Tyres can’t function without this critical raw material. Whether its natural or synthetic rubber you are interested in, articles bearing this tag feature this indispensable polymer.
Tyre firm celebrates 2013 results, approves board remuneration The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is celebrating achieving “many milestones in 2013, a year that was unlike any other in its 115-year history”. Chairman and CEO Richard J. Kramer highlighted record segment operating income and “strong cash flow” as two examples at the company’s annual shareholder […]
Goodyear Dunlop’s former EMEA region president Arthur de Bok is now CEO and chairman of Dutch medical device company Mediq’s Management Board. He commenced in this role on 1 April. Announcing de Bok’s appointment, chairman of the company’s Supervisory Board, Rob ter Haar, commented that the board and management were “enthusiastic” about him taking the position. “We are convinced that Arthur, with his extensive experience, is the right person to help Mediq respond to this development and extend Mediq’s lead in this field,” he said.
An agreement concluded today between Toyo Tire & Rubber and Associazione Calcio Milan – AC Milan – gives the Japanese tyre maker Premium Sponsor status with the football club until June 2016. Toyo says the sponsorship deal will influence its global branding content and help the company to “more clearly bring out the potential premium image of the products we offer.” It anticipates “significant” medium-term advantages will result from the partnership in Europe and Asia, and in two regions where Toyo is “contemplating market expansion” – the Middle East and Russia.
Styron, the rubber material supplier, is to convert its Nickel Butadiene Rubber (Ni-BR) production line in Schkopau, Germany, to Neodymium Butadiene Rubber (Nd-BR) manufacturing. Coupled with Styron’s existing technology in Solution Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SSBR), the company believes the Nd-BR offering will allow Styron to help customers around the world meet the increasing demand for green and ultra-high performance tyres.
Sales at Continental’s ContiTech division are expected to increase five per cent year-on-year in 2014, but the plan for the coming decade is for much larger growth. In an interview with German financial daily Handelsblatt, division head and ContiTech AG Executive Board chairman Heinz-Gerhard Wente shared on expansion plans for the newly-enlarged ContiTech: “The goal within the next ten years is to again double the turnover of ContiTech, including Veyance. This is by no means utopian.” This means turnover of around €11 billion.
All of the new Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar cars, which will be sold on four continents around the world from June 2014, will be fitted with 245/35 R 20 Michelin Pilot Super Sport ultra-high performance tyres as standard. Also, for winter driving, the Michelin Pilot Alpin 4 and X-Ice North 3 tyres are recommended fitments. The Polestar engineered cars are Volvo’s fastest production cars ever and with their 350hp six cylinder turbocharged engines are able to accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in just 4.9 seconds.
Bridgestone and motorcycle racing legend Valentino Rossi recently came together near the nine-time world champion’s home in Tavullia, Italy to collaborate on a promotional film that celebrates their winning partnership. The film showcases how both the tyre maker and Valentino ‘share’ a winning DNA, starting out from humble beginnings before going on to become leaders in the world of motorsport. Viewers are taken on a dramatic journey with both Bridgestone and Rossi, integrating historic and current footage that highlights their shared values and joint successes.
The China International Tires and Wheels Fair, held from 9-11 April 2014 at the Qingdao International Convention Center, focuses completely on the development of the rubber and tyre industries in China. Established in 2004 exhibits include rubber processing equipment, finished tyre products and tyre related products such as tyre accessories and wheels.
Since spring 2012, Lanxess has run a pilot project involving a more energy and cost efficient butyl rubber production process. The process was tested at two plants at its Zwijndrecht site in Belgium, and built on research and development work it began seven years ago. The specialty chemicals company reports that this pilot project has now been concluded, with successful results. Now that the project is complete, Lanxess says it intends to mothball the plants. It has begun a labour consultation process with unions and employees.
Russia’s Baltika Breweries, a member of the Carlsberg Group, is the largest player in the country’s beer market and holds a 36.8 per cent market share. The company operates eleven breweries and a number of maltings and distribution centres across Russia, and operates a sizable fleet of forklift trucks in these facilities. Starco reports that Baltika has adopted its Starco-brand Tusker forklift tyre as standard across this fleet fleet.
Indian tyre maker MRF Ltd. is eyeing several acquisition opportunities but remains cautious over committing itself to inorganic expansion, chairman and managing director K.M. Mammen told The Times of India. Referring to the aborted deal of major Indian rival Apollo Tyres, whose acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. came undone, Mammen told the newspaper, “You can acquire like how my dear friends did and then get slapped.” He added: “There is a way of acquiring. You should acquire what you can swallow. A bad acquisition can kill you.”
While we covered Goodyear’s AB rated SUV tyres and chip-in-tyre technology earlier in March, and while we alluded to Goodyear’s latest concept tyre back then as well, the concept is also worth talking about in some more detail. Billed as the future of SUV tyres, Goodyear’s concept has been designed as part of the company’s ongoing research into potential tyre technologies. The concept, which has not yet been named, builds on a standard SUV tyre with a large central groove. Thanks to this groove the tyre has a reduced contact patch with the road, which in turn could improve the tyre’s overall rolling resistance, supporting ongoing efforts to enhance fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 released from the car. The reduction in this rolling resistance means that car engines do not need to work as hard to push the tyre forward against the friction created by its contact with the ground.
Pirelli has brought its P Zero Orange hard tyre to Malaysia to make its debut at this weekend’s grand prix, and the early signs are that the extra durability could make it the favoured fitment following two free practice sessions on very abrasive asphalt at temperatures nearly hitting 50 degrees centigrade. Despite the harsh conditions, […]
Goodyear Tire & Rubber announced today that all outstanding shares of its 5.875 per cent mandatory convertible preferred stock will convert to Goodyear common stock shares at the close of business on 1 April 2014. On this mandatory conversion date, each preferred stock share, unless previously converted, will automatically convert into 2.7574 shares of common stock.
Recently the China Rubber Industry Association (CRIA) gave word that trials of a new eco tyre specification (standard number XXZB/LT-102-2014) began in China on 1 March. Chemical manufacturer Lanxess, which is currently participating in the CRIA-hosted China Rubber Conference in Qingdao, has provided additional information on the specification: it says the Green Tire Technology Specification is based on the tyre label introduced in the European Union in November 2012.
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