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.
Michelin’s Protek Max inner tube has been presented with a Gold Award in the accessories category at the 2011 Eurobike Awards. A jury of bicycle industry experts decided the Michelin product was worthy of one of 10 gold medals. 430 products were entered. In the last seven years of the awards, the jury has rewarded innovation, practicality, environmental friendliness and longevity with Eurobike awards.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. has received a letter of appreciation from the Japanese ambassador to the Russian Federation, Chikahito Harada, in recognition of its contribution to the support of people affected by the East Japan Great Earthquake. Yokohama held a variety of charity events at InterAuto Moscow 2011, held from 24-28 August. A ceremony was held on 8 September at the Japanese Embassy in Moscow, where the letter was presented to Junichi Okishima, president of Yokohama Russia L.L.C.
A tyre recycling firm which suffered a huge blaze two years ago has been cleared of allowing waste to harm people’s health after the case against it collapsed. In 2009 a fire started among the 2,000 tonnes of tyres and rubber being stored on the company's site, burning for seven weeks. Murfitts Industries, based in Wisbech Road, Littleport, faced trial at Cambridge Crown Court after pleading not guilty to a charge of treating, keeping or disposing controlled waste, contrary to section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act.
An article on the website TruthDive suggests that cars could, in the future, be powered by electrified roadways, thus eliminating car batteries. Masahiro Hanazawa at Toyota Central R and D Labs in Nagakute, Aichi, Japan, and Takashi Ohira at Toyohashi University of Technology, also in Aichi, are developing a system that transmits electric power through steel belts placed inside two tyres and a metal plate in the road.
Pirelli’s home race in Monza was run in high temperatures, presenting a good test for the company’s rubber following the blistering experienced at Spa. Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery commented: “Our first home race in the very special surroundings of Monza was everything that we hoped it would be, and the fact that there are five world champions in the top five just underlines the quality of the action.
Marangoni Retreading Systems has introduced a “new generation” Ringtread design, available for retreading city bus and intercity coach tyres. The BUS100 is designed to improve overall efficiency by increasing mileage and reducing running costs, according to the manufacturer. The pattern features a wide footprint, increased by more than 5 per cent, and solid and sturdy shoulders to improve damage resistance when hitting kerbstones.
Shares in Cooper Tire & Rubber Company hit a new 52-week low on Monday 12 September trading at $10.36, below the previous 52-week low of $10.50. According to a report at thestreet.com, Cooper Tire & Rubber has a market capitalisation of $696 million and shares were down 53.6 per cent year-to-date at the close of trading on Friday 9 September.
Ed Wagner, the former director of the American Retreaders Association died late Wednesday evening in a hospice in Louisville, Kentucky. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Martha, 5 sons, 4 daughters, and 9 grandchildren. The TIA – of which the ARA was an originating source, becoming the International Tire and Rubber Association and later merged with TANA – released the following statement to mark his passing: "In 1968, Ed succeeded George Edwards at ARA. Ed managed the ARA Louisville Conference for 20 years as it grew to become one of the top 200 industrial trade shows in the United States. During that time, ARA's membership grew from 250 to over 1,600 members.
“Compared with previous tracks such as Imola and Spa, Silverstone is very different because it has a lot of high speed corners requiring high downforce settings on the cars,” says Jean-Felix Bazelin, Dunlop Motorsport’s general manager. The brand is hoping for an advantage in its home leg of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup at Silverstone for its fifth round on 9-11 September. The Silverstone 6 Hours takes place just over an hour away from the brand’s Birmingham base where tyres for all forms of two and four wheel motorsport around the world are produced.
Aeolus Tyres has launched an improved version of its HN364 winter drive tyre. The brand says the improved winter tyre is a result of its intensive research and development programme. It features inter-connected profile blocks, which “helps to create greater stability, while simultaneously improving safety, comfort and longevity,” according to the company. The tyre is available in the three most common drive axle sizes.
The Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau has launched two new video sites on the web, with a dedicated channel on YouTube and its own video section on TRIB's website. Each site contains three videos designed to educate the public, fleet managers, and truckers about the economic and environmental benefits of retreaded tyres as well as correct the misconception that retreaded tyres cause rubber on the road.
Kumho has furthered its long standing support for European F3 by extending its sponsorship of the annual Masters of F3 meeting by three years. The agreement was ratified during an official signing ceremony that followed this year’s event at Zandvoort on 13-14 August.
Japanese vehicle makers are set to increase their production output between October 2011 and March 2012 and this is likely to lead to a shortage of synthetic rubber. At roughly the same time Japanese tyre maker Bridgestone notified OEMs that orders for passenger car tyres are likely exceed its domestic production capacity leading concerns that the country could be in line for both a synthetic rubber and a domestic tyre shortage.
Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery has told Autosport.com that the tyre supplier to Formula One will seek a regulation change for 2012 to stop teams from wasting allocated rubber. The manufacturer currently supplies 11 sets of tyres to each driver – split between six harder and five softer compound P Zeros – which is resulting in wasted harder tyres, as teams prefer to run the quicker tyre. The fact that the softer, quicker compound will degenerate more quickly is circumvented by teams running less frequently, especially in qualifying, which has resulted in farcical sessions during which some drivers opt not to compete so as to preserve the softer tyres. The concern of waste tyres for Pirelli operates on both an ecological and an economical level, as the motorsport director explains.
Chinese tyre manufacturer Sailun is planning to invest over US$100 million in a Vietnam subsidiary, according to online media reports. Yicai.com quoted an official filing as saying the auxiliary company will produce “tyres and other rubber products.”
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