Retail Motor Industry (RMI) MOT chairman John Ball, is urging members, industry colleagues and consumers, to take the opportunity to make their voice heard by participating in an EU MOT survey, which runs from 30 July to 24 September: “This survey is a chance to make clear your view on the importance of the MOT and highlight the potential issues with and reduction in the regularity of testing”.
In the US the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission is to inhale $5 million into a $14 million project to establish a tyre research facility within the state. A further $5 million is to come from General Motors and $4 million from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), and will be situated in Halifax County, in Virginia’s Southside region.
Fly ash recycling technology firm RockTron has announced it will launch RockTron Asia at the IGEM Conference in Malaysia between 17 and 24 October. Malaysia will provide the British company’s first Asian facility, which will be able to recycle 100 per cent of both fresh and stockpiled coal-fired power station waste (otherwise known as fly ash) through its closed wet system, without any waste stream, according to the company. The processed “eco-minerals” can be used to manufacture tyre rubber filler, as a company representative explains: “RockTron’s product MinTron is a filler for tyre rubber and costs a fraction of the market price (approximately 25-40 per cent less). The amount destined for tyre application is limited to how much a client wishes to order (i.e. it is limitless). Our UK plant at fiddlers ferry is capable of recycling 800,000 tonnes of fly ash and turning it into fillers for rubber in tyres.”
Upcoming European tyre labelling and associated regulations are serving as a laxative for some tyre manufacturers, while others are relishing their implementation. Counted amongst this second category is Michelin, who sees similarities between the label and its own ‘innovation strategy’ – the tyre maker’s focus upon three areas it sees as inseparable: Reducing vehicle fuel consumption, ensuring outstanding safety performance and offering greater total mileage.
TGL S.P. Industries Ltd. (TGL), a subsidiary of equipment firm Pelmar Group, has announced the start of product at its new custom compounding plant in Yokneam, Israel. The official opening ceremony has been schedule to be held on site, on 27 July in the presence of Israel’s Minister of Industry & Commerce, Israel’s former Defence Minister and General (Res) in the Israel Defense Forces. The new plant was built at a cost of around $4 million and is designed to allow TGL to be “completely independent to supply rubber compounds for its own production lines and also to distribute the extra capacity to rubber manufacturers in Israel and abroad.”
According to the company, the compounding line features a high capacity Farrel 200 litre mixer and automatic discharging, cooling and stacking line. This combined with fully automatic weighing and charging systems for carbon black, silica, oil and small chemical ingredients is designed to enable TGL to meet the continuing and “extremely high technological requirements” of its customers.
Market research firm RNCOS is predicting that the Indian passenger car tyre market will grow an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8 per cent 2010 and 2014. According to the “Indian Tyre Industry Analysis”, the Indian tyre industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world.
A three-year cooperation agreement recently signed between Michelin and German agricultural machinery manufacturer Claas is expected to strengthen the two company’s collaboration in several areas, such as research, development and market intelligence. According to Michelin, the agreement demonstrates the two partners’ “confidence in today’s changing farm markets and their shared commitment to developing their operations in this sector.”
A standardised test process conducted by TÜV SÜD Automotive between four brands of winter tyre saw the GT Radial Champiro Winterpro come out on top. The manufacturer reports its tyre was found to have the best braking qualities on wet and dry surfaces and features above-average aquaplaning and snow driving behaviour. In the words of GT Radial, it was “the clear number one” following completion of all driving tests.
On September 11 and 12 the gates to the MIRA testing ground near Nuneaton are being opened to the public for the Motors Live at MIRA ’10 event, and Giti Tire has announced its participation during the weekend’s activities. Giti, the only tyre maker invited to participate, will operate MIRA’s wet circuit facilities and give attendees the opportunity to see how tyres are evaluated during their development. A tyre development engineer will drive visitors in a performance BMW on a circuit that simulates hazardous driving conditions.
North Eastern Tyre and Autocare (NETA) says its customers can save time and money by taking advantage of its new online service. Purchasing tyres and booking a fitting appointment at a NETA branch through the www.nete.co.uk website is as easy as purchasing a book or downloading music from an online retailer, the North East and Yorkshire based company notes, and the online system comes complete with built in updates that gives customers a reminder about when service or other work is due.
Iranian researchers at Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran have reportedly prolonged the lifetime and reduced the weight of rubbers used in truck tyres by incorporating silicate nanocomposites in their blends. The Iran Nano Initiative Council says that faculty member of the university’s Polymer Engineering Department, Azam Jalali Arani, first formulated the nanosilicate incorporated rubber blend. She then analysed and determined the optimised conditions for preparation of this blend. Following this, blending and production of the nanocomposite sample and analysing and testing the properties of sample vulcanization were performed by rheometric test.
Vipal said one of the company’s highlights for Reifen 2010 was its new range of treads. Branded ECO, they form part of Vipal’s “Transport Sustainability Project”. These products, claims Vipal, go far beyond the savings from retreading: they also contribute to a cleaner environment and benefit the transport industry. ECO treads are designed to decrease rolling resistance, thereby decreasing fuel consumption, and raising mileage performance.
Robert Halfon, the MP for Harlow, has Tabled a Motion in Parliament following a radio morning (on Wednesday, 30 June) with consumer motoring champion Quentin Willson debating poor garage servicing.
The news follows survey evidence showing that over half of the British population who have had a car serviced in a garage before are not totally confident that the work they have paid for has been carried out. That’s according to new YouGov research recently commissioned by BSI Kitemark, which throws light on just how wary people have become of garages and what work is actually being done to their cars.
Bridgestone Corp. is partnering with the World Agroforestry Centre in a program to help small rubber tree growers Indonesia. The partnership will provide growers with information and guidance on best practices in the cultivation of rubber trees. The parties will also conduct joint research intended to help stabilize the region's agricultural rubber industry into the future.
Last year Shandong Linglong reportedly exported 12.969 million tyres and earned an export delivery income of RMB 4.139 billion (£403.6 million), an amount said to be more than that earned by any other Chinese manufacturer. At the Reifen 2010 show in Germany, Shandong Linglong Tire Co., Ltd. CEO Wang Feng told Tyres & Accessories that the company’s aim for 2010 is to further improve on this already impressive result.
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