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Blaming the continuing upwards momentum of natural rubber and other raw materials costs, in addition to increased transportation costs, Titan Tire has announced that its tyres and Titan manufactured, Goodyear branded farm tyres will increase by “up to 8 per cent”, though some products will supersede this rate of growth “due to repositioning of the product”.
Australian tyre life-cycle management specialist, Brad Bearman of Bear’s Tyres has suggested that his Bear’s Tyre Tracker product could help fleets in the country reduce fuel wastage. “It is an unfortunate fact that the neglect of tyre maintenance is directly attributable to unnecessary fuel wastage, particularly for long haul carriers that spend most of their time of the road," said Bearman.
Toyo Tires has breakfasted with Goodwood at this months’ Breakfast Club, Deutsch Marques. Toyo says the event attracted a “spectacular gathering of the most prestigious German cars”. It was held on Sunday, 7 November and as always, was free to attend.
On 9 September valuetyres.co.uk was awarded the site of the week by New Media Age (NMA) magazine, scoring 81/100. Here’s how they commended the tyre etail site: “With a name like Value Tyres, you'd expect exactly that, and the tyre etailer aims to reinforce this with its website. Designed in an uncluttered grey and orange, the home page carried the Tyre Price Promise and a breakdown of the service it offers…The website makes buying very straightforward…[it] certainly does what it says on the tin.”
"We are really pleased to have been awarded site of the week for our website, we work hard to ensure that it is user friendly and informative and kept up to date to ensure that our customers are able to make an informed decision during our easy purchase process" Value Tyres website manager Tina Newman commented.
If Hankook Tire has its way, van drivers will not be excluded from a future that includes more environmentally friendly tyres. The Korean manufacturer has shown off its vision for a more fuel-efficient and lower rolling resistance van tyre at the IAA Commercial Vehicle show in Hannover, Germany. Hankook calls this prototype tyre Concept Blue and says it anticipates future trends starting at the tyre dimension 195/45 R 20. The tyre’s diameter of 700 mm is relatively large by comparison to its width, proportions that Hankook says yield a characteristically narrow yet high-profile silhouette that “fits perfectly with the overall image of electric and hybrid vehicles.” From a technical standpoint, the combination of a low air drag coefficient and low rolling resistance means that less energy is used. Hankook also points to the sidewall and shoulder area’s aerodynamic properties as two other design highlights.
Russia’s Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company has signed a contract with Michelin for the exclusive supply of radial aircraft tyres for its latest major project, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 family of regional airliners. The deal was announced at Michelin’s stand during the Farnborough Airshow 2010.
At last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show vehicle manufacturer Peugeot presented its BB1 concept, a car just 2.5 metres long and powered by electric motors placed inside the rear wheels – units designed in association with Michelin. This extraordinary vehicle is now a step closer to going on sale after Peugeot confirmed it has shifted the BB1 from concept car status to project status. A production version should thus be unveiled in 2012 or 2013 and most likely closely resemble the concept car’s design.
Nokian Tyres has released a new tyre for straddle carriers. This new radial tyre, the HTS Straddle, is designed for work in harbours and goods terminals and combines, says Nokian, the high load-bearing capacity desired by operators with excellent driving comfort appreciated by drivers.
Cam Systems says that its Workshop Scheduler integrated diary system has led to the recent 15 per cent rise in bookings at Suffolk’s Treadfirst Tyre & Exhaust Centre. Since using Workshop Scheduler to plan its MOTs and servicing, Mick Shaw, managing director of Treadfirst, says: “we have increased the number of jobs and bookings through more effective planning rather than just filling up a page in the paper diary then stopping.”
Germany is not just Europe’s largest single tyre market – sales of wheel balancing weights there account for a large proportion of the region’s total sales of this product, so a German market presence is naturally a very good thing indeed. Therefore it has understandably concerned UK manufacturer Trax JH Ltd that it has been unable to sell zinc weights into Germany since European directive 2000/53/EC came into effect on July 1, 2005. All this is set to change, however. Trax is tooling up to begin volume production of an innovative new steel wheel weight, and the company’s sights are firmly set on the German market.
Toyo Tire USA Corp. has expanded its online fitment guide with the release of a mobile version for Android phones, reports Tire Review. The Tire Finder now works with Apple iPhones, iTouches and Google Android operating system handheld devices.
In North America the Uniroyal brand belongs to the Michelin product portfolio, and a new high performance tyre released in this market is the Uniroyal Tiger Paw GTZ All Season, which will be launched on July 1. According to Michelin North America, the tyre is engineered to meet the ultra-high performance needs of drivers of sports cars in a range of weather conditions.
Next time you’re sitting in the dentist’s chair getting your teeth checked, you may spare a moment to consider how many degrees of separation stand between yourself and the tyre industry. It may be fewer than you think. American firm Tekscan Inc, which developed its TireScan system in conjunction with Goodyear, admits the basic technology behind the system was originally created for use in dentistry. “However, it was recognised that the principle concept could be adapted for numerous other applications, the tyre industry being just one of them," explained the company's international sales manager, Jason Marcouillier.
With tyre costs rising, it makes sense for hauliers and fleet managers to ensure that their tyres are maintained in A1 condition. And it is not just the cost of the tyre itself – properly maintained and inflated tyres can reduce fuel consumption. Translogik produces a range of tyre inspection solutions for fleet managers, including hand-held tread depth and pressure probe – the OTR probe can measure treads up to 130mm deep and pressures up to 190 psi. These are complemented by Translogik's own software, which provides the fleet operator with a totally automated tyre management and fleet inspection process, allowing a series of reports to be generated. These can include a work-to-do list, highlighting what maintenance work is required for each vehicle, and a Tread Depth and Tyre Pressure Analysis.
At the moment coverage is restricted to French roads, yet the ViaMichelin real time traffic information map scheduled to go on sale in May 2010 gives motorists everywhere a taste of services awaiting them around the corner. Information for all of France will be accessible through a total of 22 matrix codes, 21 of which focus on specific cities and one for the whole country.
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