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.
Renault Trucks is Europe’s first truck maker to offer Goodyear Duraseal Technology. Customers ordering vehicles from the brand-new Renault Kerax construction range launched at the IAA Truck Show in Hanover, will have the choice of Goodyear Omnitrac mixed service tyres featuring Duraseal Technology. According to Goodyear, this means less downtime and reduced tyre costs.
Leading earthmover tyre specialist OTR Tyres Ltd, has just installed the largest bead to bead fully automated tubeless remould earthmover tyre press in Europe at their factory near Alfreton, Derbyshire. The company reports that the new equipment weighs in at over 75 tonnes and, following installation at OTR’s Somercoates headquarters, is ready to produce massive 2700 R49 tyres. OTR has been supplying, servicing and retreading EM tyres for more than 25 years, but the current shortage of earthmover tyres has seen the company invest over £750,000 on the latest equipment, much of it designed by OTR to suit customer demand.
Sibur-Russian Tyres has added a number of new sizes to its winter tyre range up to 16 inches in diameter. “Nowadays in Russia there is an increasing demand for 14 and 15-inch sizes. These tyres are for cars in the price segment from $12,000 to $20,000. These are imported brands assembled in Russia and some imported models like Mitsubishi Lancer or Nissan Almera. If the vehicle parc changes, the structure of demand for tyres will change too. “We are happy to offer our customers our new Cordiant Polar tyre in 175/65R14, 175/70R14, 185/65R14 sizes and also the 15 inch and the two 16 inch sizes,” informed Anna Komarova, the head of passenger car tyres division of Sibur-Russian Tyres.
On 18 September Trafelet & Company, disclosed that it now holds 5.756 million shares in Cooper Tire & Rubber – a 9.4 per cent stake. Trafelet is now Cooper Tire & Rubber’s fourth-largest shareholder behind value investors Shapiro Capital Management (11.4 per cent), Brandes Investment Partners (11.4 per cent) and Perkins, Wolf, McDonnell & Company (10 per cent).
Bridgestone Corporation has climbed to number 245 in the Fortune Global 500 in 2006, increasing its lead over Goodyear Tire & Rubber at number 327 and Michelin at number 335. The ranking, which measures the world’s biggest 500 companies in terms of revenue, shows that while Bridgestone moved up 5 places versus 2005, Goodyear gained only three and Michelin slipped back 41 places. In the motor vehicles and parts industry, Bridgestone comes in at number 19, ahead of vehicle manufacturers such as Suzuki, Mitsubishi and MAN.
Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., is offering an extended casing warranty on Bandag retreads. Dusseldorf-based Yokohama Europe GmbH, and Brussels-based Bandag NV will undertake the warranty programme as part of a marketing collaboration arrangement between the two companies. A brochure released by the two companies summed up the arrangement like this: “Yokohama has extended the casing warranty of its truck and bus tyres to run for their total lifecycle: First life as a premium Yokohama tyre; Second life as a valuable Bandag retreaded Yokohama tyre.”
(Akron/Tire Review) Tuesday’s military coup in Thailand, has forced a number of companies to suspend operations. According to reports, a number of Japan-based companies were impacted, including electronics maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which halted the operations at its 21 Thai plants on Wednesday to ensure the safety of employees. Sony Corp., Sanyo Electric, Hitachi Ltd., NEC Corp., Fujitsu Ltd. and Sharp Corp. also suspended operations Bangkok.
Ever wondered what a Smart with 26-inch rims would look like? The Smart fourfun2 is the answer. DaimlerChrylser were obviously trying to awaken their inner child when they produced their tallest Smart, which the company describes as a forfour with monster truck ambitions. The tyre fitment is just ludicrous –BFGoodrich rubber on 26 inch rims with a diameter of 140 cm. Not to mention ground clearance of 65 centimetres and an unbelievable total height of 3.7 metres! The car features an OM 352 six-cylinder diesel engine with a capacity of 5,675 ccs. It delivers an impressive 84 bhp – the diesel version of the production car has a 41 bhp engine.
(Akron/Tire Review) A lawmaker in Liberia’s lower house of parliament has called on the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to deploy troops on a plantation owned by Firestone Natural Rubber Co. to prevent its takeover by a criminal gang. A gang styling itself the “Bad Boys of Bomi County” recently threatened in a leaflet to occupy the plantation at Harbel, Liberia’s largest employer.
Japanese corporation Sumitomo Rubber Industries will soon take its golf and tennis equipment business to the stock exchange, financial news sources have reported. What the company plans to do with the funds remains unclear. Sumitomo Rubber Industries is currently the sixth largest tyre manufacturer in the world.
(Akron/Tire Review) The Liberian Times has reported that Bridgestone Americas Holding’s Firestone Plantation Co. in Liberia has threatened to close down its activities in the country if the Liberian government does not help control illegal tapping at the facility.
According to the paper, outsiders have been “on a rampage” over the last several months, illegally tapping natural rubber trees on Firestone Plantation grounds. Allegedly, this illegal activity has also resulted in the deaths of five Plantation contractors and injuries to dozens of company employees.
The last time Tyres & Accessories met with Continental AG’s executive board member responsible for truck tyres, Dr Hans-Joachim Nikolin, he and Continental UK commercial tyre business director, Arthur Greg extolled the virtues of the company’s wide single tyres (see July T&A). Then in September Continental launched a new drive axle “super single” product (the HDL1 Superdrive) its second wide single launch of the year. Since then the pressures facing tyre manufacturers have barely lifted, with the exception of falling natural rubber prices. But is this enough for customers to avoid more price rises?
Michelin has won a tyre contract with London Central, a division of the Go-Ahead Group, which operates 600 buses in south east and central London from depots in Bexleyheath, Camberwell, New Cross and Peckham. The contract sees London Central switch to a three year ‘pence per mile’ contract, similar to the agreement Michelin already has with London General, a separate division of the Go-Ahead Group, comprising a fleet of 700 vehicles in south west and central London.
Building on its reputation for van tyres, Maxxis is expanding its UK product portfolio with a range of light truck tyres designed to meet the needs of operators who want quality at an affordable price. “We have gained invaluable experience in the LCV sector during the past few years and are now utilising leading edge tyre technology to satisfy the requirements of the UK’s light truck market,” says Derek McMartin, managing director of Maxxis International UK plc.
(Akron/Tire Review) In an interesting twist to the current round of master contract talks, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has told the United Steelworkers that it wants the union to reach a deal with Bridgestone/Firestone before it will continue negotiations. It was expected that talks between Goodyear and the USW were further along than those between the union and Bridgestone/Firestone, and that the union’s talks with Bridgestone/Firestone would be more difficult.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
