Mitas has entered the motorcycle radial business with the global launch of the Sport Force. The new tyre is manufactured in Slovenia by Savatech, the former Sava rubber manufacturing division acquired by Mitas’ parent company CGS Holdings in October 2012. Sport Force is a sport and touring range that is initially available in three front and five rear sizes.
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Goodyear Dunlop Sava Tires has appointed Jože Stružnik its new sales director. Stružnik began in his new role on 8 July and primarily focuses on consolidating the tyre maker’s position as a leading tyre supplier to its Slovenian home market and nine further countries in the Balkan region. He replaces Tomaž Lanišek, who has left the tyre maker to take on the role of chief executive at Knauf Insulation’s Slovenian operation.
On 1 July, Goodyear Dunlop Sava Tires will mark 15 years in the business. The tyre maker purchased the Slovenian firm in 1998 and says that since that time it has grown into one of the largest and most successful US-invested firms in the country. Goodyear Dunlop Sava Tires, or GDST, now employs some 1,400 people and has received over 200 million euros in investment from its parent company, including 15.5 million euros in 2012. The company says it has produced 100 million tyres since 1998.
Goodyear’s Sava Tyres brand has launched a new range of 17.5” truck tyres for regional and local delivery vehicles. The range comprises three tyres: the Avant 4 is for steer axles, the Orjak 4 for drive axles and the Cargo 4 for trailers. The Slovenian brand says the new tyres are designed to meet the needs of the cost-conscious vehicle operator engaged predominately in regional haul and delivery operations. The tyres are suited for a wide range of vehicles including articulated trucks, rigids and a wide range of trailers.
Bike Tyrestore plans to introduce a new Sava range to UK customers at the Motorcycle Trade Expo show in Birmingham in the second half of January. This new product, the Sportforce radial, is aimed at riders of sports, naked and Supermoto motorcycles as well as for riders of sports touring machines who enjoy dynamic rides.
Wholesaler Van den Ban says that its selection of winter products is “wider than wide” this winter, and the company is expecting to cope well with “normal demand”. In recent winters VDB has experienced “very early” seasonal demand for winter tyres, but with a somewhat milder winter last year, the company is confident that this early rush will be evened out into “normal demand” this year, “commencing later than previous years”.
Slovenian tyre maker Sava has reported a 19 per cent growth in local net sales for 2011. The Goodyear subsidiary earned 132 million euros in local markets last year; in total, the company achieved net sales of 264.7 million euros and made a 6.83 million euro net profit.
The Slovenian Press Agency reports that Goodyear Dunlop Sava Tires is to invest 6 million euros in the production of retreaded truck and bus tyres in Slovenia.
UK two-wheel tyre distributor Bike Tyrestore has announced a new round of price increases from manufacturers Continental and Sava. Continental motorcycle and scooter product prices are to increase by a figure reported to be around 5 per cent. Sava, continues Bike Tyrestore, will implement its price increase selectively on the back of the continuing rise of raw materials costs. Both brands will sell at the increased prices from 1 February, 2011.
Thanks to a combination of bad weather and economic gloom, most sectors of the motorcycle and scooter tyre replacement industry suffered during 2010. So it is good to hear of one manufacturer reporting a large growth in sales. This manufacturer is the maker of Sava tyres. And while Bike Tyrestore, the UK trade distributor for the Slovenian produced brand, comments that Sava is not yet a “household name”, it notes that its products are approaching dominance in the UK motor scooter replacement tyre market and Sava is also making strong progress in the fields of light motorcycle and on/off road tyre sales.
The opportunity for increasing winter tyre sales has not been lost on two-wheel wholesaler Bike Tyrestore, which is publicising its range of Sava winter scooter tyres. BTS says the Sava pattern (MC32 WIN SCOOT) is widely used in Europe, allowing cold-weather riders to negotiate the slippery conditions seen in the UK last winter. The wholesaler stocks five popular sizes. Sava’s MC32 M+S is similarly made for motorcycle applications in sizes 100/80-17 52R and 130/70-17 62R.
Slovenian manufacturer Sava has added a high performance range to its winter tyre portfolio. Known as the eskimo hp, this lower-case titled tyre is described by Sava as a “high-performance winter tyre that offers excellent handling performance in difficult winter conditions as well as good mileage levels to the cost-conscious passenger car driver.” The eskimo hp is available in 23 sizes fitting most passenger car models and features a directional tread design optimised for winter conditions plus optimized plus a full silica compound. The Sava eskimo hp features the snowflake symbol on its sidewall, certifying that it meets the required performance levels of winter testing.
When Tyres & Accessories last visited Van den Ban Autobanden in April 2008, the company’s new warehouse facility was arising from a 24.000 square metre greenfield site on outskirts of the Dutch town of Hellevoetsluis. Even then the scale of the project, intended to consolidate the wholesaler’s two storage facilities into a single location, was evident. A key component of the project remained under wraps at this time, however, and therefore a second visit to the completed warehouse was necessary. What T&A saw upon its return to Van den Ban in Hellevoetsluis early in 2010 was impressive, to say the least.
Online tyre retailer Delticom has become the exclusive German distributor of the Maxima tyre brand. Delticom will distribute this second brand from Slovenian motorcycle tyre manufacturer Savatech through four of its websites, and will also add the Sava brand to its product portfolio. Through its supply of the Maxima brand, Delticom says it hopes to appeal to price-conscious consumers who wish to purchase quality, European-made tyres.
Sava has announced the launch of three upgraded tyre ranges designed to offer enhanced performance and value for long and regional haul trucks, trailers and coaches. The Slovenia based Goodyear Dunlop subsidiary reports that its Avant A3plus steer tyre and Orjak O3plus drive tyre have benefited from new construction and tread compounds, giving the tyres significantly improved mileage, durability and stability compared with their predecessors. The new carcass construction is shared in the Cargo C3plus trailer tyre and features a revised belt package lay-up that delivers reduced heat build up and improved durability.
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