Product News Archives - Page 91 of 260

Greater Latitude

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.

Membership Required

Already a member? Log in here

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

Strength & Comfort the Goal of Goodyear’s Latest Wrangler

Product News

New from Goodyear in 2009 is the Wrangler AT/SA, a tyre for 4×4 drivers seeking mobility both on and off the road. The Wrangler AT/SA has been released onto the market following extensive testing on the company’s on and off-road test facilities – tests that Goodyear says show the new tyre to outperform its major competitors and its predecessor in both wet braking and wet handling tests.

Durability on rough surfaces comes courtesy of a generous serving of Kevlar. Two layers of the five-times stronger than steel material are built into the tyre in addition to the its two high-tensile steel belts; the main benefit the layers offer, says Goodyear, is improved resistance to punctures in the tread – however Kevlar layers also act as a sound barrier, absorbing noise for an especially quiet ride. This combination of strength and silence is part of what the manufacturer calls its ‘SilentArmor Technology’, a proprietary innovation first introduced on Goodyear 4×4 some four years ago.

24th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Sacramento Samurai Strikes

Product News

Tyres fitted to cars parked in the street in the town of Lincoln, California (to the north east of Sacramento) were sleeping a little easier this weekend, after a large sword that was used to slash city vehicles’ rubber was recovered by the police Friday (21 February). It was reported that a 19 year-old woman named Ashley Belisle was arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism through swordplay and was taken to Placer County Jail in Auburn, though was released later.

Posters on the Sacramento Bee’s crime blog, however, were ready to leap to conclusions. Blogger Soylent_Green_is_now heaped the blame on cultural influences, suggesting “one too many anime conventions” as the inspiration for the wave of destruction; meanwhile Briencook took a more reasoned approach, stating, “What a bizarre (and costly) crime spree. She must be dealing with some mental problems. If not, Big-O is hiring.” However, the frustration of finding your tyres ripped by a rapier was possibly best surmised by lovemycity916, who simply declared, “fu**in ninjas.”

24th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Serbia’s Trayal Resumes Production

Product News

According to the Beta News Agency, production at one of the three tyre factories belonging to Serbian manufacturer Trayal Corporation will recommence during the week of February 23 to 27, following a three-month pause. The company’s Dedina passenger car tyre factory is the first to resume activity since work stopped at the Trayal plants in mid-November 2008. To begin with, the factory will produce 4,200 tyres per day, significantly lower than the target of 10,000 passenger car tyres per day (by the end of 2009) set when investment into capacity expansion was announced in February 2008.

24th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Home on the Ranger

Product News

The 4×4 line-up produced by Avon Tyres goes under the ‘Ranger’ brand name, and covers five distinct tyre ranges, each designed to cope with the varying demands of modern four-wheel drive vehicles. Those SUV owners more at home on the road may find what they are looking for in the Avon Ranger Sport, a tyre with most of its dynamic abilities focused towards performance on the blacktop. Especially suited to the latest 18-20in fitments used both as standard equipment and extensively in the aftermarket, the Ranger Sport is a low profile, V-shaped tread pattern high performance tyre available in V-rated sizes.

24th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear DuraTrac Helps Pick-Up Owners Work & Play Hard

Product News

Goodyear’s North American truck tyre line-up has received a boost with the introduction of the Wrangler DuraTrac, a tyre the manufacturer says comes with new features that make it ideal for a broad range of work applications, from construction and farming to landscaping and mining. And just to prove the new tyre is not just all work and no play, Goodyear adds that it also delivers the performance pickup truck owners are looking for when they clock out and hit the trails to partake in wholesome all-American recreational activities such as camping, fishing and hunting.

24th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Norbar Wins Family Business Award

Product News

Norbar Torque Tools Limited from Banbury, has been named ‘Best UK Family Business, Southern England and Wales Region’, in the £5-25m turnover category of the Coutts Prize for Family Business 2008/9. The company will now go on to compete in the same category at the national finals to be held in central London on 23rd June 2009.

Established in 1942, Norbar as a third generation family business became the first company in Britain to commercially manufacture a torque wrench. The initial demand was driven by the need for the gasket-less cylinder head of the Rolls Royce Merlin engine to be accurately tightened. Since then, Norbar has continued to invest in the latest design, manufacturing and quality control technology to achieve the highest level of innovation and precision in the field of torque control and equipment. The company now employs 200 people in Banbury, with a further 90 staff within its sales companies in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and China. The Company’s philosophy is about providing customers with high quality value for money products and services whilst being committed to the principals of environmental sustainability.

24th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Are You Ready For The Vehicles Of Tomorrow? Asks Philip Hodges

Product News

Philip Hodges is MD of Beissbarth UK and, in this article, he looks forward to the future facing vehicle servicing and repair technicians. Says Philip: It would be interesting to hear the comments and see the reaction of early pioneers of the Motor Car – Henry Ford, Rolls Royce, Auto Union, Benz and a host of others – who in their own way provided us with what is an everyday pleasure for some and for others a tool for every day means of transport and commerce.

All of these pioneers would, I expect, be amazed at the technology of today’s vehicles but also be speechless at the speed of the new developments which drivers of the future will take for granted.

24th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Carlisle Begins Two Week Shutdown

Product News

Pirelli’s Carlisle tyre production plant has today halted production for two weeks. An official statement issued by the company explained that the factory has been forced to close until 4 March in combat the effects of the global economic downturn. It is the second shutdown at the plant, which employs around 1000 people, this year. Further shutdowns have not been ruled out.

“Pirelli Industrial in the UK has already taken steps to mitigate the effect on employees by reducing to zero overtime, an extended Christmas and New Year break, and announcing a further shutdown in February 2009,” the statement explained, blaming the “spectacular fall in production experienced in the car industry.”

24th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Compound Interest

Product News

Road transport dominates Europe’s haulage business, with over 80 per cent of total freight in the region shipped by this means. The story is much the same in North America and in most world markets, and the pressure to remain competitive is high. Opportunities to reduce operating costs without compromising the standard of service are limited, and fuel economy is viewed as one of only a few factors that can be positively manipulated. Indeed, the September 2008 PricewaterhouseCoopers report “The Truck Industry’s Green Challenge: headwind or competitive edge?” identified fuel economy as the road transportation industry’s number one purchasing criteria. Yet an innovation widely embraced by manufacturers of passenger car tyres, the use of silica in the compound to facilitate lower rolling resistance, has remained beyond the commercial sector’s reach – until now. In November 2008, two established providers of solutions for the tyre industry, Rhodia and Dow Corning, announced the formation of an alliance to address this problem. The result of their joint work is already on the road.

24th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Further Expands Forest Rider Range

Product News

The Nokian Forest Rider product family has been expanded with new sizes intended for large and heavy tractors. These further additions to the Forest Rider range are designed, says Nokian, for demanding and highly challenging usage conditions such as the harvesting of energy wood and building & maintaining forest roads. Suitable for tractors ranging from 200 to 500 horsepower, the new products fill a gap in the Finnish manufacturer’s existing line-up.

24th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Schaeffler Willing to Sell Up to Save Company

Product News

Schaeffler Group’s billionaire owners (Maria-Elisabeth and son Georg Schaeffler) are reportedly willing to sell a significant amount of the family owned company in order to avoid a break-up of the automotive supplier. Initial reports in Thomson’s Merger News suggested Schaeffler’s owners were prepared to sell up to 75 per cent of the group in order to hold onto an anchor investment and prevent a break-up of the company. However, six hours later, Forbes quoted Detlef Sieverdingbeck, the firm’s spokesman, as saying that there is “no bottom or top limit.”

The latest developments are being seen as a further concession designed to convince the German government to give Schaeffler emergency support. 24 hours earlier Schaeffler’s owners signed a co-determination pact with the union that represents workers at both the Schaeffler Group and Continental AG businesses. Analysts observed that Schaeffler’s willingness to sell its stock and cosy up to the unions shows just how precarious the situation is for both the Schaeffler Group and Continental AG.

During the day’s trading Forbes reported that Continental had plummeted 21 per cent to 10.11 euros, the stock’s sharpest fall for 16 years.

24th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Turkish Tyre Factories Pause Production

Product News

Two of the largest tyre manufacturing plants in Turkey paused production for a week following reduced OE demand. The Brisa (Bridgestone/Sabanci) plant which produces Lassa branded tyres initiated a week-long production break in order to “realign production” company representatives told Tyres & Accessories. Turkish Pirelli Tyres Corporation also halted production at its factory in the north-western province of Kocaeli, according to the Hurriyet newspaper. Around 2,200 workers are employed at the two plants, 1,072 of which work for Brisa and will remain on the pay roll, Turkish Tyre-Labor Union representative Huseyin Cakar told Hurriyet.

24th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Posts

We see you are visiting us from China.