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.
A disapproving finger has been pointed at regrooved passenger car tyres in Malaysia. The country’s assistant infrastructure development minister, Pang Yuk Ming, has cited the use of regrooved tyres as a factor contributing to accidents in Malaysia. His comments were printed by Malaysia’s Daily Express newspaper.
On Friday 15 July 2010 Florida-based mining tyre design company Tire Engineering and Distribution L.L.C. gained a $26 million verdict against Shandong LingLong Rubber Co. Ltd. and Al Dobowi Tyre Co. L.L.C. for allegedly conspiring with a former employee (Sam Vance) to steal proprietary designs for underground mining tyres. The default verdict was issued when Vance failed to appear before the court. The news is the latest in a line of related claims and follows an Appeal Court decision to overturn an earlier $59 million award verdict earlier this year. In the latest case T&A understands that despite the jury verdict being given, the case has not yet reached the judgement stage, where the amount and even the ruling as a whole can be modified by a judge. Furthermore, due to the complex nature of the case, the defendants are expected to appeal if they are finally found against.
The fourth round of the inaugural GP3 series, run on the revised Silverstone track layout, gave Pirelli’s hard compound tyres a chance to show drivers their performance characteristics. Pirelli notes the new hard compound Pirelli PZero 13-inch tyres proved to be “both fast and reliable at Silverstone despite a wide variety of weather conditions that accurately reflected the vagaries of the British climate.”
On July 16 Brian Anderson took over the positon of director of financial planning and analysis at Cooper Tire & Rubber, replacing Craig Durliat, who recently became director of credit for the North American Tire Organization. In his new role, Anderson will coordinate and consolidate global business plans and create the North American Tire Operations' financial plans. He will also partner with marketing and pricing to ensure strong customer relationships, and will oversee commercial analysis, working closely with sourcing, purchasing and manufacturing in all regions.
Cooper Tire & Rubber has released its latest North American market winter tyre. Called the Weather-Master WSC (Winter and Snow Confidence), Cooper says the new tyre represents the "next generation of tyres designed to deliver superior winter performance." The manufacturer says the Weather-Master WSC's was developed for drivers of newer SUVs, CUVs, smaller pickups and some passenger car applications looking for improved traction on slushy and snow-covered winter roads.It adds that the tyre's directional design, combined with a high silica tread compound, is ideally suited for the toughest winter conditions. The range is initially offered in ten T-rated sizes for 17 and 18-inch diameter rim sizes.
Brityrex newcomer Profil Tyres is a Polish-based company that manufactures and wholesales a wide range of retreaded car tyres. When the company was founded in 1984, the company’s workshop produced 1000 tyres a month. By the turn of the millennium an up and until 2008 this figure had risen to 24,000 tyres a month. According to the company, this significant production growth followed a programme of investment aimed at upgrading production technologies so the company could attain “the strictest quality control.”
As far as machinery upgrades are concerned, this investment phase saw the company acquire retreading equipment manufactured by some of the best known names in the business including: Mateuzzi, CIMA, CISAP and AMF. As a result the company is now able to run a 24-hour system five days a week.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., has announced that Yokohama Tire Philippines Inc. (YTPI), the company’s production and sales location for passenger car tyres in the Philippines, achieved what the company calls "complete zero emissions" in June 2010. Yokohama Rubber confirmed the achievement by conducting on-site investigations of all contractors commissioned to dispose of waste from the plant (based on the disposal flowchart of each contractor), confirming achievement of "complete zero emissions." By Yokohama’s reckoning, "complete zero emissions" means no waste is subject to direct landfill disposal.
YTPI began efforts towards "zero emissions" – which internally translates as landfill disposal of less than 1 per cent of total waste – in 2006. Starting by recycling paper waste from offices, the company conducted Recycle Collection Events of recyclable resources that grew to include PET bottles, plastic containers and used cans, separated and collected by each department or manufacturing process.
In 2010 Michelin launched the fourth generation of its Alpin winter tyre into the replacement market. The Alpin A4, released in sizes to fit a wide range of vehicles from city cars through to MPVs and saloons, is intended for European markets where winter roads are generally wet – around 80 per cent of the time – and less often icy or snow-covered. In other words, the latest Alpin is a tyre specifically designed for the winter conditions we experience in spades.
Leading British GT outfit Trackspeed Racing has confirmed it will fit Avon Tyres to their Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the GT2 class of this year’s Spa 24 Hour race on 31 July – 1 August. The announcement follows the company’s tyre performance in the Spa round of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship in June, when the British competitors raced alongside the Belcar series (which runs to GT3 specifications using another manufacturer’s rubber). There, Peter Kox set the outright fastest lap in an Avon-shod Lamborghini Gallardo, with all Avon runners “putting in consistently fast times,” says the manufacturer.
Data and estimates from the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) indicate global supply of natural rubber will grow this year at a slower rate that previously anticipated. Forecasts based on preliminary estimates and reports available up to mid-June point to a 5.2 per cent growth, lower than the 6.3 per cent rate anticipated in March and 6.1 per cent rate anticipated in May.
Snap-on Equipment is returning to Brityrex International in October where the firm will be showing its equipment portfolio on stand 11A. Purportedly Europe's leading manufacturer of garage equipment, Snap-on is aiming to make a big impact at Brityrex, showcasing a comprehensive range which includes tyre changers, wheel balancers and alignment systems.
Nine months before the next TyrexpoAsia in Singapore, the show’s organisers are reporting that the exhibition is already 56 per cent full. Companies already committed to the exhibition next March include tyre manufacturers and distributors BKT, Belshina, Mindtrac, Omni United, Stamford Tyres, Techking and YHI, workshop equipment suppliers Newera Equipment, tyre repair equipment specialist Monarch Vulcanising Systems and Elgitread, the Indian supplier of tread rubber.
Singapore-based Stamford Tyres’s marketing executive Suzsu Yeung Mei Mei, said: “As a Singaporean company it is particularly important that we take advantage of the international tyre industry focus that TyrexpoAsia brings with it. It will be a great opportunity to introduce dealers and distributors to our latest car tyre, the ultra high performance Sumo Firenza ST05A. We will also be inviting customers to visit our offices and meet local retailers while they are in Singapore.”
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.
China-based Sihong Benteng Rubber Products Co, Ltd has announced plans to launch two new solid tyres. The firm reports that it has developed the new products, which come in 40×15-24 (385/65-24) and 445/65-24 sizes for boom lift applications. Last month the firm told Tyres & Accessories that it now has the capacity to produce 5000 off-the-road tyres/year. Situated five hours from Shanghai airport and 2 hours from Nanjing airport by car, the company reports that it is “mainly engaged in manufacturing various specifications [of] engineering tracks, agricultural tracks, OTR and bicycle tyres.”
At the end of June Sri Lanka’s government announced plans to encourage small farmers to produce more tyre grade rubber. Local news sources reported that plantations industries minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said a policy decision was taken aimed at increasing production of the RSS 3 type rubber grade: “Although most people think RSS 1 is the best and it is, the biggest demand is for RSS 3…That’s what big industrialists want. They are the main buyers of rubber.”
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