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Nissan will fit Bridgestone’s Potenza S001 tyres to its new European market Nismo. The tyre manufacturer will supply wider 245/40R19 sizes on the front and 285/35R19 on the rear with a “tailor-made” compound. The tyre will respond to the V6 344-horsepower coupe’s cornering, sporty handling and power, Bridgestone says.
Hercules Tire & Rubber is recalling certain 16 and 17-inch fitments in its All Trac A/T 10-ply road range. In a notification lodged with the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the tyre maker reports that an unspecified number of tyres manufactured between mid-2008 and 2010 can potentially experience in-servnice belt and tread separations. Hercules says it will notify owners and replace the affected tyres free of charge.
Apollo Vredestein is launching two new product lines this week at one of Europe's largest agricultural exhibitions, SIMA 2013 in Paris. The company is displaying the new Vredestein Greentrax for lawn and ground care equipment and new Apollo tyres for industrial and construction machinery. The Greentrax range will be available from March 2013, while the new Apollo tyres will be introduced by the end of the month. This is a significant step for Apollo, since the new products represent the launch of the Apollo brand in the industrial sector in Europe.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has reported its fourth quarter and full year 2012 results, including record net sales of US$1.1 billion in the final quarter, and increase of two per cent on the same period a year earlier. Operating profit also reached record levels in the fourth quarter, amounting to $124 million – $65 million higher than fourth quarter 2011 and 11.7 per cent of net sales. The company reported net income attributable to Cooper Tire & Rubber Company of $1.15 per share, or $73 million in the fourth quarter.
The teams of Formula One had their first opportunity to test out the latest iteration of Pirelli’s Cinturato wet weather Formula One tyres as they encountered wet weather on the final day of a four-day test at Barcelona. The first three days of testing were dry but cold – cold enough to make ambient temperatures lower than the nominal operating range of the P Zero slicks at 10-15⁰C, which led to higher degradation. Pirelli is confident that when F1 travels to Australia, with car setups more settled, the tyres will show better longevity. Barcelona hosted the first meeting of the full grid of 2013 cars this year.
Cooper Tire & Rubber has announced a quarterly dividend of 10.5 cents per share on common stock, payable 29 March 2013 to stockholders of record at the close of business 6 March 2013. This will mark the 164th consecutive quarterly dividend the company has paid. Cooper Tire & Rubber will publish its fourth quarter 2012 results on Monday 25 February.
The European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers’ Association has welcomed the European Commission’s publication of the Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package, its proposed new rules to improve the safety of consumer products circulating in the EU and to step-up market surveillance concerning all non-food products, including those imported from outside the region.
On 20 February, Goodyear Tire & Rubber announced that a public offering of its 8-year senior notes had commenced and will close on 25 February, subject to market and other customary conditions. The notes will be senior unsecured obligations and Goodyear says the offering has an aggregate value of US$900 million. They will be sold at 100 per cent of the principal amount and will bear interest at a rate of 6.5 per cent.
Continental’s Specialty Tires business unit has added an eco-friendly product, LifeCycle, to its portfolio. The solid rubber tyre is retreaded upon selected used casings, the utilisation of which is said to lead to considerable savings in energy raw materials used in the production process, and this lowers product price. “With customers’ help this large-scale recycling initiative will help to bring down the number of scrap tyres needing disposal as well as the emission of climate-changing CO2,” shared Continental in a written statement. “Continental LifeCycle protects nature and offers cost savings.”
Cooper Tire & Rubber intends to open a new technology centre at its US headquarters site by the end of this year. According to Tire Review, the tyre maker plans to hire approximately 40 new employees, including engineers, scientists, researchers and technicians, to perform research at the Findlay centre. The trade journal adds that local reports indicate a US$2.8 million grant from the state of Ohio will go towards establishing the centre; Cooper said it aims to invest $40 million in the project over the next five years.
According to a statement released by Hankook Tire, production has commenced at the company’s Liang Jiang Xin Qu factory in China’s Chongqing region. The tyre maker writes that the plant’s initial production capacity goal of 2,400 tyres a day is expected to be reached by mid-2013; upon breaking ground at the factory site in May 2011, Hankook said it aimed to produce 4,500 truck and bus radials and 30,000 passenger car radials a day in Chongqing by the end of 2015.
It turns out that 2012 was a good year for Bridgestone Corporation. The Japanese tyre and rubber products manufacturer achieved a 66.8 per cent increase in net income during the period, taking in a healthy 171.6 billion yen (£1.18 billion). This jump in profit was achieved despite sales remaining relatively level; these increased 0.5 per cent to 3,039.7 billion yen (£20.94 billion). Operating income rose 49.5 per cent to 285.9 billion yen (£1.97 billion) and operating margin increased from 6.3 per cent to 9.4 per cent.
Speaking at the Tire Technology Expo in February, Adam Page, UK-based business manager of reports and consultancy at Smithers Rapra, shared on the global market for green tyres – the subject at the heart of the company’s latest tyre industry market report, the Future of Green Tires to 2017. One significant projection Page shared from the Smithers Rapra report is that although the value of green tyre market is expected to grow by more than 56 per cent between 2012 and 2017, green tyres based on sustainable and bio-materials will likely play a comparatively minor role in this growth.
The recently-launched Yokohama Advan Sport V105 will enjoy its public debut at this year’s International Auto Salon in Geneva, Switzerland. The new tyre will be displayed at the Yokohama Rubber stand fitted to a Mercedes-Benz SL, a car the tyre maker describes as “just the kind of premium vehicle the new Advan Sport V105 was designed for.” An emphasis will placed on the tyre’s stability, which Yokohama says matches that of predecessor tyre the V103 in the super high speed range, plus its improved wet and dry surface and braking performance. In addition to the SL, the Advan Sport V105 MO is fitted as original equipment on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, B-Class, C-Class, SLK-Class, and CLS-Class.
Nokian Tyres has introduced a new product into its Noktop range of retreading materials. The Finnish manufacturer describes the new Noktop 86 traction tread as offering “never before seen reliability for demanding earthmoving applications.” Elaborating on this bold statement, Nokian says the rubber compound used in the Noktop 86 provides “excellent puncture and cut protection under demanding conditions in mines and gravel pits where quarried rock presents an ever-challenging working environment.”
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