourselves on our customer service and, as a long term partner of Kings Road Tyres, this shows that they value our partnership.”
Adrian Bader, managing director of Kings Road Tyres, explained: “This award is in recognition of the tremendous support received from Bridgestone’s sales team and all other departments. Bridgestone’s professionalism and service was of the highest degree and goes to show that two companies working together in partnership can be truly successful.” Personnel from several departments were asked to rate suppliers on areas such as product availability, call centre efficiency, sales personnel customer service, marketing support and the provision of product and staff training.
Porsche owners who have gazed at their pride and joy and thought ‘gee, I wish it had an extra pair of doors’ have had their unspoken prayers answered – the release of Porsche’s new Panamera four-door (or five if you count the hatch – Porsche doesn’t) saloon represents the German manufacturer’s entry into a market segment where it will compete head to head with the likes of Jaguar’s new XFR and the Aston Martin Rapide. And Michelin proudly reports its selection as OE tyre supplier for the new sports saloon.
Goodyear Dunlop has celebrated surpassing its charity fundraising target, having raised £52,000 to build a new playground at Birmingham Children’s Hospital eight months ahead of schedule. The money has been raised through employee fund raising, company match funding and public events. Birmingham Children’s Hospital corporate fundraising manager, Fidelis Hynam said, “We have been exceptionally impressed by the fund raising efforts and commitment of Goodyear Dunlop and its employees and it is no surprise they have smashed their target so early.
“For the CAMHS patients and their families this dedicated outdoor space is a dream come true. With the average stay of a CAMHS patient being six months it is very important to have their own space where they can let off steam and importantly have fun. We cannot thank Goodyear Dunlop enough.”
Since its establishment in 1977, Turkish wheel manufacturer Jantsa has constantly worked towards building up and expanding its export business. Today its wheels are exported to over 80 countries worldwide, Jantsa export area manager Europe Omar Oztan told Tyres & Accessories. In fact, three out of every four wheels produced by Jantsa is destined for export. A region of increasing interest for the Turkish company is Southeast Asia. For this reason the company decided this year to once again exhibit at Tyrexpo Asia.
Following its sponsorship of Everton, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur, Maxxis has signed a deal with Liverpool FC to display its branding at Anfield until the end of this season (2008-09). The new partnership offers Maxxis worldwide exposure using the LED perimeter advertising system at the stadium for against Arsenal (21 April), Newcastle (2 May) and Tottenham Hotspur (24 May), in addition to the victory over Blackburn Rovers 11 April.
The partnership package includes prominent Maxxis Tyres advertising on Liverpool FC’s official website the UK’s most popular football website with 1.6 million registered users and up to 2.9 million unique visitors per month.
“The Barclays Premier League title run-in will be very close so we are delighted to have the opportunity to raise awareness of our brand at Liverpool FC games that will not only be sell-outs, but which will also be the main focus of TV’s football coverage for the remainder of the season,” said Maxxis Tyres UK’s managing director Derek McMartin.
Dunlop UK has confirmed that Jaguar has indeed decided to keep things British in the choice of tyres for its new XFR and XKR models. Continuing a decades-old tradition of fitment to both on-road and race vehicles, including the winners of seven Le Mans titles, the two new Jaguars will be fitted with Dunlop’s SP Sport Maxx tyres, a product the Birmingham based manufacturer says will provide outstanding performance and give the driver the ultimate driving experience.
The XFR and XKR are the latest addition to the Jaguar line-up and feature a 375kW/510 hp supercharged engine and acceleration of 4.8 seconds from 0-60 mph. This latest OE agreement will see every new XFR and XKR fitted with Dunlop tyres.
Manbat, the UK’s leading battery distributor, and Johnson Controls Batteries Ltd (JCI) have announced a revised distribution agreement which takes effect immediately. Both companies have grown their businesses impressively in the last two decades and this formalised distribution agreement follows three years of particularly close cooperation. The contract, which was signed on 15 January 2009, is for an initial three-year term, but with the intention of maintaining the agreement on a rolling basis, reviewed annually.
From the early 2000s, JCI began the process of reducing the number of own label supply contracts it had inherited through its battery manufacturer acquisitions, to concentrate on its own brands and the supply of Original Equipment (OE) batteries for the automotive and commercial vehicle sectors. Manbat was the obvious partner through which to grow the aftermarket supply business for those two sectors for the Varta brand.
Following the success of Canadian Tire’s 2008 “Buy a Bulb, Plant a Tree Campaign,” Canadians can again help the environment by purchasing an environmentally-friendly Blue Planet product and having a tree planted in their name. The promotion will take place from 11 April to 8 May at Canadian Tire stores across Canada, in partnership with Trees Ontario. Like the 2008 campaign, it is expected that the Blue Planet Program will result in the planting of an additional 100,000 trees.
“Together with our customers, we are part of the solution for creating a sustainable environment. Through product innovation, Canadian Tire provides customers with quality merchandise that meets their needs and supports their personal environmental goals,” says Reg McLay, senior vice president of marketing and sourcing services for Canadian Tire. “This initiative not only offers customers environmentally-preferred product solutions for their home, but also allows us to give back to the communities across Canada through the planting of trees.” The Blue Planet product line includes items such as natural household cleaning products, CFL light bulbs that use 75 per cent less energy, rechargeable batteries, energy meters and more. (Tire Review/Akron)
Hankook has strengthened its links Northampton Saints Rugby Club by joining its group of elite sponsors. Hankook has had a visible presence at the team’s Franklin’s Gardens ground since January, when it became one of the stadium’s biggest advertisers. However, the tyre manufacturer has since decided to increase its commitment to the club and this new deal will see Hankook’s logo appear on all the Saints’ playing shirts for the next three years.
Hankook’s UK headquarters are in Daventry, Northamptonshire where the company now employs more than 50 people on these premises. It also has more than 1,000 retail locations throughout the UK.
It appears as if Pirelli is seeking further voluntary redundancies amongst it production staff in Carlisle. The company has confirmed this in a statement, however at this stage it is not clear how many positions will be cut.
Pirelli says it has informed senior trade union officials at both its Burton on Trent and Carlisle plants that it is willing to consider voluntary redundancy applications from production workers and supporting services. Information about the cutbacks was given as a second five-day shutdown, the result of falling demand, began on April 8.
Last May Belgium’s Bekaert and Chinese steel producer Ansteel established a strategic partnership, and several months later set up a 50/50 joint venture called Bekaert Ansteel Tire Cord (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. Almost a year after the partnership was first announced, the companies have celebrated the official opening of their 150 million euro joint steel cord production plant in Chongqing, China.
The new facility is intended to meet rising local tyre industry demand for steel cord, and at present 130 people are employed at the site. This number, says Ansteel and Bekaert, will grow in line with market demand and the realisation of further investment phases.
The Premier Distribution Partnership (PDP) buying group has reaffirmed its continued support for the Right to Repair Campaign (R2RC) with a donation of £20,000. Chris Morley Joint Chairperson of the PDP comments, “The right to protect where a member of the British public can go to have their vehicle serviced or repaired is fundamental to the independent garage trade in this country. So in continuing our support for R2RC we are challenging the vehicle manufacturers head on, to ensure that the vehicle repair arena remains an open and competitive one for the British public.
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