Reduced profits in the Indian tyre market and an uncertainty about acceptance of radial truck and bus tyres has forced Michelin to take stock of its plans for the continent. Plans for a $115m plant at Maharashta have been put on hold. In the meantime Michelin is testing the market with imported radials before making a final decision.
Group Michelin has developed a new radial aircraft tyre. Designed to be more damage resistant than existing aircraft tyres, testing will take place on an Air France Concorde in the next few weeks.
Cooper Tire is launching a new Cooper-branded tyre in Europe, aimed at the small van and light truck market. The Discoverer AST II replaces the p-metric sizes of the Discoverer Radial AST and is available in twelve, S-rated sizes for 15 and 16 inch rims. The new tyre will be made at Coopers Findlay, Ohio factory.
Polish tyre manufacturer Stomil-Olsztyn, a member of the Michelin-group, is offering a new radial tyre for trailers, called “AM-17 Transport” , size 400/70 R20 150D, through its German distributor Bohnenkamp (Osnabrück). Its higher loading capacity as well as the significantly reduced rolling resistance compared with its diagonal version shall make this new tyre to an economic alternative for the farmer.
Michelin has introduced the MachXbib – a tubeless radial designed for high-powered tractors. It combines high load carrying capacity with low soil compaction. On the road, it permits heavy load transportation at sp eeds up to 50 km/hr. It is available in two sizes: 900/50 R42 TL and 710/55 R30 TL.
African tyre maker Dunlop has seen a turnaround in its fortunes, turning a loss of $18.3 million (20.23 million Euro) into a profit of $25 million (27.64 million Euro) in the first half of the year. Sales have increased by 52 percent from $577 million (637.85 million Euro) to $879.6 million (972.31 million Euro). Developments at Bulawayo and Harare, new radial tyre ranges and the development of the Common Market for Southern Africa indicate that the improvements should continue for the foreseeable future. Kenyan tyre chain Kingsway Tyres has signed a deal with Dunlop to the exclusive distribution rights to Dunlop tyres and tubes. Dunlop hopes the move will bring its products closer to the Kenyan market.
Cooper Tire and Rubber Company has filed tentative agreement to settle 32 lawsuits brought against the company in the past 10 months. This involves a five year plan offering free replacement tyres for all Cooper produced steel-belted radial tyres, made between 1985 and 2001, that suffered tread separations.
Goodyear has introduced a new, supermodern agricultural tyre specifically for harvesters and tractor units. The new products have been developed with soil protection and high load resistance in mind. Thanks to its 900 mm width, tractor units equipped with the new DT830 remain within the three metre maximum legal width for highway use without the need for a special license. With a maximum pressure of 2.2 bar the new tyre is capable of carrying loads up to 11.8 tons. For use on delicate soil conditions the DT830 is well qualified with a low pressure of 0.8 bar and a wheel load of 7.5tons it creates a footprint of 96 cm by almost 90 cm, offering a contact area of more than 0.8 square metres. In addition the radial belt cords guarantee an even distribution of pressure over the whole contact area. Goodyear offers the DT830 in three sizes; The 900/55 R 32 to be available in Spring 2001, the 900/60 R 32 available in pre-series at present, and the 900/50 R 42 which is already available through Goodyear outlets. Find out more in the November issue of NEUE REIFENZEITUNG.
A case has been brought against Goodyear and M&T Inc, the owner of a local Big O Tire store. The widows of three men killed in a rollover claim that the Kelly Springfield Metric Radial suffered a tread separation, resulting in the deaths of their husbands. It is not clear whether the action has been pending, or whether this case has been brought subsequent to the Bridgestone/Firestone recall.
As part of a policy to consolidate truck tyre production under one roof, Yokohama Rubber Co Ltd has announced it will phase out production of truck and bus tyres at its Hiratsuka, Japan plant by the beginning of 2002. All radial truck and bus tyre will then be produced at the company’s larger plant in Mie, Japan and the Hiratsuka plant will concentrate on the production of non-tyre products.
Cooper-Avon has announced the launch of a newly developed road and track tyre, the CR500, which will be fitted to Caterham’s new Superlight R500 model. The tyre has been jointly developed by Cooper-Avon and Caterham and is heavily influenced by Avon’s radial tyre racing success.
Continental has introduced a new radial industrial tyre, the “ConRAD HT” in size 8.25 R15. It will also be available in a “clean” version for applications such as the food industry.
In the US, Goodyear has introduced the second in its Wingfoot line of tyres, designed for the cost-conscious customer. The Wingfoot DTR is a drive traction radial initially available in size 295/75 R22.5. Three more sizes – 11R22.5, 11R24.5 and 285/75 R24.5 – will be introduced this autumn. The DTR replaces the G124.
Continental has launched a new radial tyre for motorcycles, targeting the sport touring segment. The “ContiForce” is available in three sizes for the front and in eight sizes for the rear.
There is hardly any international group, that has managed such drastic changes within such a short time, as Michelin. Not least, thanks to the world-wide success of radial tyres, François Michelin (74) was able to make the French tyre manufacturer a global player. His single-mindedness, with which he backed the product and its technical superiority, has resulted in a product- or manufacturer-driven group. It doesn’t matter therefore, if this group is No 1 or “only” 2 in today’s ranking of the world’s biggest tyre companies, considering that ranking can change quickly. Handing the leadership of the group over to his son Edouard (37), a process started years ago and now finished, has meant more for the company than just a change from old to young, from one generation to another. In keeping best with the group’s company philosophy and its assets, Edouard Michelin has been successful in creating and establishing his company as a market-driven business. At the end of September, Edouard Michelin made himself available to TYRES & ACCESSORIES for a detailed interview in Paris. The article featured in our November issue can be downloaded in full length as PDF file (size: 209 kbyte, Adobe Acrobat Reader required).
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