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The Supervisory Board of Continental AG has unanimously elected Rolf Koerfer its new chairman at its March 27 extraordinary meeting in Hanover, Germany. The 51-year-old thus succeeds Dr. Hubertus von Grünberg, who resigned on March 6.
Following the news that a fire had caused some damage to the Welsh TyreGenics operation last Friday (27 March), a spokesperson for Begbies Traynor, administrators of TyreGenics got in touch with Tyres & Accessories to explain that the damage was sustained by a storage facility and not the plant itself, while also revealing that the administrator was confidant of finding a buyer for the business. The business announced that it had gone into administration earlier in January, 18 months after opening as a joint venture between Credential Environmental, BOC, FieldTurf Tarkett and RTI Cryogenics in July 2007. The £4 million recycling plant has a processing capacity of 80 tonnes per day.
The spokesperson stated last Friday: “Last night we were made aware that a large fire had started at a secure outdoor storage facility that TyreGenics leases from a local haulage firm around half a mile from the TyreGenics plant at Baglan Industrial Estate. There were around 2,500 one tonne bags of recycled rubber crumb at the facility and all of this product appears to have been lost to the fire, the cause of which is being investigated by the police. Although the fire produced large amounts of thick black smoke, the fumes were not toxic.”
Prominent European online tyre dealer Delticom AG reports closing its 2008 fiscal year with a record result. Despite a disappointing year for the tyre industry and for tyre retailers, Delticom’s online business model has again exhibited strong growth. The company recorded significantly increased sales in nearly all of its more than 100 online shops in 35 countries. This is reflected in year-on-year rise in revenues in each quarter. In the fourth quarter alone, revenues of 84.0 million euros were achieved, up from 69.5 million euros in the corresponding quarter of 2007. For the whole year, Delticom increased revenues year-on-year by 20.2 per cent to 259.0 million euros. With these results, Delticom hit the upper end of the revenue targets the company released at the beginning of the last year.
Fire crews attended a callout to the Pirelli factory in Burton on the morning of March 30 after a blaze was reported at the site. Upon arriving at the premises at 7am, firefighters discovered a forklift truck on the first floor of the factory’s manufacturing plant was on fire. The fire was brought under control within about three quarters of an hour, but it is not yet known how much damage has been caused.
The German Rösler Group becomes more and more a supplier of a fully integrated OTR tyre management which – together with its classical core competence of retreading – is particularly developing the marketing of consulting and maintenance services in its realm. The keyword ist “Rösler 360°”. Since the beginning of last year the company summarises all its different competencies, services and products under Rösler’s “360°” product which does not leave any cost factor or operational detail aside. Since very recently, the company from Dortmund in Western Germany has yet another tool under the tyre management. The “OTR Tyre Managmenent Software” will help to optimise costs and benefits of the OTR tyre management in general as it allows to collect (perhaps be PDA), transmit (even by satellite connection) and analyse and evaluate all the tyre data available.
Firefighters were called to a fire in a unit used to store used tyres in Nottingham over the weekend. The firemen should have had no trouble finding the place, as this was the fourth time they have been called out to it in the past two weeks and to no fewer than 18 arson attacks over the past two years. The latest blaze was also arson, fire chiefs confirmed.
Craig Dooley, head of Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue’s arson taskforce, said crews may have to let fires at the site burn, as the risk to firefighters was too great. 70 nearby residents were evacuated from their homes and allowed to return after five hours. Nottingham City Council said that it had made attempts to contact the owners to talk about making the site more secure, but these had so far proved unsuccessful.
When Sheffield-based PCL exhibits at Autopromotec the company says it will “provide the Italian automotive industry with a [prestigious] connection between its high quality air tools and top end performance, on Hall 22 Stand C8”. No the pneumatic specialists haven’t taken too much gas and air, PCL’s expert team are planning to introduce visitors to a new addition to its enhanced range of air tools – the Prestige Air Tool range.
The range comprises of 11 top end products which feature low vibration, low noise, ergonomic grip and higher performance. All products are manufactured from magnesium or other composite materials for a high quality, lightweight finish, and are ergonomically designed to help the user perform daily jobs more efficiently and in greater comfort. PCL also says it will show customers how nitrogen tyre inflation can maintain tyre pressure for longer, and provide extended tyre life, increased safety, higher fuel economy and superior handling – with demonstrations of Accura Mobile.
Continental Tire North America celebrated the grand opening of its new North American headquarters in South Carolina. CTNA held a special ceremony yesterday, attended by community leaders, customers and employees, to open the $11 million, 75,000-square-foot facility in Lancaster County, South Carolina.
The company had been based in Charlotte, North Carolina, adjacent to its now-closed passenger tire plant there. CEO Matthias Schoenberg was joined by Fred Thomas, Lancaster County council member, to cut the ceremonial ribbon.
“This move to South Carolina is just the next step in our ongoing effort to contribute to the North and South American markets,” said Schoenberg. “We are grateful to South Carolina for helping us develop this beautiful new headquarters. The Lancaster County Economic Development Corporation and the State of South Carolina were instrumental in the decision to move our headquarters. We appreciate their efforts on our behalf, and we look forward to a long and successful future in South Carolina.” (Tire Review/Akron)
The Germans take their tyre testing seriously, and Bridgestone reports that its tyres have come out on top in the 2009 summer-tyre tests conducted by two of the country’s motoring publications. Two of Europe’s largest motoring publications, AutoBild and ADAC Motorwelt, have awarded the Turanza ER300 the top rating “very recommendable”, and a similar favourable result was also doled out by Auto Motor und Sport. Other Bridgestone products scoring the highest “very recommendable” rating include the Potenza RE050A (Gute Fahrt) and the Firestone TZ300α (ADAC Motorwelt).
Much has been said about the British making the most of their newly enfeebled pound by taking their holidays at home, and this means….gulp….that many of the approximately two million caravan owners nationwide may consider hitting the road this Easter. Many of these owners will set off without having carried out basic safety checks to ensure a trouble free break, says Protyre, the UK’s leading independent tyre dealer network.
Hofmann, a brand within Snap-on Equipment, has introduced the new monty universal 2 ‘all-round’ roller type tyre changer. The new product enables lever-less tyre changing for all wheel variants, including run-flat and ultra high profile rims of up to 30” diameter and 17” wide.
The company states that the aim of the monty universal 2 is to build on the popularity of the monty 3300 racing, a tough act to follow considering the 3300 is, according to Snap-On, Europe’s best-selling professional tyre changer. Chris Behan, general manager at Snap-on Equipment, comments: “With more and more cars on the road using run-flat and ultra high profile, high performance tyres, workshops need to keep ahead of the game with the right equipment to safely handle these rims without risking costly damage. The new monty universal 2 sets a new standard in addressing these challenges with built-in features that helps to ensure operator health and safety and easy tyre changing for all wheel types.”
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A truck driver died when a tyre on his vehicle that he was checking by the side of the A14 in Suffolk exploded. Paramedics arrived on the scene but were unable to save the driver, who has yet to be named. The busy road, which is the main route from the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich to the Midlands, was closed to allow an air ambulance to land.
A spokesman for the AA said: “The main reason for a tyre exploding is either massive over inflation, and I mean when it is extremely over inflated, not just a bit. Or an under inflation, because then the tyres can get too hot. But it is very rare.
The Michelin Romania factory at Zalau, in Silvania, will resume production after an 18-day stoppage. The reason for the stoppage was given as an adjustment in tyre orders, due to the state of the market.
The factory’s 1,300 employees participated in training programmes during the shut-down. A spokesperson for the company said that the April work programme had not been finalised, but there are press reports that production could be halted for a week, most likely round the Easter holidays.
Michelin Romania’s marketing manager, Alina Ghica, is quoted as saying that Michelin’s sales for last year were up on 2007’s figures, but she cannot make estimates for 2009, although sales for the first two months are believed to have increased, but at a lower rate of growth. Estimates are that the Romanian replacement tyre market increased by a minimum of eight per cent last year, rising to 2.2 million units.
The Tyregenics tyre recycling plant, near Port Talbot in Wales, has been hit by a fire, in which around 100 one-tonne piles of rubber pellets were ablaze. More than 60 firefighters and 19 appliances tackled the blaze, which was finally brought under control at around 1.00am this morning.
No surrounding buildings were damaged, although local residents were advised to keep doors and windows closed because of the thick smoke. The plant recycles scrap tyres by turning them into rubber pellets and the cause of the fire is not yet known, although local police and fire incident officers are currently examining the site.
Toyo Tire Europe reports that Mazda has selected it as tyre supplier for the new Mazda 3. Available across Europe from late spring, two different tyres will be fitted depending upon car specification. Models with 16-inch wheels will be fitted with the Toyo J48C in size 205/55 R16 91V, whilst those with 17-inch wheels will come with Proxes R32 in size 205/50 R17 89W TL.
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