Union workers at Cooper Tire & Rubber Co’s plant in Findlay, Ohio, go to the ballot box today to consider a new five-year contract offer that could end the now three-month long lock out at the plant, reports Tire Review. But according to reports in the Findlay Courier this morning, some USW Local 207 members feel it will be a close vote, even though its 1,050 members have been without a paycheck since November 2011.
Motor Wheel Service has launched its “next generation Xbrite” single part, transparent finish. The protective coating was specially developed for MWS, offering what the Wythenshawe-based distributor calls “the highest levels of corrosion resistance and unrivalled shine for xlite forged aluminium wheels”.
Swedish company Trelleborg has announced a number of organisational changes in preparation for the start of a light and heavy vehicle anti-vibration solutions joint venture with Germany’s Freudenberg & Co. KG. Trelleborg says the changes will “further strengthen and focus the Group.” The planned reorganisation does not involve company’s tyre making operation, Trelleborg Wheel Systems.
The Klarius Group has named Glynn Cureton as Group Product and Procurement Director. He joins Klarius from a senior position at Unipart. Cureton has responsibility for the full product portfolio management including over 100,000 lines of OE quality replacement Klarius and QH branded parts.
The Bandvulc Group recently held its annual BTC Key Service Partner Conference at its head office in Ivybridge, Devon, some four years since it was last been used as the venue. According to the company, the event was very well attended with the key partners travelling from all areas of the UK to attend the two day programme.
The East Anglian Daily Times newspaper today reported on a three-day inquest at Ipswich into the death of 48-year old, father-of-two Gary Deaves, who died six weeks after a tyre that he was removing from a fork-lift truck exploded.
Shandong Linglong Tyre reports the successful implementation of new generation curing bladders in its production process. The new bladder, type ZB16E, was developed to address the issues of tyre cavity shoulder channeling, exposed cord in the shoulder and bladder longevity during the production of low profile, high performance tyres. Shandong Linglong reports the ZB16E bladder differs in shape from traditional bladders and utilises an “adopted S-shape design” that reportedly provides a better connection between bladder and tyre cavity.
Netherlands based Gaither Europe BV made its debut at Agritechnica 2011 to introduce three new products to the market. Ralph Dubbeldam of Gaither Europe explained: “Gaither has a long standing and successful business association with Trost, one of Europe's leading car parts and equipment suppliers whose clients include a high percentage of agri specialists. We… realised that agriculture could become a new progressive market for us thereby prompting our appearance at the show.”
Continental AG’s management is confident enough that its fourth quarter revenue will beat the third quarter to tell analyst of the upgrade. According to Morgan Stanley, this implies a slight upgrade to consensus numbers which following 7.7 billion euros for the third quarter currently stand at 7.6 billion for the final quarter of the year.
TecDoc launched the Tyredata option to its Catalog parts identification system in May 2011 and it has reportedly been well received by many of its Web Shop customers. However, TecDoc has now added extra functionality so users can search by tyre size as well as by the vehicle.
Tyredata was originally developed to provide fast fits, workshops, factors and car dealers with a single source electronic catalogue that would efficiently identify the original equipment (OE) tyre fitment for a specific vehicle. As with many of the replacement parts supplied throughout the aftermarket, individual tyre manufacturers produce their own catalogues for their specific brands, which although they may contain some cross-reference information, don’t directly identify the OE tyre.
UK aftermarket business group The Parts Alliance has won three awards at the annual Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation Excellence Awards, held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel on 8 December. IAAF president Nick Best presented the evening’s awards, honouring excellence in the aftermarket. Parts Alliance member Mill Autoquip won Distributor of the Year; Matthew Warren of CES (UK) received the coveted Parts Person of the Year award, and Alliance Autocentre member D & D Autos won the Garage of the Year award.
Joint administrators, David Baxendale, Rob Hunt and Chris Pillar of PwC have confirmed the sale of the business and assets of Rapid Car Parts Limited to Unipart Automotive Limited. Based in the South East, Rapid Car Parts is one of the UK's largest distributors of automotive parts and accessories and went into administration on 7 December 2011 following difficult trading conditions and significant cash pressure. Unipart have acquired the remaining five branches including the distribution centre based in Watford. The sale price was not disclosed.
The purchase of consumables has tended to mean that the general service and repair workshop had to deal with multiple suppliers with the extra administration costs that were inevitable with each supplier. However the trend of diversification has made a single supplier a more realistic option, certainly for specialist businesses like the fast fitter or the auto-electrician. As one of the country’s major starter motor and alternator suppliers, Wood Auto says it is now growing its range of consumable products and increasing its reputation for quality and availability. It says workshops can find a host of products to allow them to complete their work and finish the job professionally.
Car parts distributor CES (UK) has held a classic car event on the streets of its hometown Chester. Car enthusiasts and shoppers were able to view a spectacular display of cars from the CES-sponsored Winter Challenge Rally lining the city centre. More than 70 cars were on show ahead of the four day rally to Monte Carlo, while their drivers, dressed in period costume, answered questions from the gathered crowds. CES says the rally was a great opportunity to showcase its brand and give a little boost to the local economy.
Motorcycle Live is on at the NEC in Birmingham until 27 November, and amongst the plethora of moto-related sights at the show is Avon Tyres’ one-off show bike, built especially to mark the company’s centenary of motorcycle tyre manufacture. Avon says that the Yamaha YZF-R6, which can be found on the Speedycom stand, has been treated to a list of mouth-watering aftermarket parts including an EK chain and sprocket kit, Mivv exhaust, Pazzo levers, Hel brake lines, R&G Racing tail tidy, flush-fit diamond indicators and integrated rear indicators, Bonamici rear set footpegs, double-bubble screen, carbon fibre rear hugger, front fender and fuel-tank protector. In addition, the bike will provide visitors to the show with a first look at Avon’s new 3D Ultra Supersport tyre, part of a new range to be launched early in 2012.
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.
