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Doug Pearson Dies Following Short Illness

Former Watts Tyre Group managing director, Douglas Pearson died on 8 January 2009 following a short illness, the company has said in a statement conveying its sadness at the news.

Doug Pearson worked for Watts Industrial Tyres for 31 years, having joined the company from Dunlop in 1976. In 1988 he became managing director of the company and was instrumental in making Watts one of the major players in the industry. In 2006 he stepped down as managing director to spend his last year with Watts in the USA overseeing the integration of Diprima and establishing the new Watts USA operation in the Southern United States. In addition to his stewardship of Watts, Pearson was also an active and key member of several trade associations including ITA (Industrial Tyre Association), BITA (British Industrial Truck Association) and the FLTA (Fork Lift Truck Association).

“Douglas was greatly admired and respected by all his colleagues and competitors. Tributes and condolences have been received from all over the world, testimony to the affection and esteem in which he was held. We extend our sincere sympathies to his devoted wife, Judy, hi son and daughter-in-law, Matt and Jill and his beloved grandchildren, Aaron and Louis,” Watts’ statement concluded.

19th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

TRW Automotive Acquires Michelin Share in EnTire JV

On January 15 Michelin North America’s stake in the EnTire Solutions joint venture was acquired by TRW Automotive Holdings subsidiary, TRW Automotive US LLC, for an undisclosed sum. TRW Automotive says it has acquired the share as part of the company’s commitment to develop its portfolio of electronics systems.

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Birla Tyres Again Stopping Production at Orissa Factory

Following a 15-day production halt in December Birla Tyres is planning another temporary closure of its factory in Orissa, India, again in response to weakening sales of the company’s tyres. A senior member of staff at the factory, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Indo-Asian News Service that Birla “will shut down the plant from January 19 to January 31 because of falling demand.” He added that employees have already been notified of the decision.

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

New Red Rim Pro-Sprint Wheel

The multi-spoke design of the Wolfrace Pro-Sprint has long been popular with the modified car fraternity; its elegant lines and simple design make it suitable for all types of vehicles, without conflicting with a vehicle’s individual styling. Wolfrace recognise this and have added a contemporary touch of refinement to a classic design. The Pro-Sprint is now available in a glossy black finish with a high-quality red anodised rim; this is achieved using the latest anodising techniques, thus producing an extremely durable oxide coating on the alloy rim of between 0.003mm and 0.02mm.

The shiny, striking appearance of the red rim is sure to turn heads, says Wolfrace and the new wheel is available in sizes 6.5×15″ and 7×17″. Other finishes available include black/ polished, white/ polished, pink/ polished and matt black with red rim.

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Rifer Gomme Joins Bandag to Cover Eastern Italy

Rifer Gomme, based in Fermo, on Italy’s Adriatic coast, as recently joined Bandag to provide enhanced retreading services to its large customer base in the Marche region and beyond. According to an official statement publishing the news, Rifer Gomme is one of the largest tyre retreaders in central Italy. It is a family company owned and run by Lucio Cudini, with his two sons handling the company’s sales and marketing activities, and his daughter looking after the administrative side of the business.

Rifer Gomme sells new tyres – Bridgestone and other major brands – and retreads for a wide range of vehicles: light and heavy trucks, as well as passenger cars. After working with a different retreading system for a while, the Cudini family took the decision to switch to Bandag.

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Kwik-Fit Upgrades Mobile Technology

Kwik-Fit Mobile’s decision to equip its off-site tyre fitting fleet of 230 mobile technicians with new mobile technology means fleet customers are receiving a faster and more efficient service, the company has reported. Developed with MMCC Consultants, B2M Solutions and Ryzex, Kwik-Fit reports that its mobile fleet will use the new technology to improve the service it offers some of the UK’s largest vehicle fleets such as British Gas and Motability.

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Automechanika Returns to Malaysia in March

Approximately 5,000 visitors are expected to attend the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre between March 25 and 28 for the sixth Automechanika Malaysia exhibition. The trade fair, formerly known as Automechanika Asia, is the only automotive parts and aftermarket trade fair organised in collaboration with Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation and is considered by many to be the leading automotive parts and aftermarket trade event in the ASEAN market. Exhibitors from 14 countries and regions including Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom have confirmed their attendance. A total of 150 exhibitors are expected to take part in the biennial event.

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Chinese Car Sales Slowest in a Decade

Having heard about the rough ride Western car markets had in 2008, spare a thought for the booming Chinese market. In 2008 5,326,308 cars were sold into the Chinese market, up 6.7 per cent year-on-year. While carmakers selling into European markets would be over the moon with full-year growth of 6.7 per cent, this the lowest year-on-year growth reported in China for a decade. And what’s more in the month of December passenger sales actually fell 5.7 per cent year-on-year to 545,179 units in December.

According to Morgan Stanley’s Chinese automotive market analyst, this is mainly due to production cuts at the key OEMs. It could also signal that the emerging market’s rapid growth rate has peaked: “Although more supportive policy from the government may be implemented soon, such as purchase tax and consumption tax cut, weak car demand sentiment and consumer confidence are not easy to revive amid a slowing economy, in our view,” Morgan Stanley’s Kate Zhu said in an investor’s note.

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Car Crime Sparks Fear on Britain’s Roads

British drivers no longer feel safe on the roads, according to a new survey by car hire comparison site Carrentals.co.uk, which found that over 40 per cent of drivers have been a victim of car crime. The research questioned over 1,000 people across the UK and found that more than one in five of us don’t feel safe on Britain’s roads, with nearly 50 per cent believing that drivers are getting more aggressive and one in three believing people drive too fast.

Respondents told of incidents ranging from car jacking and physical violence, to verbal abuse and even a report of rape, underlining the growing issue of car crime on the roads.

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Sells Share in EnTire Solutions

Michelin North America has sold its share of a tyre chip development operation to TRW Automotive Electronics. The Michelin/TRW joint venture, formed in 2003 – EnTire Solutions – developed attire air pressure and temperature chip and reader system that Michelin attempted to market to the trucking industry.

TRW said it would continue development of the product. Ed Carpenter, vice president of TRW Automotive’s Electronics business, said: “This has been a successful partnership. TRW and Michelin have combined their respective expertise in electronics and tires to develop direct tire pressure monitoring systems that are recognized for their performance characteristics in the industry.” (Tire Review/Akron)

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental Lithium-ion Technology Wins ‘Yellow Angel’ Award

Continental AG, along with vehicle manufacturer Daimler, has received the ‘Gelben Engel’ – Yellow Angel – award from the German automobile association ADAC for the lithium-ion battery technology that is to feature as standard equipment in the Mercedes S400 BlueHYBRID from mid 2009. The companies received their Yellow Angel in the ‘Innovation and Environment’ category for the battery’s contribution in the fields of road safety, automotive safety and traffic-related environmental protection.

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

RMA Cancels Annual Meeting at Resort

Word comes that the economy has bitten the RMA, which has cancelled its 2009 annual meeting. The meeting was to be held in late April at the Sawgrass Golf Resort and Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. RMA said it would hold regional member meetings instead in order to reduce member travel expense.

Oddly, the timing of the 2009 meeting forced RTMA to move its annual National Tire Safety Week program from the last week of April – the same month as Spring Car Care Month – to June. (Tire Review/Akron)

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Lanxess Reducing Butyl Rubber Production in Belgium & Canada

Due to declining demand for butyl rubber, Lanxess AG has elected to reduce production of the product at its Sarnia, Canada, and Zwijndrecht, Belgium facilities. In the coming months the factories belonging to the Butyl Rubber business unit will operate at reduced levels of capacity or will be temporarily shut down, perhaps for a duration of several weeks. Should shutdowns occur, the time will be used for routine maintenance work. About 360 employees in total will be affected by the measures. According to the company, in Canada a number of flexible working arrangements, such as a reduction of overtime and use of annual leave, will be used, while in Belgium employees will be placed on a short-time working arrangement.

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Aiming to Half its Tyre Fuel Consumption by 2030

The US market is a significant one for the automotive industry, and therefore annual the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit remains an important date in the motoring calendar. Prominently exhibiting at this year’s show is Michelin, and the president of the company’s worldwide passenger car and light truck tyre business, Florent Menegaux, has taken hold of the opportunity afforded by the Detroit show to discuss Michelin’s technological direction.

“Michelin’s approach to technology is to drive improvements in different areas of performance sometimes seen as incompatible,” said Menegaux during a NAIAS press conference. “The strength of Michelin’s capacity for innovation lies in the ability to produce tyres that deliver not only energy savings but also enhanced safety and long-lasting tread life, ensuring the consumer does not have to sacrifice key performance features for energy-efficiency.

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Lanxess India Rubber Facility to Relocate

According to Indian media, Lanxess India Pvt Ltd intends to relocate its rubber chemicals facility from Thane in Maharashtra state to Jhagadia, in Gujarat state. Approximately 50 million euros will be invested into the new site, which will create 225 new jobs.

16th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors