Product Development
Dunlop Tyres’ control tyre supply to the Australian Superbike Championship has been extended for a further three seasons. The tyre maker has already served in this capacity for the past two years. “We at Dunlop are excited with this announcement and are proud to be appointed this tender,” said Dunlop’s motorcycle and motorsports National Manager Ken Wieden. "This was an important contract for us and our distributors to win.
Continental Tire North America's Commercial Vehicle Tire Division has appointed a new key account manager for aviation. Sandy Schick has joined the division's industrial tyre unit, and will focus upon sales to large aviation customers, including airports, airlines, airport ground support, and shipping ports, with an emphasis on Continental’s industrial and truck tyre product lines.
US based science and technology magazine Popular Science has included Goodyear’s Assurance Fuel Max in its 2009 “100 Most Innovative Products of the Year” list. The Goodyear tyre appears in the Automotive Technology category of the "Best of What’s New" section and is featured in the magazine’s December issue and online at www.popsci.com.
This is a short extract. Tyrepress and Tyres & Accessories subscribers can log in below to read the full article.
If you are not yet a Tyrepress or Tyres & Accessories subscriber, you can change that here.
Becoming a member has benefits such as:
The latest addition to Pirelli Moto’s Diablo motorcycle tyre family is being billed as the only hypersport tyre for road and track use to draw upon technology from the Superbike World Championship. The Diablo Rosso Corsa, new for 2010, is a racing street segment tyre that supplements the Diablo Rosso in Pirelli’s sport range and effectively replaces the Diablo Corsa III. Pirelli comments that the new tyre exceeds each of its predecessor’s key performance values.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has appointed Brad Hughes as vice president and chief financial officer (CFO). Hughes succeeds Phil Weaver who retires at the end of the year. Weaver has served Cooper 19 for years and has been CFO since 1999.
A partnership initiated between Continental Tire North America and Hoosier Racing Tire carries the hope of taking the convergence of the high performance street tyre and racing tyre industries a “significant step forward.” On October 30 the two companies announced their intention to invest “substantially” into a strategic alliance involving marketing, business and research and development. Specifically, the two companies have assembled a “team of industry veterans” who now become the driving force behind the collaborative marketing, product development and implementation process.
The use of simulation technologies by tyre manufacturers and race teams to improve performance is not new. The perennial challenge is validating tyre models to the required level of accuracy to allow a reliable simulation of reality. To gather the vast amount of data required to make a tyre model, manufacturers can acquire tyre performance during the race and then desktop simulation tools can help to validate it – but this is often not enough. The challenge is compounded now that data for thermal modelling is required in conjunction with structural models. Driver-in-the-loop simulators, such as Cruden’s latest generation 6DOF Hexatech model, allow experienced racing or development drivers or to inject a significant dose of reality; data based on actual feel.
Dutch wholesaler De Klok Banden is releasing a completely updated product range for the 2009/2010 winter tyre season. But it is not only the size and depth of the line-up that’s been taken care of – the company is also convinced that tyre dealers will be hard pressed to go past De Klok’s brands when it comes to quality, availability and pricing. Furthermore, a recently added extra 15,000 square metres warehouse capacity shows that the firm from Oud-Beijerland, south of Rotterdam, is set to expand.
SPX Service Solutions (SPX) and Bartec USA, LLC, have embarked on a joint product development and distribution partnership to develop and distribute SPX patented TPMS tool technology. “Under this new partnership, both firms will focus on providing new high-performance TPMS diagnostic tools to the tyre and wheel service technician, as well as, to the broader automotive service market," according to Pat Pierce, director of Product Development for SPX. "As the prevalence of TPMS-equipped vehicles continues to grow, the need for effective service tools will also grow, driving the need for a wider range of tools to meet the demands of the more diverse technician base that will encounter TPMS in the course of vehicle service." The first new product as result of this partnership will be unveiled at the SEMA show in November.
In remarks before the 28th Conference on Tire Science and Technology, Goodyear chairman and CEO Robert J. Keegan told attendees that a commitment to rapid innovation, aimed at addressing specific consumer needs, provides a significant “competitive advantage.” Furthermore, in today’s fast paced and economically challenging environment, such a commitment is “critical to a company’s very survival.”
Wolfgang Reitzle, CEO of industrial gas company Linde, was confirmed as the new chairman of Continental AG's supervisory board. "We are very pleased that we have been able to persuade Professor Reitzle to take on this challenging mandate," said Schaeffler owner Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler in a statement. Reitzle has been highly sought after by a number of major firms, including BMW, and served as an executive with Ford Motor Co. The move came after owner Schaeffler Group forced out the previous board chairman Rolf Koerfer, who will nonetheless remain on the board. Also stepping down is board member Michael Frenzel, CEO of travel company TUI.
Meanwhile, the Schaeffler Group recently appointed Dr. Peter Pleus (55) and Norbert Indlekofer (51) to the position of President of Schaeffler Group Automotive. They have been appointed successors to Dr. Elmar Degenhart (50), who was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board of Continental AG on 12 August 2009.
When at the start of the year Japanese manufacturer Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. put the brakes on expenditure in response to the global economic and financial crisis, the package of measures implemented were received with a shock: layoffs, massive budget cutbacks, withdrawal from the Tokyo Motor Show, restrictions upon travel for management and so on. Later it became public knowledge that top managers voluntarily forewent their bonuses. Since that time a collective sigh of relief has been breathed that some of the restrictions didn’t turn out to be as severe as first anticipated, and for Toyo’s factories in particular the tide has turned. "Our plant utilisation in Japan is already approaching a hundred per cent," comments Tatsuo Mitsuhata (44), executive vice president Toyo Tire Europe. The company’s Japanese competitors are somewhat lagging in this respect and their recovery not occurring as quickly as Toyo’s.
Permatex, the automotive maintenance chemical technology specialist, is marking its 100th year in business. The company was founded in 1909 by Constant A. Benoit Sr., a chemist, who started the business with a simple glue he developed for bonding bicycle tyres. At a 24-hour race in 1915 Benoit noticed that many of the cars were constantly blowing head gaskets and pitting for repairs. Benoit came up with a sealant that solved the problem and launched Permatex into the automotive chemical maintenance business.
According to Andy Robinson, general manager of Permatex, “We’ve come a long way since Mr Benoit’s ground-breaking effort helped change the face of endurance racing, but that same pioneering spirit that helped to launch the Permatex brand over 100 years ago continues to drive the company today. His passion for innovation is evident in the wide range of advanced products we are now developing and marketing. Our patented Gel Twist and Gel Squeeze threadlocker delivery systems, ‘torque and go’ 1-Minute Gasket, B-Force 100 per cent biodegradable lubricant, and Low-VOC, foaming action Gasket Remover are just a few of the most recent new product developments that continue Mr. Benoit’s pursuit of better solutions.”
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. appointed John Bodart as vice president of its North American tyre manufacturing operations and Alex Perry as plant manager at the Texarkana, Arkansas, manufacturing facility. Bodart will oversee North American tyre plant managers, operations excellence, reliability engineering and lean engineering. A 20-year Cooper employee with experience in plant management, quality assurance, mold operations, tyre testing and product development, he most recently worked as plant manager in Texarkana, Cooper said.
Perry will relocate from Cooper’s manufacturing facility in Melksham, England. Perry previously served in manufacturing operations, assembly operations and production roles in Melksham and Texarkana. Before joining Cooper in 2001, he spent several years in the British Army as a bomb disposal officer, reaching the rank of captain prior to his retirement. He also has prior experience with two other companies in management roles. Perry is the first Cooper employee to become certified as a black belt under the Cooper Tire Lean Six Sigma program, the company said. (Tire Review/Akron)
Retired cop Ronnie Faison has joined Raybestos as technical consultant and official spokesperson for the new Raybestos Police Braking System. Faison served for 35 years as equipment superintendent for the North Carolina Highway Patrol, managing one of the largest police fleets in the country, Raybestos said.
“The North Carolina Highway Patrol was involved in countless research and development tests with Raybestos product engineers at our driver training facility,” said Faison. “They are constantly striving to improve their product and that’s why Raybestos police brakes have always outperformed the competition, and why the new complete Police Braking System from Raybestos will perform unlike anything else in the fleet industry.”
In his new role, Faison’s responsibilities will include everything from product development and testing to public speaking engagements and appearing in Raybestos product spotlights and ads. (Tire Review/Akron)
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.
