In hot pursuit…..of careless vehicle maintenance. According to Kwik-Fit, millions of UK motorists are at risk of being a DIPSTIC. Mind you, when the fast fit giant says this it isn’t doling out the harmless insult made popular by Hazzard County sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane – it means each of these road users is potentially a Driver In Poor State To Inspect Cars. Strong words indeed, but Kwik-Fit has survey results to back its claim.
Toyo Tire & Rubber has revised its consolidated and non-consolidated performance forecasts for the first half of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008 (the period between April 1, 2008 to September 30, 2008). The revisions replace the forecasts originally released on August 12 and May 13 respectively.
British motorists spend on average 27 days a year behind the wheel – this equates to car owners in the UK collectively spending over 700 million days a year sitting in their cars. In stark contrast to this, researchers found that the average Brit only cleans their car once every 94 days and for a grand total of one hour and 41 minutes per year. This means for every six and a half hours motorists spend driving they only spend one minute cleaning.
The research, conducted by Black & Decker in a bid to study people’s relationships with their cars, found that although the car is the scene for many day to day activities, including eating and working, only 12 per cent of the 1,089 car owners polled were concerned by the levels of dirt, grime and bacteria that build up through daily use.
Bridgestone says that it is pleased with the results of testing on the company’s new MotoGP offering, which was tested in Valencia after the conclusion of the 2008 season. The tyres will adorn all rides in the 2009 championship, following the decision to switch to a single control tyre.
“I am really very satisfied with the first trials of our new specification slick tyres which we were able to carry out in the dry conditions on Monday,” Tohru Ubukata, Bridgestone motorsport manager, race tyre development told motorsport journalists. “We have used the foundation of our 2008 tyres for these new specs but made some important alterations to ensure that the tyres have a wide operating window and can work well for all teams and riders. We have reduced the overall grip level of the tyres in order to accomplish this and the feedback from the riders has been encouraging. The track conditions on Monday were excellent and the lap times were also very competitive as a result. The most important thing for us is to know that our tyres are durable because this will be one of the most fundamental things for us next season.”
Micheldever Tyre Services, arguably the UK’s largest tyre wholesaler operation, has selected Syncron software to reduce inventory levels, increase availability and reduce operating costs. Micheldever has reportedly licensed Syncron’s Supply Chain Planning solution to achieve more efficient management of its supply chain. According to the company, the new system will help Micheldever reduce inventory levels, increase availability and reduce the cost of purchasing. The solution is also expected to reduce the amount of inter-location trucking between Micheldever distribution network outlets.
A total of 17 Vacu-Lug employees, accounting for approximately 12 per cent of the company’s staff, have gained qualifications related to the retread tyre business during 2008. Among these is Craig Caithness, Operations Technician at Vacu-Lug’s Grantham retread tyre factory, who has been awarded the UK’s highest mark in the 2008 City & Guilds Part 1 in Workshop Practice examination organised and operated by the Retread Manufacturers’ Association.
In total six Vacu-Lug employees sat and passed the City & Guilds examination, which is the fundamental qualification for the retread industry and covers every aspect of retreading from initial inspection to final quality control. Of the Vacu-Lug candidates, Craig Caithness was awarded a Distinction, while three of his colleagues gained Passes and two Credits.
British Columbia’s OK Tire ranked highest in customer satisfaction on the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Canadian Customer Commitment Index Study. Based in Langley, B.C., OK Tire, has some 260 owner-dealers across Canada. The company achieved an index score of 902 on a 1,000-point scale, and scored well in the areas of work quality and customer orientation, score areas the study considered.
“Naturally we’re extremely happy with the news. The results of the study are an objective confirmation in regards to the efforts our owners have made over the past year to ensure we earn the trust our customers place in us” said Greg Sims, OK Tire president and CEO. The J.D. Power 2008 Canadian Customer Commitment Index Study is based on responses from 17,114 owners of 2- to 12- year-old vehicles. Vehicle owners were surveyed between December 2007 and May 2008. Overall customer satisfaction with their vehicle service provider is determined by examining five key factors: appointment/check-in, service advisor, work quality, after service and customer orientation. (Tire Review/Akron)
Machinery used in the processing of plastic and rubber is experiencing difficulties as a knock-on effect from industries such as tyre manufacturing. According to the VDMA trade association of German plastics and rubber machinery producers, orders for German plastics and rubber machinery in the first half of 2008 have declined by seven per cent compared with the same period in 2007.
Orders had previously seen a continuous rise throughout 2007 up until 2008’s Q1. Therefore, the VDMA describes the situation as a turning point. Having said that, the high number of outstanding orders means that the association is not changing its full year 2008 forecast. It predicted an increase of 8 per cent in turnover to a value of 5.6 billion euros for core plastics and rubber machinery. However, considering the decline in orders, the association admitted that the decline would be felt in forecasts for turnover in 2009.
For the 11th time, Michelin earned the highest ranking in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study. This year, Michelin’s study scores averaged 38 points higher than the industry average in each segment, the tyremaker said.
Michelin has topped the rankings in all four award segments including Luxury/Sport, Pick-up/Full-size Van, Mass Market/Non-Luxury Sport and SUV. The 2008 results bring Michelin’s total to an unprecedented 56 awards in the U.S., the company said. (Tire Review/Akron)
Central Tyre depots in the UK are offering tyre valve caps that instantly tell drivers whether tyres are the correct pressure as part of a new road safety campaign. Throughout September and October Central Tyre is giving a set of four K-Pressure Optic Sensors to all customers purchasing any two Pirelli tyres. They normally retail at £37.60. The K-Pressure Optic Sensor valve caps are designed by Pirelli.
They are the only warning caps on the market that automatically close the valve immediately when a pressure drop is detected. Individual sets are ready calibrated to pre-set pressures, printed on the caps, and they are designed to compensate for increases in tyre pressure over the course of a journey.
Dani Pedrosa, who currently sits third in the MotoGP World Championship, has made a surprise mid-season tyre swap; exchanging his Michelin rubber for Bridgestone’s ahead of the scheduled 2009 switch. Meanwhile, a Michelin statement revealed that the company had allowed Pedrosa to switch on the basis that his team, “Honda and Michelin believe that rider confidence needs to be at its maximum if the rider is to fully exploit the tactical potential of the tyres.” The change for one of the sport’s most high-profile riders has come in the wake of several months’ criticism of the Michelin offerings, as riders experienced increased difficulties in keeping up with their Bridgestone-shod competitors.
Goodyear reports that the Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association trust (VEBA) proposed by it and the United Steelworkers union has been approved by the US District Court. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Goodyear will now make a US$1 billion cash contribution to the VEBA, which will provide healthcare benefits to the company’s current and future USW retirees. This one-time contribution will be made initially from existing cash reserves and available credit lines.
“Gaining court approval for the VEBA is a win-win for Goodyear and for our current and future USW retirees,” said Goodyear Chairman Robert J. Keegan. “This agreement both protects retiree benefits for years to come and removes a significant legacy obligation from our North American business.”
The Schaeffler Group and the German trade unions IG Metall and IG BCE signed on August 22 a joint statement regarding guarantees for protecting the interests of employees. Both sides have now therefore complied what the Schaeffler Group refers to as ‘one of the most significant points of the investment agreement between Continental AG and Schaeffler KG’.
“We have always stressed that we wanted to achieve good results in the interests of Continental AG’s employees in order to dispel the anxieties and fears of the workforce”, explained Kurt Mirlach, executive vice president of Human Resources at the Schaeffler Group. These agreements are valid for an unlimited period and cannot be terminated before 2014.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that on August 20 a federal duty found former Hayes Lemmerz International CEO Ranko Cucuz and former CFO William D. Shovers liable for securities fraud charges against the SEC. The verdict followed a two-week jury trial in Detroit, Michigan.
(Canadaeast News Service) Ambulance New Brunswick (ANB) is asking an Edmundston-based consultant who prepared a report on winter-tire testing to clarify its results. In a news release, the organization expressed frustration with Gilles Francoeur over delays, findings and unanswered questions in the report which was made available to ANB earlier this week. “With many initial questions still unanswered by this version (of the report), we have returned to the consultant for further clarification on some of the information,” said Preston Holmes, ANB’s director of clinical operations.
According to Local 4848 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents about 1,000 paramedics in the province, the report recommended a return to winter tires on ambulances. Officials from the provincial ambulance system and from the paramedics’ union agreed to conduct a series of tests last spring to measure the performance of several models of tire, including the brand used on every ambulance in New Brunswick.
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