Product Development
Nokian Heavy Tyres has introduced a trio of new off-road products, the TRI 2 Extreme Steel, Loader Grip 3 and Nordman Mine All-Steel Radial. The first two of these are intended for earthmoving applications while the Nordman, as its name suggests, is aimed at the mining sector.
Registration is now open for Standards Testing Laboratories annual Tyre Technology Seminar, held on 18-20 October, 2011 at the company's Massillon, Ohio headquarters. The seminar is a two and a half day event that aims to provide “a comprehensive overview of the technology employed by the tyre industry,” according to the STL. Speakers from the engineering, chemistry and mechanics/vehicle dynamics fields will address topics including tyre testing, tyre design and research, tyre engineering and compounding, product development and advanced concepts. The deadline to register for the seminar is 30 September.
Nokian Tyres styles itself as “the only tyre manufacturer in the world that focuses on products and services that facilitate safe transportation in Nordic conditions”, and its 2011 range reflects the company's expertise in the area, developed in variable Central European conditions. The manufacturer says its WR D3 and WR A3 tyres are “designed for different vehicles and drivers but for any winter weather”. The company calls its tyres “environmentally friendly premium products” that feature nanotechnology and canola oil, which helps to improve their reliability in the winter conditions of Central Europe. Nordic Tyres (UK) usually imports Nokian Industrial, Forestry and Agriculture, though increased demand in the last UK winter led to its decision to stock passenger car winter patterns. The UK distributor says it suggests “early contact… in order to meet expected demand before winter really bites”.
Work on a new, low rolling resistance military tyre and other projects has earned Goodyear high praise from some of the American military’s former top brass. US senator and retired Navy secretary John Warner and vice admiral Dennis McGinn (retired), who is now vice chairman for the CNA Military Advisory Board, recently visited the tyre maker’s headquarters in Akron, Ohio as part of a US-wide tour sponsored by the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate, a group dedicated to highlighting connections between national security, energy independence, the economy and climate change.
After more than 60 years in the business, Lincolnshire-based Vacu-Lug has grown to the point that it can claim to be the largest one-stop industrial, truck and OTR retreader in Europe. And what’s more, the latest products in the Vacu-Lug portfolio are said to offer eco-qualities that outstrip the premium brands. Tyres & Accessories met with managing director Tim Hercock and fleet sales director Dave Alsop to find out more.
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres today hosted Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of West Midlands, Paul Sabapathy CBE at its Birmingham facility, where he presented the company with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in recognition of the company’s sales achievements in the international trade category. “It is an honour to receive this award,” said Dunlop Aircraft Tyres chairman Ian Edmondson.
Visit a tyre plant anywhere in the world, and the chance of encountering equipment manufactured by the VMI Group is very high; the Dutch company, which began business in 1945 repairing war-damaged industrial equipment, is today easily one of the top producers of machinery for the global rubber industry. These days equipment produced for the tyre industry accounts for around 80 per cent of VMI’s global sales and the company has been a dominant force in tyre building machinery since its development of the single-stage process in the 1970s. This landmark concept brought about a revolution in production process quality, and in the years since its release VMI has repeatedly shown its strengths as an industry innovator; the latest developments from VMI, and those just around the corner, suggest the company’s tradition of innovation still remains very strong.
National Tyres and Autocare has appointed Joe Dutton as product development manager to head up the development of sales for non-tyre products. The role will focus on the augmentation of the autocare side of the business which includes exhausts, brakes, batteries, suspension, oil and filter and MOT along with new products and services. According to the company, Dutton will work closely with operations and also with National’s autocare partners and manufacturers to ensure that the product offering is highly competitive.
Infinity used the opportunity of the Autopromotec 2011 fair held in Bologna in May to announce that it is developing a new pattern for its UHP range. According to the company, the new design has been in development for the last six months following consultation with what the tyre brand calls “the Infinity family” (its network of dealers and partners) with the aim of getting product feedback. This information is said to have been “fully incorporated in this new size and pattern development.”. The pattern is also said to feature a number of new sizes.
Following the approval of its acquisition by Itochu Corporation, investment in new Kwik-Fit outlets is continuing with plans to open ten new centres this year and a similar number in 2012. Confirmed centre openings this year are in Farnham, Heywood and Scunthorpe, with other locations expected to be revealed over the coming months. These new sites add to those opened in recent months in Brentford, Brierley Hill, Bury St Edmunds, Charlton, Ipswich, Luton, Newport Pagnell, Rugeley, Thetford and Walsall. Prior to the launch of the latest centre investment programme, Kwik-Fit operated a 669-centre network, supported by a mobile fleet of more than 200 vehicles.
Governments have G8 summits, economists have the World Economic Forum in Davos – for those with an interest in mobility development there's Challenge Bibendum. The 11th Michelin-sponsored forum has grown from an opportunity to present wonderfully creative ideas to the point that the technology on-show at this year's event (held in Berlin for the second time, from 18 – 22 May) are closer than ever to the production technology of tomorrow. True, some of the wackier concepts like free-mind and thought assisted driving that could be seen may still be some way off, and there were a number of prototypes that are more illustration that innovation, but the majority of technology demonstrated at Michelin's window on the roads of future is either 2 – 3 or 5 – 7 years from actually hitting the market.
Pirelli reports it recently won the “best marketing” category of the 2011 China Auto Aftersales Summit Forum awards – an award the tyre maker describes as “one of the most influential awards in the auto industry.” In total, five categories of award were announced at the forum, which is hosted by the China Automobile Manufacturers Association, China Automotive Engineers Society, China International Trade Committee Automotive Branch, China Automotive Technology and Research Center and Motor Trend magazine.
Goodyear has announced the appointment of Jean-Pierre Jeusette to general director of the Goodyear Innovation Center in Luxembourg (GIC*L). Jeusette was previously director, Technology Consumer Tyres for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and has 21 years’ experience with Goodyear on a variety of assignments in both Luxembourg and Akron. Jeusette replaces Marc Junio, who has elected to retire after 34 years of Goodyear service.
Eternity Technologies FZ LLC plant, owned by the Al Dobowi Group, has been launched with an investment of 200 million dirhams ($54.6million). According to the company, it is the Gulf region’s largest industrial battery plant and will design and develop batteries for use in electric fork lift trucks, industrial cleaning machines, access platforms and personnel transport. The plant will be situated in the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA) Industrial Park in Al Jazeera Al Hamra and will have the capacity to produce one million 2-volt cells. The company plans to export 85 per cent of its output to global markets including US, Europe and Asia, apart from servicing the UAE and GCC countries.
Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery says that the Formula One sole supplier’s tyres have “performed faultlessly” in the extreme heat of Malaysia’s Sepang circuit in the opening practice day for the second Grand Prix of the season. Track temperatures climbed to 51 degrees centigrade while the company measured an ambient temperature of 37 degrees. So far the soft tyres have been around 1.2 seconds per lap quicker than the hard compound, though Pirelli predicts they will run at that standard for between eight and 10 laps in the race. The soft tyres provided for Malaysia and China, characterised by yellow logos, have been given additional markings in order to distinguish them more clearly. A gold band has been drawn round the circumference of the tyre. Pirelli intends to revise the markings for greater visibility in time for the Turkish Grand Prix in May, when the Formula One season arrives in Europe.
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