We’ve been praying for this to happen…a church north of Glasgow has decided to build its new place of worship out of old tyres and other waste products. Colston Milton Parish Church will find out on August 28 whether its new building project has obtained Glasgow City Council approval, and should the blessing for it to proceed be given, construction should start next summer.
Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems has completed its acquisition of parts of Canadian TPMS-maker SmarTire Systems. Bendix is taking on SmarTire’s commercial truck TPMS business.
Aftermarket parts supplier Euro Car Parts is now offer one of the world’s leading manufacturers of brake friction material, Pagid, and customers can thus take advantage of this comprehensive range that includes more than 1,200 brake pads and discs, more than 250 brake drums and over 500 brake shoes. Indeed, ECP states that the Pagid line-up covers an astounding 99 per cent of the UK car parc and gives the company great coverage across may of the newer vehicles. Examples given by ECP are the latest model ford KA, released in February 2009, the new fiesta released last year and the new Vauxhall Insignia released in December 2008 – all of which now have coverage in the Pagid brand.
What have been described as ‘incredibly challenging’ conditions at Donington Park did not prevent Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso from winning his first race on Bridgestone tyres. Although the race was declared wet before the start only the Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden chose to start on Bridgestone’s wet tyres; Dovizioso opted for Bridgestone’s soft front and rear slicks and chased Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi closely in the opening laps. After the latter fell, Dovizioso made the best use of his soft compound rubber on the slippery tarmac to extend what by lap 23 was a 13.5second lead.
Four years after Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage throughout the city of New Orleans, Firestone Complete Auto Care has celebrated the reopening of one of its centres in the city. The outlet on Carrolton street was forced to close its doors due to damage received on August 29, 2005, and to-date has been one of only a handful of automotive retailers to have returned to the area.
“Our Firestone Complete Auto Care stores are important parts of their communities,” said Ottis Lewis, vice-president, South Central Zone, Bridgestone Retail Operations (BSRO). “Our teammates not only care about our customers, but we care about the communities that we call home. Since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it has been BSRO’s goal to reopen this store – we are thrilled to be able to serve this close-knit community once again.”
According to the Khaleej Times, the use tyre market is alive and kicking in some parts of Abu Dhabi. Healthy demand exists for larger size commercial vehicle tyres, with examples changing hands from between Dh 200 and 700. However the country’s authorities are increasingly voicing their concern over the practice of fitting used tyres to vehicles: According to Colonel Hamad Adeel Al Shamsi, director of the Abu Dhabi Police’s Department of Traffic and Patrols, used tyres were responsible for the death of 13 persons and severe injuries of 16 persons last year. For this reason the department has intensified its inspection of substandard and worn out tyres and launched campaigns to educate motorists about the importance of safety of tyres.
Euro Car Parts (ECP) now stocks what is described as “a comprehensive range of tyre repair materials” from Rema Tip Top. According to a statement released by ECP, Rema Tip Top complements the ECP strategy to offer a wider range of consumables and offer an even greater service to its customers. Rema Tip Top UK Ltd has been operating for over 50 years and offers a wide range of automotive consumables and equipment, ranging from valve hardware and balance weights, to chemicals tools and accessories.
Those with a penchant for modifying their ‘motor’ have long cast a favourable eye upon the Ford Focus ST. Early examples of the hot hatch are now emerging from their warranty window – and Scorpion is ready and waiting with its Focus ST sports exhaust system.
The exhaust manufacturer reports it has created a 63mm diameter system that perfectly balances optimum gas flow with the required back-pressure to keep the turbo spinning ‘on song’ throughout the rev range.
Monarch Vulcanising Systems was founded in 1961. Initially its main business was the installation of heavy mechanical equipment for the cement and steel industry, which included the installation of rubber linings in raw mills. From the experienced gained with industrial rubber, the company was drawn into the supply and installation of industrial rubber flooring. This led on naturally to the use of rubber for other applications.
Cooper Tire states that the ‘Cooper Way’ includes such values as ‘doing the right thing’ and to ‘be a good community citizen’. These qualities were recently displayed when more than 60 Cooper employees, retirees and family members donated their time on two simultaneous Habitat for Humanity building projects in the company’s home town of Findlay, Ohio.
Cuba is a country renowned for Castro, Caribbean Climate and Classic Cars. But the streets of Havana and Santiago de Cuba are not just made resplendent by the presence of four-wheeled relics from the island’s pre-communist era – motorcycles predating the 1960s are still to be found, and are lovingly maintained in working order by owners who wouldn’t be caught dead riding the rubbish the Soviet Union later sent over. Of course keeping a classic bike on the road is not so easy in a country embargoed by the US for close to half a century…So Metzeler has decided to lend Cuban riders a hand.
Hayes Lemmerz Werke GmbH, the German based subsidiary of the international steel and aluminium wheel manufacturer, has been awarded a certificate of achievement from DAF Trucks N.V. and Leyland Trucks in recognition of the quality of the products delivered to the two companies. The certificate, states Hayes Lemmerz, recognises that the company consistently met or exceeded quality performance requirements for the parts supplied by Hayes to DAF and Leyland in 2008.
Dunlop’s road race pairing of John McGuinness and Steve Plater scored top honours for Dunlop on the Isle of Man, finishing first and second in the TT Superbike race. The duo were the only two riders to break through the 130mph average lap speed – with McGuinness setting yet another lap record of 130.442mph (17mins 21.29 seconds) on his second of the six lap race, as well as breaking the race distance record with a time of 1:46.07.16. His Dunlop tyres were specifically designed and built in the Birmingham-based Fort Dunlop factory.
The Morecambe man also furthered his and legendary TT status, by claiming his 15th TT win, placing him second in the line-up of all time TT victories behind the great Joey Dunlop. Following the decision to postpone racing on Saturday due to poor weather conditions covering the 37.73 mile mountain course, both McGuinness and Plater were itching to take to the seats of their CBR1000RR Fireblades in Monday’s welcomed clear and warm racing conditions.
A number of properties belonging to Goodyear Tire & Rubber in its hometown of Akron Ohio have been sold to Industrial Realty Group (IRG). These sales, comments Goodyear, represent a first step toward finalising plans for developing a new headquarters in Akron. The tyre major has signed a multi-year lease agreement with IRG and, as part of this agreement, will remain in its existing buildings until its new headquarters located adjacent to the company’s Akron Technical Center is completed.
All Terrain Vehicles are so named due to the broad and diverse range of off-road and increasingly on-road applications for which they are used. These machines are becoming ever more sophisticated with electric start, selectable four wheel drive, lights, power take off drive shafts, more powerful engines and differentials to improve traction and ride in the turns. Aside from their use in recreational pursuits a variety of accessories, attachments and implements are available enabling the machine to perform many duties such as weed control, pest control and hunting, livestock feeding, snow clearance, haulage duties around the farm, estate, park, garden or wherever they are used.
Of course, alongside the wide offering of parts and peripherals, the different roles the machines undertake and the varied terrains on which they are used have led to the development of a wide range of tyres. Tyres for sports machines tend to have a flat profile while utility machine tyres usually have a round topped profile. The sports tyres lend themselves to powersliding and provide good stability on medium to hard surface trail riding while the round-top tyre will perform better in soft terrain, biting deeper while also providing a softer ride. Many of the new generation of tyres designed by Carlisle are now of radial construction to offer increased traction, better puncture resistance and improved ride comfort.
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.
