As reported in Tyres & Accessories’ October edition (see page 14), at the start of September a further thirteen European countries were added to the 24 national markets where Continental’s mobility offer has operated since February. The product, known as Conti360° Fleet Services, is specifically aimed at fleets operating across national borders and includes five components that cover the spectrum of fleet operator needs.
Michelin Spain has announced that it has initiated talks with Rodi, a leading tyre dealer in the Catalonia-Aragon region, on the subject of forming an alliance in the region. According to the company, the partnership would involve shareholdings and marketing ties, in particular through a cooperation agreement between Rodi and Euromaster. Under the agreement, Rodi would continue to operate in Catalonia-Aragon under its current tradename, with the addition of the label, “Member of the Euromaster Network.” Michelin expects the talks to be concluded and an agreement reach by the end of the year.
The latest phase in Pirelli’s Formula One tyre pre-season test programme has taken driver Pedro de la Rosa back to his homeland and the Valencia circuit in order to engage in wet conditions testing. The days spent evaluating the F1 PZero tyres in eastern Spain were the first in which de la Rosa drove for Pirelli, and during a two-day period he covered just over 650 kilometres in the Toyota TF109 test vehicle.
European Mobility Week is an EU backed awareness raising campaign aiming at “sensibilising citizens to the use of public transport, cycling, walking and at encouraging European cities to promote these modes of transport and to invest in the new necessary infrastructures.” Held between September 16 and 22, the 2010 event attracted the attention of national and local authorities throughout the region, and cities and businesses that excelled in a particular area were awarded for their accomplishments. One such award recipient is Bridgestone, whose Hispania Burgos Plant won Spain’s European Mobility Week Award for “Best Practices”. This award, the tyre maker comments, recognises Bridgestone’s policies in the area of sustainable mobility and its commitment to raising awareness for the impact of how we move on both the environment and quality of life generally.
Official confirmation has been given of Pedro de la Rosa’s appointment as Nick Heidfeld’s replacement at Pirelli. The Italian tyre maker welcomed the Spanish F1 driver to its team at a press conference in Istanbul held to mark half a century of Pirelli’s presence in Turkey, the location where all Formula One, GP2 and GP3 tyres for the 2011 season will be produced.
The 70 series is the second largest segment in the European agricultural radial tyre market and demand has grown steadily over the last decade. Firestone Europe has catered to this increasing demand with a new addition to its Performer line-up, the Performer 70 radial for medium to high-horsepower tractors in general farming applications. Compared to the R6000 and R8000 tyres it replaces, Firestone says the Performer 70 provides vehicles with more traction, longer tread life and a higher road-speed capability. The launch follows Firestone’s introduction of the standard series Performer 85 in 2009.
Nokian has launched a new summer tyre range, the Hakka Green. The Finnish tyre maker describes the Hakka Green as a tyre that “uniquely combines the needs of drivers on northern roads” and can reliably deal with all summer conditions, whether it be hot roads, wet weather conditions or late autumn’s steadily cooling weather. Green credentials for the tyre are earned through “extremely low” rolling resistance; Nokian says it is 15 per cent lower than that of its predecessor, the Hakka H. This equals a decrease in fuel consumption of almost three per cent, and Nokian adds that fuel savings in comparison with “average” summer tyres is some five to eight per cent.
Germany’s World Cup aspirations may have crumbled in a one-nil defeat at the deft and athletic hands of Spain in July, but the country has nevertheless gone on to achieve its own global football victory. On September 19, some two months after the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa drew to a close, the men’s team from Continental’s Korbach factory in the German province of Hesse emerged victorious in the ContiTeamCup 2010 after defeating Brazil by three goals to nil. In the women’s league Germany had to settle for second place, however, following a one-nil loss to Mexico.
When testing of Pirelli’s Formula One tyres continues in Monza next week, former Renault F1 driver Romain Grosjean will take Nick Heidfeld’s place behind the wheel of the Toyota TF109 being used for pre-season tyre development. Heidfeld has been released from his contract with Pirelli following the announcement that he will drive for Sauber Motorsport for the remainder of the 2010 season.
Testing of Pirelli’s Formula One tyres continues, and the Italian tyre maker says test driver Nick Heidfeld was busy at the Le Castellet circuit in the south of France during the first week of September. The Toyota TF109 test car fitted with F1 PZero tyres was on the track for two days in order to further evaluate tyre construction and compounds.
While Hankook discloses the medium term aim of widening its football sponsorship strategy to include England’s Premier League and Italy’s A Series, it is currently furthering its commitments through new deals in Germany and Spain. In addition to extending its relationship with six times German league champion Borussia Dortmund, in the 2010/2011 season the tyre maker will also display advertisements at the home stadiums of four federal league teams: Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg.
Avon Tyres’ Storm 2 Ultra sports-touring tyre has received praise from a round-the-world adventure and one of Britain’s leading motorcycle magazines. Mick Høy from Denmark is in the middle of a round-the-world adventure on his 1996 Honda VFR750 and he has good reason to appreciate the qualities of the new-for-2010 Storm 2 Ultra. “Back home in Denmark I can get around 10-12,000km (6210 – 7452 miles) from one rear tyre,” he comments. “During my travels through Africa from Spain I did 19,827km (12,312 miles) on one rear Storm 2 Ultra – crazy, but true! And the VFR weighs 450 kilos when fully loaded.
The Tyre Recovery Association called on retailers and garages to support efforts to eradicate illegal tyre collection and disposal activities at the association’s annual forum day last week (9 July 2010). More than 65 delegates heard a range of presentations from different industry areas and discussed ways to improve recycling rates and abolish illegal activities.
“This year’s forum proved to be a great success which we hope will act as a catalyst to generate even greater support from within the industry,” Peter Taylor OBE, secretary general of the Tyre Recovery Association commented. “A number of very positive ideas and suggestions were shared which could help the industry significantly. One of the major areas of common consensus was in the support that our retail colleagues can provide. Many felt that retailers should become more aware about their duty of care obligations. This could be achieved in a number of ways such as checking that their collector is registered with the Responsible Recycler Scheme. This type of simple action would help to significantly reduce the number of tyres which continue to be illegally stored, dumped or exported.”
Vipal said one of the company’s highlights for Reifen 2010 was its new range of treads. Branded ECO, they form part of Vipal’s “Transport Sustainability Project”. These products, claims Vipal, go far beyond the savings from retreading: they also contribute to a cleaner environment and benefit the transport industry. ECO treads are designed to decrease rolling resistance, thereby decreasing fuel consumption, and raising mileage performance.
Occupying a booth in Hall 2, Atturo Tire’s Michael Mathis was enthusiastic about the opportunity provided by Reifen to make contact with the company’s European dealers (Micheldever in the UK), while also gaining new distributors. Mathis mentioned Spain, Italy, Eastern Europe and the Middle East as the territories from which much of the traffic for the stand came. Though the company had expected “a higher quantity of visitors,” said Mathis, “the quality of the traffic has been good. In a month from now, I think we will be pretty satisfied,” he concluded.
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