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Pirelli-Shod Citroens Achieve One-Two in WRC Spanish Round

The Citroen C4 of Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo have finished first and second respectively in the 44th Catalunya Rally in Spain. The Citroens took command from the start, beating Hirvonen-Lehtinen and Duval-Pivato’s factory Ford Focus in third. In the Junior WRC (JWRC), the Citroen C2 of Martin Prokop claimed the spoils, from the Renault Clio R3 of Alessandro Bettega.

Just as was the case at the Rallye Deutschland in mid-August and on these same roads in Spain one year ago, Citroen claimed the top positions thanks to their C4 WRC crews of Loeb-Elena and Sordo-Marti. The result reinforces Loeb’s lead of the drivers’ World Championship and Citroen’s advantage in the constructors’ standings.

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ATS Euromaster Aims For Savings With Recruitment Portal

ATS Euromaster has signed a European-wide contract that will see Bond Talent – online recruitment & talent management software – from stock market-listed Bond International Software implemented throughout 10 countries. The new five-year, six-figure contract is for a fully Bond-hosted recruitment system which will enable the company to manage its entire recruitment through an online portal. ATS Euromaster predicts numerous operational benefits, including that the system will significantly reduce administration costs.

Sigrid Barnes, Group Resourcing Manager for ATS Euromaster, commented: “We are expecting that the system will free up significant amounts of time for our managers. From now on, we will be able to process all of our recruits through one centralized, online portal and everyone from head office through to more than 480 centre managers will be able to see what’s going on in their area of the company – without having to pick up a phone or send an email.”

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Removal Firm Fits New Michelin XDN2 Grip

The UK’s largest independent removal firm, White & Company, has just taken delivery of a new Scania drawbar combination. The vehicle is the first in the fleet to be fitted with Michelin’s XDN2 Grip tyres on its drive axle.

Roger Brown, White & Company Group Fleet Manager explaines that: “We opted for a full Michelin policy three years ago following successful trials which demonstrated that Michelin tyres have a longer life expectancy and better performance in our fleet than the alternatives. We are now trialling these new XDN2 Grip tyres as they are designed to improve traction in difficult driving conditions, ahead of hopefully rolling them out as standard fitment across similar vehicles in the fleet.”

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Fuel Price Rises Hit Fleets

Global vehicle fleets have seen their fuel bills rise by as much as a third in the last year according to research by international leasing company Masterlease, which manages around 210,000 vehicles across Europe. With vehicle manufacturers’ continuous improvements in fuel efficiency now being swamped by escalating fuel prices, global businesses have to face the reality of increasing costs to their fleet management.

While average diesel prices have soared by a third in the last year, the story is not quite as grim for unleaded petrol – although globally it has still increased on average by 18 per cent since 2007.

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Passenger Car Registrations Continue Downward Trend

Passenger car registrations in Europe (EU and EFTA) continued to fall in year-on-year comparisons made in August 2008. Figures released by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association show that registrations in August fell 15.6 per cent, from 955,000 to 806,000 in year-on-year monthly comparisons. Additionally, August figures show a 3.9 per cent reduction in new PC registrations in the period January-August 2008 compared with the same period in 2007.

More specific figures for August were also released, showing that new car registrations fell 16.5 per cent in Western Europe, with Ireland (-41.6 per cent) and Spain (-41.3) nursing the greatest haemorrhages. Thumbing its nose at the trends in the rest of the region, Portugal managed to post a growth of 4.8 per cent in new car registrations, though it was the only country to do so. Italy (-26.4 per cent), the UK (-18.6), Germany (-10.4) and France (-7.1) all saw falls.

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August Car Registration Down 18 per cent in Europe

A day after the SMMT published the lowest UK new car registration figures for four decades, automotive industry analysts have revealed that most European countries are experiencing the same downturn.

According to Deutsche Bank car registrations across Europe were down -18 per cent in August, (down 6 per cent year-to-date). The analysts pointed out that the month of August usually represents the low point of the year for new car registrations, however France (the least affected) down 7 per cent; Germany down 10 per cent; Italy plummeting 26 per cent; and Spain missing the mark by 41 per cent, it is clear that registrations worsened. Deutsche Bank put the falls down to “eroding consumer sentiment and recessionary fears.”

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Pneu-Logic and EDP Plan Major Growth For End of 2008

Pneu-Logic, the UK-based subsidiary of leading RFID developer Advanced ID Corporation has completed a “major growth plan” in cooperation with the company’s French strategic marketing partner EDP. This agreement, based on EDP’s rapidly growing customer base, more than doubles the company’s original 2008 forecast and is expected to exceed US$500,000 in product sales for Advanced ID. With expanding sales in France, Spain, Turkey and Israel, and a large order from China, EDP is set for massive expansion with its Tyre Parc Fleet Management software. With EDP selling Advanced ID probes, RFID tags and patches and the new OTR probe in 2009, the company expects sales to reach US$750,000 next year.

“We are very pleased with our sales performance, particularly in new markets such as China, Israel and Turkey,” said EDP Managing Director Jean Luc Guisti. Mr. Guisti continued: “Our Tyre Parc software with the Pneu-Logic system has been widely accepted as the industry leading solution for companies who understand the importance of good tyre management to reduce fleet operating costs.”

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Kraiburg and Nortenha See EM Potential

Kraiburg, the Austrian-based supplier of retreading materials and equipment, has been working in partnership with Portuguese retreader, and ex-Recamic licensee, Nortenha since the beginning of 2007.

As well as co-operating closely in the heavy truck tyre retreading segment, both companies see great potential for more intensified co-operation in the earthmover segment; a segment which Kraiburg Sales & Marketing Director Holger Düx was highlighted on the company’s stand at this year’s Essen show.

With its newly-established EM segment, Kraiburg says that it is now one of the few suppliers to cover all processes, i.e. the precure, mould cure and smooth and groove processes. Northenha recently invested in these segments, adding a 300,000 euros robot-controlled “MGT One 63″ buffing machine, including a peeling and grooving unit, plus a new extruder and autoclave. These investments mean that smooth and groove and precure retreading can now be offered for tyre sizes of up to 57”.

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UK Online Car Parts Supplier Reports European Buying ‘Frenzy’

One UK based online car parts retailer reports a ‘frenzy’ of ordering from our motoring friends in France, Germany and Spain. Quoting a new report, car parts direct says that these continental customers are saving as much as 70 per cent compared with buying in their own country.

Export sales of car parts to do-it-yourself mechanics and the garage trade have increased by 285 per cent in the last year as the value of the euro has risen by around one-fifth. The UK’s weak currency, a good availability of spare parts and fast and low cost delivery into Europe are fuelling record export sales for the online mail order specialist, carparts-direct.co.uk.

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200 UK Jobs Gone With Closure of Michelin Service Centre

The Manchester based shared service centre operated by Michelin has become a victim of outsourcing, with the resultant loss of 200 jobs. As of July the French manufacturer has opted to use the IT consultancy Logica to handle the centre’s tasks, with the work carried out in Spain and the Philippines.

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Meeting Secures Threatened Jobs at Pirelli Plant in Spain

A July 21 meeting between Pirelli chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera, management from the company’s tyre manufacturing facility in Manresa, Spain and regional government officials has resulted in a deal that has reportedly secured the jobs of 280 Manresa factory employees.

On July 15 Pirelli issued a statement saying it had decided against building a new plant in the area as a result of unfavourable economic, automotive industry and tyre market conditions in the past 12 months. The company further announced it would instead restructure the current factory, opened in 1924, in order to retain its presence in Spain. This restructuring was to take the form of reducing production capacity and staffing at Manresa by 30 per cent in late 2008, and in future focusing upon higher added value products. At present the factory produces around 42,000 tonnes of passenger car and 4×4 tyres each year.

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Grouptyre Launches Pirelli Tyre Sales Drive

As part of its recently announced restructuring programme Grouptyre is running a series of exclusive promotions designed to increase sales and improve market penetration. The first promotion is being organised in conjunction with Pirelli and offers independent tyre retailers and garages the chance to win an all expenses paid trip to the Spanish round of the World Rally Championships in October.

“Our aim is to develop into a national brand that plays the most influential role in the UK tyre market and to achieve this we intend to build retail sales through the independent sector,” says director of commercial operations Karl Naylor. “This is the first of a series of national incentives and special promotions we are planning to develop in conjunction with premium brand manufacturers.”

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Remoulding Truck Tyres with Insa Turbo

Hall Six’s Booth 307 at Reifen 2008 housed Industrias del Neumatico, S.A.U. from Aspe (Alicante) Spain, who were presenting their new Insa Turbo hot remoulded truck tyres, 4X4 off road tyres and winter car tyres. Also this year, the company exhibited their own private brand Rodatec, which is available in sizes between 15” and 19” and is manufactured by Nexen tyres.

The Spanish company’s focus for the future will be trained on Insa Turbo off road tyres and truck tyres to a large extent, with many new models due for release soon. The firm owns 70 workshops and their wholesale distribution covers all of Spain. However, over 60 percent of tyre production is exported to over 30 countries throughout the world.

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Hercules Increases its European Focus

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Hercules Tire International’s Essen exhibit featured several new products from among its stable of brands. New lines debuting at the show included the Hercules Terra Trac A/T & MR IV SUV, Merit All Country A/T and Ironman Radial A/P.

According to Hercules Corporate Business Development Officer, Joe Recchia, “Never before have we launched so many new lines at once, in our Flagship brand, as well as in Merit and Ironman. We believe our product line-up at Essen clearly shows our commitment in mold investment and in providing our customers the latest in tread design and product range. By partnering with an array of world-class manufacturers, only Hercules can offer a second-to-none combination of quality and availability.”

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Continental Produces 500 millionth Floating Brake Calliper

On July 19 Continental celebrated the production of the world’s 500 millionth floating calliper at its facility in Rheinböllen, Germany. Commenting on the occasion, Heinz Zingel, executive vice president of the Company’s Hydraulic Brake Systems Business Unit, which belongs to the Chassis & Safety Division, said “Each year, the Hydraulic Brake Systems Business Unit produces more than 33 million floating callipers at sites in Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, the USA, Brazil, China, Japan and Taiwan. Annual production is some ten million at Rheinböllen alone, making it the world’s leading production site for Continental brake callipers.”

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