Product News Archives - Page 90 of 260

Maxxis Reports an Increasing 4×4 Marketplace Share

Ongoing advertising within leading consumer off-road magazines, a strong presence at major off-road events and encouraging results in tyre comparison tests are all factors Maxxis says is helping the brand increase its share of the 4×4 marketplace. The Maxxis range, which Maxxis International UK boasts is one of the largest line-ups of off-road, on/off-road and road going 4×4 tyres available in the UK, includes products for numerous specific applications. Amongst this line-up is the largest complete range to fit 16-inch Land Rover Rims, plus a series of extreme tyres and patterns purpose-designed to tackle muddy conditions.

Speaking of tough conditions, Maxxis reports that its 4×4 tyres are under evaluation by volunteer organisation 4×4 Response Wales, which is part of a nationwide network providing logistical support to the emergency services, local authorities and GPs in the event of severe weather conditions and emergency situations.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Merkel: Loan Guarantees are ‘Right Tool’ for Schaeffler

Product News

Various online news sources are quoting German Chancellor Angela Merkel as saying that liquidity guarantees would be the right tool to help companies asking for public aid, such as Schaeffler Group. Chancellor Merkel said she has not seen a restructuring plan from either Schaeffler or car maker Opel, which is also requesting government support, yet. “I regard [liquidity] guarantees as the tool we are eyeing,” Merkel told journalists, according to Dow Jones. “Germany has an interest in strengthening companies which have a strong foundation,” Reuters quoted Merkel as saying.

Meanwhile, Schaeffler continues to investigate the possibility of debt-for-equity swaps as a means of paying off some of the multi-billion euro loan it borrowed to buy Continental AG. According to Bloomberg, financial institutions such as government-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc – which backed Schaeffler’s takeover of Conti – may “saddle taxpayers with distressed assets as they negotiate debt-for-equity swaps with failing corporate borrowers.”

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Kwik-Fit Warns ‘Eco-Coasters’ Not to Lose Control

Product News

What risks would you take to save money? Kwik-Fit has expressed its concern about a growing group of motorists who chance damage to their vehicles (and themselves) do to just that. The fast fit chains calls such drivers ‘eco-coasters’, and its caution comes in response to research that shows some 5.4 million “financially prudent motorists’, 15 per cent of all UK drivers, have taken to selecting a neutral gear when going downhill – just to cut their fuel bills.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Autopromotec 2009 Goes Green With ‘Futurmotive’ Feature

Product News

The Bologna Trade Fair Centre is set to host the 23rd, biennial Autopromotec show between 20 – 24 May 2009. According to the company behind the show, the 2009 event is set to be the biggest and most future-orientated yet. Show organisers Promotec SpA recently visited London and gave Tyres & Accessories details of what we can expect in May

A key new feature confirmed at Autopromotec 2009 is “Futurmotive,” which the organisers call “an attention-grabbing new feature showcasing environmentally sustainable technological innovations for car servicing companies. One of the show’s highlights, Futurmotive is being coordinated by Autopromotec in collaboration with Polo per la Mobilità Sostenibile (POMOS) (Centre for Sustainable Mobility) at the University of Rome La Sapienza; and the Centro Salesiano di Formazione Professionale (CNOS FAP). The new Futurmotive feature is designed to respond to increasingly widespread interest among consumers towards alternative car fuelling and maintenance, with special attention being given to fuel economy and CO2 emissions.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli to End Tyre Production at Manresa, Spain Plant

Product News

Pirelli Tyre is reportedly ending tyre manufacturing at the company’s Manresa, Spain factory on 31 December 2009. According to a Reuter’s report, the company told union officials it hoped to branch into “other activities,” however further details are not expected until April. According to the report 550 workers employees in Manresa may lose their jobs. Headcount at the plant is said to have fallen from 750 after car demand fell in Spain. The concept of establishing a logistics centre for tyre distribution is reportedly being floated as a factory alternative.

According to the Pirelli website, the Manresa factory (located in the Catalonia region of Spain) opened in 1924 and covers 211,000 square metres. Production at the plant totals 41,900 tonnes of UHP passenger and SUV tyres a year. Total employees were numbered at 1009.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Launches Wanderer SUV Tyre

Product News

Indian manufacturer MRF has announced the launch of its new tyre series for SUVs, the MRF Wanderer. The range is all-terrain with a cut-resistant compound in addition to a reinforced steel-belt package under the tread and a multi-layered carcass and the sidewall, adding up to a tyre designed for longer life. It also boasts heavy, very visible branding on the sidewall, giving it a striking appearance.

The tyre is to be released onto the domestic Indian market, with a specific focus, according to the company’s press release, on such models as the Mahindra Scorpio, the Bolero, the Xylo, the Tata Safari and the Sumo.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Supports African Charity Success

Product News

An expedition of Land Rover enthusiasts, supported by Goodyear, has completed its mission to travel 6,500 miles for a range of charitable causes across Africa. The team set out from Goodyear’s Birmingham head office, as reported on Tyrepress.com in early January, and finished in Timbuktu having donated their vehicles, along with educational and medical supplies, to good causes along the way. The charities included Sightsavers International in the Gambia and Mali, Operafrica in the Gambia and Village by village and Sabre Charitable trust in Ghana. In total eight vehicles were donated to help the charities conduct their work.

Goodyear supplied the vehicles with the brand’s market leading 4×4 tyres, the Wrangler MT/R. For such a dynamic range of terrain from roads and gravel to deserts and flood plains, the vehicles really needed high performing tyres for their journey. Having been used previously on the Land Rover G4 Challenge, the Wrangler’s ability to traverse the toughest of terrains with its reinforced side walls and aggressive shoulder blocks gave the required performance in the vast range of conditions the team encountered.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Reports 2008 Losses of $219 million

Product News

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has published losses of $219 million for the 2008 financial year. The company made profits of $120 million in 2007. 2008 group sales totalled $2.88 billion, down slightly from 2007 sales of $2.93 billion. According to a company statement detailing the financials, some of the 2008 losses can be attributed to restructuring charges from the company’s planned closure of its Albany, Georgia, tyre facility.

Cooper’s International Tire Operations division, which includes Cooper Tire & Rubber Europe, reported sales of $176 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with sales of $228 million in the same quarter of 2007. According to the company, this decrease was the result of decreased volume, offset by improved price and mix. Expansion of the facilities in China was partially affected by the decrease in demand globally for tyres. The segment was also negatively impacted by a $31 million charge for impairment of goodwill. For the full year, the segment reported net sales of $975 million, an increase of 11 per cent compared with the year before.

26th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper to Issue Quarterly Dividend

Product News

Cooper has announced that it will once again be issuing its shareholders with a quarterly dividend of 10.5 cents. This will be the 148th consecutive quarter in which the company will be making this openhanded display to its shareholders. Considering current market conditions the continuation of the 10.5 cents payment – a figure first reported on Tyrepress.com in June 2002 – shows Cooper’s determination to project an image of business proceeding as normal throughout the downturn.

The dividend will become payable on common stock at close of business on 31 March, 2009, while stockholders of record will receive their payment at stumps on 9 March.

25th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

East Europe Plans Affected by Apollo Capex Reduction

Product News

According to Apollo Tyres vice-chairman and joint managing director Neeraj Kanwar, the company has reduced its capital expenditure plans for the next two years from Rs 30 billion (£414 million) to Rs10.5 billion (£145 million) due to the global economic slowdown. Part of this reduction involves placing the company’s Eastern Europe capex plans on hold.

In a February 25 interview on Indian business television channel NDTV profit, which was later reported by Reuters, Kanwar said “Our capex has come down from 3,000 crores (30 billion rupees) that we were planning to spend in the next 2 years to 1,050 crores (10.5 billion rupees) which we were planning to spend in India.”

25th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Greater Latitude

Premium, Product News

For Michelin’s 4×4 tyre segment, 2009 has got off to a flying start with the introduction of an all-new line-up. Named the Latitude Cross, the new tyre was officially unveiled on February 1 and is already available for UK customers. This latest addition to Michelin’s 4×4 range, a line-up that has been given a complete going over in the last two years, has been designed for the numerous 4×4 drivers who use their vehicle predominantly on the road, but nevertheless wish to take advantage – even if only occasionally – of the off-road capabilities offered by a 4×4.

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25th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Plant Cuts Operating Schedule

Product News

The Goodyear plant in Union City, Tennessee is reducing its operating schedule from a seven-day continuous operation to five days. The impact of the operation change on the plant’s workforce has yet to be determined, according to Jimmy Cagle, manager of communications at the plant. The 40-year-old plant, which employs 2,700, is already facing a loss of about 60 jobs this year. (Tire Review/Akron)

25th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

3.6 Million UK Drivers on Illegal Tyres

Product News

As many as 3.6 million UK motorists could be driving on illegal tyres, according to the latest research. Figures from the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) show that of nearly 60,000 cars checked in January 2009 by retail members, 7,000 were being driven on at least one illegal tyre. Extrapolated across the population, this could amount to 3.6 million cars in the UK whose owners are at risk of causing serious road accidents. The disturbing findings are reflected by another recent survey conducted by TyreSafe, revealing that nearly one in ten motorists expects to spend less on tyres in 2009 compared with last year.

“When you consider that there are over 30 million cars on the UK’s roads, learning that one in ten motorists admits they plan to spend less on tyres shows an alarming lack of awareness among drivers towards their own road safety and the safety of the others,” TyreSafe chairman Rob Beddis commented. “Many tyre dealers have indeed reported that more drivers are letting their tyres run below the legal tread depth before they replace them as they feel the financial pinch. This is a worrying trend which sadly may result in more accidents and road deaths as a result of the loss of grip and longer stopping distances associated with illegal tyres.”

The TyreSafe research reveals that motorists in London are most likely to decrease their spending on tyres in 2009 with one in ten drivers expecting to spend less, while drivers in the East Midlands have the most responsible attitude towards replacing tyres, with less than 3 per cent expecting to spend less on tyres over the coming year.

25th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Renews Supply Commitment to Formula 3 Euro Series

Product News

Kumho Tires’ role as official tyre supplier to the Formula 3 Euro Series has been extended to 2011. The renewed contract was signed on February 18 at a meeting between the head of the series’ organising committee, Walter Mertes, and H.S. Lee, president of Kumho Tire Europe GmbH, at Kumho’s European headquarters in Offenbach, Germany.

The F3 Euro Series was founded in 2003 by the organisers of the French and German championships. A full grid of 32 cars, the largest number since the series began, will contest the 20-race 2009 series between May and October, with rounds in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands.

25th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Classic Dunlop Aquajet Range Gains New 13-inch Size

Product News

Hampshire based Vintage Tyre Supplies has confirmed that, after an absence of more than a decade, the Dunlop Aquajet in 165R13 size – original equipment on many cars in the late 60s and 70s, including Lotus and Ford models – is once more available. The addition of the H speed rated tyre, which is both E-marked and DOT approved, brings the size of the current Aquajet range to six tyres, ranging from 10 to 15-inch rim diameter.

25th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

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