Product Development
With European tyre labelling set to become mandatory on truck tyres in a matter of weeks, Tyres & Accessories published some 20 pages of in-depth coverage on what this all means for the market in last month’s August edition. Nevertheless we barely scratched the surface and one has to admit that the majority of tyre labelling reporting leans towards the passenger car side of things.
Unlike the passenger car tyre side of the business, which had been established and built up over several years before GiTi opened up its UK operation, the truck tyre segment had to be established from virtually nothing. Now the company claims a unit market share that puts it close to third in the UK.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber shares that its role as official tyre supplier to the US-based World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series will end after the 2012 season. Announcing the decision on 14 August, GoodyearRacing marketing manager Justin Fantozzi said “for three years, Goodyear’s high quality tyres have helped to maintain the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series as the most exciting and competitive series on dirt. We wish the World of Outlaws continued success in the future.”
Peter Foulkes has been promoted to the position of marketing director Europe – Commercial Tires at GiTi Tire. According to the company, Foulkes has played a leading role in the rapid expansion of GT Radial and Primewell sales in the European truck and bus tyre market.
Former Apollo Vredestein head of R&D, Peter Becker, has taken on the role of research and development director at Kumho Tyres. Becker’s key task in his new position is the setting up of Kumho’s European Technical Center in Mörfelden-Walldorf, Germany, the tyre maker’s replacement for its now-closed centre in Birmingham. The 53-year old will lead Kumho Tyres’ activities in the areas of tyre technology, research and product development and work closely with Kumho’s design teams in Korea, China and North America. The team working under Becker will focus on developing optimal products for the European replacement and original equipment markets.
The Klarius Group ranks sixth in the list of ‘top 10 manufacturers with biggest international sales’ published in The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 league table, where the company also achieved 62nd place overall. The league table ranks Britain’s privately owned companies with the fastest growing international sales. It is researched and compiled by Fast Track and was published in The Sunday Times on 8th July 2012. The published figures show 70 per cent of sales being generated outside of the UK, mainly in Continental Europe, with sales growing 58 per cent between 2008 and 2010.
Hankook has confirmed its return as associate sponsor for the 2013 What Car? Car of the Year Awards and continued sponsorship of the ‘Ultra Low Carbon’ award, which was won by the Kia Rio in 2012 – a car that boasts Hankook’s Kinergy Eco in size 185/65 R15 88H as an original equipment fitment.
Immediately preceding the Reifen 2012 show at which its GT Radial brand had an impressive Hall Three stand, GiTi Tire held its Dealer Conference at which future growth plans were discussed for the GiTi Group’s full portfolio of products. Managing director Europe, Richard Lyons said that its European operation will continue to grow profitability in 2012 and 2013 by gaining volume share in mature markets and achieving breakthroughs in emerging countries. Speaking at the GiTi Dealer Conference at Reifen 2012, Lyons stated that these goals would be achieved in unprecedented economic times by the continued introduction of high quality products with premium performance, a first-class level of service and an improved value-proposition.
The inventor of the winter tyre, Finland’s Nokian Tyres had a stand in Hall Three that was striking for its minimalist, expressionistic Nordic feel… and because it had only one tyre model displayed on its stand. The tyre it did show was, as it would have to be, special: the Hakkapeliitta 7 studded tyre (255/35R20 97 T XL) was fitted to Nokian’s world record-setting modified Audi RS-6, driven by the company’s test driver Janne Laitinen, which travelled at 331,610km/h on the Gulf of Bothnia in Oulu, Finland. The tyre also made history in 2012 on the E-RA electric car built by students at the Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences that Laitinen also drove at record ice speeds – 252.09 km/h. Despite these feats, the tyre is the regular production model, sold mainly across the Nordic region and Russia, where the brand is number one in terms of “recognition and appreciation”.
Michelin Australia has pledged its support for the 2012 Fatality Free Friday campaign, which aims to achieve no road deaths in Australia on Friday, 25 May 2012. Michelin Australia managing director Thierry Martin said the company is committed to the road safety ethos behind the 2012 FFF campaign, not only for their staff but also the wider community.
If you were to look back on the rising presence of Chinese tyres in recent times, you’d be mistaken for thinking manufacturers in the People’s Republic view the world as their oyster and the future as all good. Yet tyre makers in China are not insulated from the economic troubles we’ve experienced since 2008. Last year, China’s economic growth slowed and imports are currently increasing at a greater rate than exports. On top of all this, China is now home to more than 500 tyre manufacturers. And while the top ten Chinese tyre makers together hold 30 per cent of the domestic market, most companies are small and many have product mix and quality issues. In light of these economic conditions and a crowded playing field, a number of larger Chinese firms realise they need to adapt in order to continue prospering. Specifically, they recognise the necessity of investing in quality.
Following official confirmation of the resignation of Pirelli COO Francesco Gori, the company has detailed revisions to organisational model. According to the company, Pirelli has decided to reinforce its technological and commercial organization apparently completing a re-definition which began in October 2011. As a result Pirelli will replace its “executive office” with two new roles reporting directly to chairman and chief executive officer Marco Tronchetti Provera.
Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Company (ZC Rubber) was China’s largest tyre maker in 2011, according to figures published by the China Rubber Industry Association (CRIA).
In recognition of the company’s global commitment to road safety, Michelin has received the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award at the inaugural Decade of Action for Road Safety Policy & Donor Forum, which was held in New York on 2 May.
Techking has announced an “upgrade” to one of its on- and off-road patterns; its ETFN 12.00R24 truck tyres have been developed into the new ETFN U, thanks to feedback from one of the company’s Middle East partners, Techking says. Features upgraded on ETFN U include: a 15 per cent thicker bead section; a 30 per cent increase in bead wire; a super-stiff design; and the company’s “MEDI” formula tread compound, which mixes cut and heat resistance.
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