Olli Seppälä, formerly head of research and development at Nokian Tyres, parted ways with the tyre maker last week. The decision to move on after almost two decades wasn’t one taken lightly, Seppälä reports, adding that he leaves a company that “has a stronger product portfolio than ever” as well as “even better products in the pipeline and capable, talented employees who lead and drive the company forward.”
Apollo Tyres is investing £5 million in a London-based digital innovation hub as part of a five-year growth plan, which involves significant investment in technology and cloud infrastructure. The announcement is set against the backdrop of UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s visit to India to discuss UK-India economic partnership, with Johnson specifically commenting on Apollo’s investment.
The Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. has decided to promote one of its senior technical executives, Koji Watanabe, and increase his area of responsibility. According to a statement issued by the company on 29 March, the decision took effect from 30 March 2022.
BWR Motorsports GmbH has developed technology which enables Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA tyre) testing to take place at the racetrack. Centred on a portable tyre testing unit called Motite, the system helps race teams across series such as Formula One and WEC to measure tyre grip levels and rank tyres on-track. The software allows an immediate grip level output and enables measurement and analysis to be carried out directly on the tyre.
The Audi Environmental Foundation has developed filters for urban runoff in conjunction with the Technical University of Berlin. They prevent tyre wear particles and other substances from being washed into sewers and bodies of water along with rainwater. Initial field and lab tests have now demonstrated the efficiency of the UrbanFilter project.
Nokian Tyres is launching an innovation challenge to change the future of driving. The “Fast Race, Big Change” challenge is an open competition inviting start-ups, businesses, students and academics to innovate for more sustainable tyres. The finalists will be offered the unique opportunity to pitch their idea at Nokian Tyres’ legendary – and rather dauntingly named – ‘White Hell’ tyre testing centre in Lapland, during one lap on a test track. The winner will have the chance to collaborate with the Nokian Tyres R&D experts to craft their idea into reality.
Bridgestone has inaugurated a new state-of-the-art wet handling track at its European Proving Ground (EUPG) near Rome. The tyre manufacturer says the track was designed to provide suitable testing for “both traditional vehicle manufacturers and new EV players” in a variety of weather conditions. Designed within a virtual environment ahead of construction, the project received an investment of approximately 3 million euros.
A decade after the first agreement, Pirelli, Milan Polytechnic and Polytechnic Foundation have signed off a three-year continuation of their ‘Joint Labs’ programme, which centres upon research projects that advance tyre-related technological innovation.
Vesevo has been awarded Hardware Innovation of the Year in the Automotive Testing Technology International Awards. According to the company, the VESevo system won thanks to its hardware which offers detailed analysis of the quality of tyres and predicts their interaction with the vehicle – offering advantages, above all, in safety, performance, and quality control.
An aquaplaning measuring solution devised by Tread Ltd founder Ray Collier has won the prestigious Autocar Drivers of Change Digital Award. According to the award citation, Collier’s one-box solution offers a unique way of reducing the R&D costs associated with car and light truck/van tyres.
Pirelli has welcomed the president and chief executive officer of Formula 1 to Circuito Panamericano, the tyre maker’s most advanced proving ground. Stefano Domenicali is currently visiting the region to attend this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix, and during yesterday’s tour of the facility was accompanied by Mario Isola, Pirelli’s head of F1 and Car Racing, and Cesar Martin Alarcon, Pirelli’s chief executive officer and executive vice-president of the LatAm region.
Prometeon Tyre Group has opened its largest global dedicated R&D Centre at its plant in Kocaeli, Turkey. The opening ceremony was held in the presence of Mustafa Varank, Minister of Industry and Technology of Turkey. Representing Prometeon were Roberto Righi, deputy general manager of Prometeon Tyre Group, Alexandre Bregantim, global chief technical officer of Prometeon Tyre Group, Lale Cander, chairwoman of Prometeon Turkey, and the entire management team of Prometeon Turkey. The event was held with a limited number of guests, in line with the ongoing pandemic measures.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) has become one of the first industrial sector users to access the world’s most powerful computer. SRI is using the new ‘exascale’ Fugaku supercomputer to expand its materials simulation capabilities at the smallest particle level. The manufacturer has previously tapped into supercomputer technology to assist with the development of its tyre technology. Its tyre engineers previously used Japan’s K-supercomputer to launch its 4D NANO Design process. SRI credits the resulting step change in performance with the increasing number of accolades and original equipment deals subsequently achieved by its Falken tyre range list.
Under extensions to an agreement first signed in 2019, tyre maker Hankook and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) will continue and expand operations at the HK-KAIST Digital Innovation Center, which is located within the Hankook Technodome in Daejeon, Korea.
Continental has become the first tyre manufacturer to order Ansible Motion’s all-new advanced Driver-in-the-Loop (DIL) simulator, the Delta S3. Simulation technology, which is now capable of modelling tyre performance to an extreme degree of accuracy, is increasingly employed by car manufacturers and original equipment suppliers, such as tyre manufacturers. Conti’s decision to bring in the latest DIL simulation technology is informed by the need to mirror its OEM customers’ development processes, but the system’s most important effect will be the efficiency benefits it delivers, as Dr. Boris Mergell, head of research and development of the Tires business area at Continental, explains. “Developing and testing premium tyres is a highly complex, time-intensive process. By using the new dynamic driving simulator, we will make this development process even more efficient in the future.”
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BWR Motorsport
Audi
Bridgestone
Vesevo; Megaride
Tread Ltd
RIKEN
Ansible Motion