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.
(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin brand passenger and light truck/SUV tyres are now being produced in Mexico for the very first time. Michelin North America upgraded its production facilities at its plant in Queretaro to allow Michelin-brand tyre production.
(Akron/Tire Review) Standard & Poor’s has dropped Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. from its S&P 500 index. The Findlay, Ohio, tyremaker will be replaced by telecommunications firm Windstream Corp. According to S&P, Cooper was the smallest member of the 500 in terms of market capitalization. In November 1999, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. was cut from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which considers the performance of 30 stocks.
Thousands of road accidents in the UK could be prevented every year if the minimum tyre tread depth was increased to 3mm, according to the findings of an Auto Express investigation. In the first magazine test of its kind, Auto Express compared the stopping distances of a car travelling at 70 mph with both 3mm and 1.6mm of tread depth.
(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. is teaming up with Speed, Style & Sound (S3) magazine to find “a cool car” to appear on the cover of the publication’s November 2006 issue. Cooper is inviting enthusiasts to post photos of their vehicles – including all modifications – on coopertire.com. Deadline is Aug. 31. Entrants must include the name and location of their local Cooper tire dealer.
(Akron/Tire Review) Each of the 12 locals representing Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plants have authorized the United Steelworkers to call a strike should master contract talks bog down. The USW’s contract with Goodyear expires 22 July, and there are no indications that the union is anxious to strike, though. According to the USW, strike authorization was approved by an average of 97.5 per cent of union workers at all of the impacted plants.
SRI Tire Trading Ltd., the tyre export branch of the Sumitomo Rubber Group, will increase the prices of the company’s Dunlop, Falken and Sumitomo brand tyres for passenger cars, light trucks, trucks and buses and motorcycles in the Asia, Near and Middle East, North America, Europe, Central and South America, Africa and Pacific nations beginning September. The price increase will be in the range of 5 to 10 per cent, depending on tyre categories, tyre sizes and markets.
Bridgestone has been named as the sole tyre supplier for the Formula One world championship starting in 2008. In a widely anticipated move, the World Motor Sport Council named the Japanese manufacturer as control tyre supplier at a meeting on 5 July. Bridgestone was also designated the sole tyre supplier for the sport in 2007 due to the withdrawal of Michelin at the end of the current season. Michelin has consistently refused to supply a single-supplier F1, saying it would be counter-productive.
When it came to expanding into Europe the UK market was the first stop on Kenda’s list. Now expansion is reportedly going well as the company spreads out into the rest of Europe. “We want to be careful to be successful from the very beginning,” said Kenda Rubber Industrial Co Ltd president, talking to Tyres & Accessories. And the German Reifen exhibition is a good place to do it – “The Essen show is about the world and not simply Germany,” Hongder Chang adds. Having just launched its new Kaiser high performance tyre, Kenda also introduced a new all-season and snow tyres for sale in “the northern territories.”
Michelin has reported that it has begun raising prices for its truck and construction equipment tyres in Europe to help compensate for higher commodity costs, particularly natural rubber. The price increases, which average 3 per cent to 5 per cent, began in mid- June, said Anne-Sophie Creton, a spokeswoman quoted in the International Herald Tribune.
Until recently, Bandag’s winter traction product range featured five treads. However, changes in winter driving conditions in the north of Europe prompted Bandag to develop a new winter traction tread that would be perfectly suited to the emerging requirements in this region; the BDR-W.
When Bandag was developing its new winter traction tread, it relied extensively on the expert advice of the best consultants in winter tyre technology: the end-users in the Nordic region who battle winter conditions for almost six months a year. In addition, research had highlighted a series of other needs and problems, which were also tackled in the development of the Bandag BDR-W.
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The United Steelworkers (USW) have announced that BFGoodrich/Michelin has been selected as the “target company” for 2006 master contract negotiations in the US rubber and tyre industry. Representatives from USW bargaining committees engaged in contract talks with Bridgestone/Firestone (BFS), Goodyear and BFGoodrich/Michelin voted in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Mr Raghupati Singhania, vice chairman and managing director of JK Industries Limited has received an honorary doctorate in science at the seventeenth convocation of Mohanlal Sukhadia University at Udaipur by Her Excellency, Smt. Pratibha Patil, Governor of Rajasthan. The degree was conferred in recognition of Mr Singhania’s contributions towards encouraging education, training and research activities in Rubber and Allied industries in India.
Since being founded in 1990, Goodway Rubber Industries Sdn Bhd has made deep inroads into the highly established rubber industry. Company spokesman Raymond Lee described Goodway’s recent appearance at the Reifen 06 exhibition as the company “standing tall among the biggest industry names at the internationally acclaimed fair,” adding: “we made quite an impact with our various brands and offerings”.
The Tyre Retreading Manufacturers’ Association of Malaysia (TRMAM) has warned customers to expect a 10 to 15 per cent price increase for tyre retreading. In a statement, TRMAM said the move is necessary in view of the dramatic increase in prices of raw materials, especially natural rubber, synthetic rubber and carbon black. “The situation is exacerbated by significant increases in fuel cost and electricity rates, which substantially add to retreaders’ operating costs,” the statement added. However, even with the impending price increase, Malaysian retreads are still significantly lower than most neighbouring markets in the region, including China, Malaysia’s Business Times reported.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is taking steps towards closing a New Zealand tyre plant. The news is part of a series of cost-cutting measures (including European job cuts) that Goodyear is enforcing around the world. Goodyear said the move was “part of its strategy to reduce high-cost manufacturing capacity globally.”
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