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TyreSafe Promotes Bike Tyre Awareness

In the run-up to April’s Bike Tyre Safety Month, TyreSafe is calling on tyre retailers to help raise awareness of the importance of tyres in bike safety. Statistic from VOSA reveal that in 2007/08, defective or illegal tyres was recorded as the fourth most common MoT failure defect. Worryingly, the number of MoT failures attributed to defective tyres has grown year on year for the past three years, increasing from 2.8 per cent of motorcycles tested in 2005/06 to 4.8 per cent in 2007/08. Meanwhile, motorcycle fatality rates remain high, with Department for Transport figures showing that in 2007, 588 motorcyclists died in road traffic accidents, accounting for 20 percent of all fatalities on the road.

16th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Won’t Colour MotoGP Compounds

Though its different compounds in Formula One were coloured last season to generate interest among spectators, Bridgestone told motorsport news sources that it has no plans to incorporate a similar scheme into its tyres for the new MotoGP season, of which it is the sole tyre supplier.

While the move to slicks in F1 in 2009 will make it as hard for the company to continue its colouration as it would to colour motorcycle tyres, it has been suggested that the company will colour the sidewall of its softer compound tyre green, where last year’s F1 tyre had a white stripe in the softer compound’s tread pattern. The same cannot be said for its plans in MotoGP: “Presently there is no plan to differentiate tyres in MotoGP as is done in Formula One,” a Bridgestone spokesman told crash.net.

16th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

SPD May Support Schaeffler State Aid

Germany’s Social Democratic party (SPD) is reportedly “open in principle” Continental AG major shareholder Schaeffler Group with state aid, SPD chairman Franz Muentefering told reporters in Berlin. “Situations can arise in which you need to help many, many families in order to prevent a catastrophe…Then you need to do it,” Muentefering added. The politician didn’t give any details of how government discussions on how the government’s discussions with Schaeffler could work out.

16th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

India’s Birla Temporarily Shut Orissa Plant Again

Indian news sources are reporting that Birla Tyres – part of the BK Birla Group’s company Kesoram Industries – has closed its plant in Orissa temporarily for the second half of February. The current slide in the market has been blamed for necessitating the measure. The closure follows similar action in the back end of January 2009, as reported on Tyrepress.com. More than 4,000 people work at the plant, which has a capacity of 1.5 million units per year. It produces tyres, tubes and flaps.

16th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

STL Gets Global Award Nod

Standards Testing Laboratories was nominated for a Tire Technology International Award for Innovation and Excellence in the Tire Industry Supplier of the Year category. The awards are sponsored by Tire Technology International magazine, and will be presented on 18 February in Hamburg, Germany.

“We’re honoured to be considered for the Tire Industry Supplier of the Year award as we focus on company growth that allows us to serve tyre and wheel customers throughout the world,” said Cheryl Schnuth, STL vice president of marketing. “Our expert team of engineers, scientists and technicians devotes each day to conducting high-quality, unbiased testing that delivers accurate, reliable data.” (Tire Review/Akron)

16th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Capitalize Placed in Charge of Pirelli UK Motorcycle Segment PR

Pirelli has handed London based agency Capitalize responsibility for promoting its motorcycling activities in the UK. Initial projects for the agency will include a PR campaign for Pirelli and Metzeler’s racing activities, to publicise the company’s growing product range through specialist and trade motorcycling media as well as to a wider audience through motorsport, national and consumer lifestyle outlets.

Pirelli’s racing portfolio ranges from sole control tyre for the World Superbike Championship and British Superbike Championship to its presence at landmark road racing events including the Isle of Man TT, North West 200 and Macau GP as well as widespread club racing events. The company has also claimed victories in the 2008 MX1 and MX2 Motocross Championships, bringing its tally to a respectable 51 World Championship crowns.

16th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Canada Sponsors BMW Program

Continental Tire Canada said it is continuing sponsorship of the BMW Winter Driver Training programme. The programme includes the BMW Winter Driver Training, recently held at the International Club Academy Racing (ICAR) in Mirabel, Quebec, which teaches participants key maneouvres such as emergency braking and avoidance, front and rear wheel skid control, 180-degree turns, and drifting.

“We are very proud to support BMW in its new programme”, said Maiti Leinss, Continental Canada’s marketing coordinator. “We see this programme as a great initiative for more safety on Canadian roads by promoting the importance of a good winter tyre and a trained driver.” (Tire Review/Akron)

16th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Tyres to Receive OTR Investment Loan from BEML

In 2007 Apollo Tyres entered into an agreement to supply OTR tyres to Indian mining equipment manufacturer BEML, and on February 13 the tyre maker announced it will receive a Rs 1 billion (£14.45 million) loan from the state-owned enterprise to cover the costs of a new facility that will meet anticipated BEML demand. The first phase of Apollo’s new OTR tyre facility in Gujarat, being built at a total cost of Rs 1.2 billion (£17.34 million), will be dedicated to output for the equipment manufacturer. Further investments to boost the production of radial OTR tyres will also be made over the next three years, Apollo announced.

While the first batch of tyres from the new facility has already been shipped to BEML, the factory is expected to commence continuous production in March.

16th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bosch Appoints New Asia/Pacific Regional President

Automotive technology and services supplier the Bosch Group has announced that former vice president of Sales for the Bosch Independent Aftermarket West Europe & Mediterranean, Ken Ford, has been appointed to a new role as regional president for Asia/Pacific. Ford begins in his new position on April 1, 2009 and will be based in Singapore.

The new Asia/Pacific regional president began his career with Bosch in 2004 as the divisional director for Automotive Aftermarket Bosch UK and Ireland. His other previous roles have included general manager for the Aftermarket Western Europe and, most recently, vice president of Sales Western Europe & Mediterranean.

13th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin, Valeo Partner on Hybrid Systems

Valeo and Groupe Michelin are combing efforts to develop electric and rechargeable hybrid vehicle systems. The pair will work on such systems as drive train, engine and battery cooling management, climate control, lighting, energy management and tyres.

“Michelin and Valeo are convinced that by joining forces they will help to accelerate the emergence of electric vehicles in France and worldwide,” the companies said in a statement. (Tire Review/Akron)

13th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Reports: Schaeffler Could Now Get State Aid

According to Reuters, Conti shares grew 6.7 per cent on Friday (13 February 2009) after Renate Schmidt, member for the SPD in the German Bundestag, reportedly declared that state aid for Schaeffler may be possible under certain conditions. The news follows potential investor Abu Dhabi-owned IPIC denying it was interested. Pirelli also ruled itself out of any possible deal earlier in the week.

13th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Net Income Falls 53.8%

Michelin has reported that group sales fell 2.9 per cent in 2008, and 16 per cent in the final quarter. Net income fell 53.8 per cent, to 357 million euros in 2008 compared with 774 million euros in 2007. The financial come against a backdrop of spiralling tyre unit sales volumes (down 2.9 per cent for the year, falling a huge 16 per cent in the fourth quarter). However, when calculated at constant exchange rates, net sales reportedly grew 1.1 per cent in 2008. Either way, operating margin took a real beating falling 4.2 percentage points to 5.6 per cent in 2008.

In response to the figures, Forbes reported “investors sent shares of Michelin up 0.7 per cent, or 20 euro cents to 31.16 euros. Like Pirelli just a few days earlier, Michelin announced that it will work on enhancing plant flexibility, with an emphasis on driving further expansion in the new, high growth potential markets. In order to face the challenges that the “difficult” market is presenting, the company will cut capital expenditure to around 700 million euros.

13th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin May Still Be Interested in Conti

Michelin joint-head Michel Rollier, may have said that the company is facing market challenges head-on by cutting capital expenditure to 700 million euros, but that doesn’t mean it has ruled itself out of buying economically priced competitors. Speaking at a press conference on Friday 13 February, Rollier said the French tyre manufacturer would consider Continental AG again, if the company ever comes back on the market. Coming just days after Continental AG’s major shareholder appealed for investors and state support, commentators are speculating that Michelin has an acquisition strategy.

Asked what Michelin would do if Schaeffler were to look for a buyer for Continental, Rollier told journalists: “Obviously Michelin wouldn’t be absent. I can’t tell you more than that.” Rollier’s interest appears to stretch beyond Continental alone to any other strategic advantageous tyre marker: “There are many smaller tyre companies in the world, and it’s not impossible that the crisis can lead to mergers. Here too, we certainly won’t absent.”

13th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Alcoa Launches 120mm Offset Lightweight Truck Wheel

One year on from introducing its new series of lightweight wheels, forged aluminium wheel market leader, Alco launched the new FrontRunner 22.5 x 11.75, 120 mm offset wheel. According to the company, Alcoa has succeeded in lowering the weight of this FrontRunner wheel from 25 to 23.6 kilos, shaving off a further 1.4 kilograms.

The new wheel is interchangeable with the current one and also features a repositioned hand-hole design and rim flanges with a patented “Unified Rim Horn Design” to accommodate both stick- and clip-on balancing weights. The new FrontRunner will be available from February 2009 on. The 22.5 x 11.75 wheel joins existing products in 22.5 x 8.25, 22.5 x 9.00, 19.5 x 7.50 and 19.5 x 8.25 sizes.

13th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Trumpets Test Triumph

It’s a rare person that isn’t pleased with a good test result, and German tyre manufacturer Continental is clearly chuffed with the outcome of Autocar magazine’s recent tyre comparison. Indeed, a Conti press release highlights the ‘staggering’ difference in quality between tyres made in Europe and budget segment Asian imports.

Autocar experts travelled to Continental’s Contidrom in Germany and tested five Asian made summer tyres, using the ContiPremiumContact 2 as their reference tyre. As Conti reports, tests revealed that the imports encountered safety problems, mainly in wet driving conditions, but were also outperformed by the European tyre in terms of braking distance on dry asphalt. High-speed tests showed yet more problems, with four out of five of the import tyres failing to make the grade at top speeds.

13th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors