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Pirelli-equipped Citroën C4 Wins Acropolis Rally

In an Acropolis stage famed for its punishing surfaces, Sebastien Loeb claimed his fifth victory in seven events to regain the lead of the Drivers’ championship.

After the event, Loeb was full of praise for his C4 WRC, reserving particular commendation for the performance of his Pirelli Scorpion tyres: “We drove with the idea of preserving the car and the tyres on an incredibly rough surface. The Pirelli Scorpion tyres were able to resist stages that were truly a massacre, so the overall conclusion is very positive – particularly considering that these tyres do not have anti-deflation mousse and that they have to adapt themselves to a very wide range of different surfaces.”

5th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Aufine Announces Price Increase

The Qingdao, China-based Aufine Group has become the last tyre manufacturer to announce additional price increases.

In a statement released to the press, Aufine’s management explained that the as yet unknown price increase will take effect from 1 July. The company puts the price increase down to the continuing price pressure manufacturers are receiving from the raw material suppliers.

5th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Donnell & Ellis Plump for ATS Euromaster

Omagh-based Donnell & Ellis Heavy Haulage have signed a contract to make ATS Euromaster the company’s sole tyre service provider.

The contract, said to be worth close to £100,000 per year, is aimed at providing the company with proactive tyre management as a measure against unexpected vehicle downtime. In addition, the agreement sees a fleet-wide change of preferred brand; ATSE are fitting Michelin tyres on its 30 Scania tractor units, and Hankook tyres on 60 specialist trailers, some of which have a payload capacity of up to 200 tonnes.

5th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Receives Hino Motors’ Excellence Award

Hino Motors Manufacturing USA Inc. has presented Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company with its Quality Excellence Award for commercial tyres on Hino medium-duty trucks.

Hino Motors said the award was given to Goodyear for “outstanding product quality.” Goodyear supplies Hino Motors, a Toyota Group Company, with a variety of truck tyres, including Unisteel G149 RSA RH and G182 RSD regional-service tyres.

5th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Offers First Stop Dealers Toyota Incentive

First Stop dealers around the UK are being rewarded for their performance with a courtesy car scheme. Bridgestone UK launched the scheme in December 2007 and has incentivised dealers by offering the Toyota Aygo Hatchback 1.0 VVT to garages which have surpassed performance expectations. To date nearly 20 dealers have received a Toyota Aygo, on a two year lease, which can be used by garages for employees to go to and from work, as a courtesy car or as a general garage run around for collecting parts.

Commenting on the scheme Mark Fereday, Retail Development Manager, at Bridgestone said: “Bridgestone supports outstanding performance and the courtesy car scheme is the latest in a range of measures to support the First Stop network and believe businesses will feel significant benefits from being involved. The success to date suggests that it will be up and running across the network very soon.”

5th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bandvulc Hosts Network Seminar

Bandvulc Tyre Contracts recently hosted a seminar on tyre contract management in Stratford upon Avon with its network of partners. The main aim was to identify areas of opportunity for growth.

“It’s been the case in recent years that tyre management and centralised administration have become more and more popular. It’s also the case that when acquisitions take place the regional and local fleet operators can become part of a national network themselves,” says Philip West, Sales Director of Bandvulc, adding: “With this background the independent tyre distributors can find it difficult to maintain the relationships they have had with the larger fleets”.

5th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Report No Contact Over Truck Tyres

Continental has responded to claims from German news sources that Italian rival Pirelli are interested in buying the German manufacturer’s truck tyre business, stating that they have yet to be contacted. A spokeswoman for Continental said that “There are no sales talks whatsoever”.

The speculation follows reports in Germany’s leading commercial economy newspaper Handelsblatt that Pirelli’s Chairman, Marco Tronchetti Provera, has declared definitively the company’s interest in truck tyres. Coupled with the attention devoted to Continental’s truck tyre business by the German company’s management in April this year, conjecture continues to develop as to the fate of the department.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli to Start Russian Tyre Plant Negotiations

Pirelli & C. SpA and has signed a letter of intent to begin negotiations for the construction of a car, light truck and heavy truck tyre plant in Russia. The letter was sent to the Russian State Corporation for Assistance to Development, Production and Export of Advanced Technology Industrial Product (also known as Russian Technologies). The new facility will also produce steel cord tyre reinforcements and automotive filters.

Russian Technologies and Pirelli have agreed on an exclusivity period for the negotiation of the final agreements, until 30 September 2008. Upon its establishment, the two partners would jointly control the Joint Venture, while Pirelli would be responsible for the development of the business strategy and running operations of the Joint Venture, which would be carried out under the Pirelli brand name.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama to Put Up Consumer Tyre Prices

Yokohama Tire Corporation have announced that increases in U.S. consumer prices will come into effect on 1st July 2008 due to the rising costs of energy and raw materials.

In addition, consumers can expect to see in-line adjustments announced at a later date, while commercial Light Truck, Medium Truck and OTR (off-the-road) tyre prices will not be affected.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

ATMA Issues Anti-Dumping Plea

Indian news sources have reported that the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) have requested a government-implemented anti-dumping duty on radial truck and bus tyre imports. The request follows concerns over the 1,300 per cent increase in Indian tyre imports from China in the last five years.

According to business commentary in India, the increasing cost of raw materials in India has left domestic tyre manufacturers exposed to the challenge from cheaper Chinese imports.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bandengroothandel Mast Offers Versatile Industrial Range

Bandengroothandel Mast’s fastest development in recent years has been the evolution of its large harbour, quarry and mining tyre ranges. This development gained momentum when the company became established as the appointed European distributor of Chinese manufacturer, Tianli.

During the course of 2007 Mast introduced a number of new ranges and additional patterns in the CargoMaster series including new options in solid tyres for skid steer. Another new product being developed has been radial OTR tyres, which are currently being tested and are expected to be available in the UK and Europe in the near future. This new CargoMaster range is produced in China and will be offered in smaller sizes including 23.5 25 plus larger sizes will be phased in during the course of 2008.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

BFNAT Delay Decision Over Tech Centre

The future location of 600 jobs at the Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire technical centre remains undecided after the company delayed the decision until the end of the year.

The tyre manufacturer has yet to produce an initial recommendation in order to decide whether to keep the technical centre in Akron, Ohio or to relocate the 600 roles to Nashville, Tennessee, in which BFNAT’s headquarters are currently located. The decision was initially planned for the end of May, but the recommendation will now be made by executives in Nashville and Japan in late 2008.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Rubber Workers Strike in Turkey

4,000 tyre manufacturing workers have responded to ICEM’s (International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions) Turkish trade union call to strike, after last-minute proposals by the employers’ association failed to avoid the action taking place.

The four manufacturing works affected by the strike action, in the Turkish cities of Izmit and Adapazari, are operated by Goodyear, Bridgestone and Pirelli. News sources state that the companies are resisting demands for three bi-yearly salary increases at the rate of Turkish inflation, following an initial wage increase of 12%.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

CERM Research Shows Michelin Leads Motorcycle Tyre Performance

CERM (Centre d’Essais Routiers Mécaniques) has tested Michelin’s Pilot Road 2 and new Anakee 2 motorcycle tyres against the leading competitors in the market, with strong results for the French manufacturer. The Pilot Road 2 was tested against the Dunlop Roadsmart as an update to previous tests against six major competitors’ sport touring tyres; while the Anakee 2 was compared to two direct, major-brand competitors – the Metzeler Tourance EXP and Bridgestone Battle Wing. In both cases the tests involved two criteria: wear resistance and wet-surface grip.

The initial sport touring tyre tests, conducted in 2006 and 2007 compared 120/70 R 17 and 180/55 R 17 Pilot Road 2 tyres fitted to Suzuki Bandit 1200s with six comparable tyres from other premium manufacturers. The result were good, from Michelin’s perspective, and showed that the French tyres not only lasted longer but also offered better wet handling than its competitors, defying the supposed performance payoff between the two characteristics. According to Michelin, the same performance advantage was proven again in the 2008 tests against the Dunlop Roadsmart.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Launches the Winter Sottozero Serie II

The latest evolution of Pirelli’s performance winter tyre has been unveiled at the Swiss ski resort town of Zermatt. The Winter Sottozero Serie II, a tyre the Italian manufacturer states will meet the needs of the most demanding drivers by adapting to conditions typically encountered during the autumn and winter months, has been released in two distinct performance versions: the W210/W240 for high performance cars, and the even more extreme W270 for super sports models. Pirelli reports that Porsche, Maserati, Lamborghini, Ferrari, BMW, Bentley, Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo have already homologated the new Sottozero as original equipment.

“Despite global warming, winter is still here,” commented Pirelli Tyre CEO Francesco Gori at the Sottozero Serie II launch in Zermatt. Mr. Gori however emphasised that a change in thinking has taken place at Pirelli in response to recent climatic trends, along with changes in automotive technology and European regulations. The new tyre was thus designed not just for regions receiving significant winter snowfall; rather it is a tyre for low temperature conditions. Today’s more unpredictable weather conditions, says Pirelli, with dry spells when snow is traditionally expected, and sudden heavy rainfall in the late winter or at the beginning of autumn, means a need has arisen for the development of versatile tyres guaranteeing safety not only on snow and ice, but also on wet or slushy surfaces when temperatures fall below 7 degrees, a temperature that alters both the road surface and the behaviour of a tyre.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors