Dutch wholesaler Heuver Tyrewholesale has appointed Dewy Mulder its new marketing manager. She succeeds Maureen Voortman in this role following Voortman’s promotion within the company. In her new role, Mulder takes on marketing responsibility for both Heuver’s wholesale business and the company’s Profile Tyrecenter retail outlets.
Following a claimed development time of just six months, Apollo Tyres has rolled out its new Amazer 3G, a tyre specifically intended for fitment on Mahindra and Mahindra’s first electric car, the e2o. The rolling resistance optimised Amazer 3G is standard fitment for the e2o in size 155/70 R13 – a size the vehicle manufacture exclusively acquires from Apollo.
Cooper Tire & Rubber and its guayule rubber research consortium partners have reviewed initial progress on their US$6.9 million Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) grant from the USDA and the US Department of Energy. The meeting highlighted significant progress being made in several areas, including guayule plant genome sequencing needed for future breeding tools, irrigation studies to maximise rubber content in the plant, and completing laboratory testing to develop a guayule tyre-grade polymer specification for future commercialisation.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems reports it is participating in the ‘Zero Impact’ project organised by Italian organisation LifeGate. Zero Impact is a project that calculates and compensates for non-reducible CO2 emissions resulting from human activities, such as the manufacture of products. The idea behind Zero Impact is that environmental impact assessments are used to measure the affect of a particular activity, and participating companies can support the offset of this through the creation and protection of forest growth.
Independent UK wholesaler Grouptyre offers an extensive choice of van tyres from its exclusive brands Evergreen, Federal and Goodride. Covering a wide range of sizes for all light commercial vehicle operations, Grouptyre says it has a van tyre for every use. The company adds that its delivery service is unrivalled, and therefore it can ensure it can get the right tyre to its customers whenever they’re needed.
Paul Kinkead, Head of Environment and Protection at Michelin’s truck tyre plant in Ballymena, has been awarded an OBE in The New Year’s Honours List for services to environmental protection in Northern Ireland.
A past pupil of Royal School Dungannon and a graduate of Queen’s University Belfast, Paul Kinkead is a Chartered Chemical Engineer and has worked at Michelin’s Ballymena site since 1986. In 2011, he was appointed to the senior management team with specific responsibility for managing the Environment and Protection Department for the site. He is also the Michelin UK Country Manager for Industrial Hygiene and Chemical Safety.
Kumho Tire U.S.A. reports that the Ecsta 4X has received a 2012 Good Design Award. The award, organised annually by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in cooperation with the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies, recognises design and innovation, sustainability, creativity, branding, ecological responsibility and technology in a number of areas. Kumho Tire was awarded this honour in the category of transportation, alongside companies such as BMW, Boeing and Hyundai.
At its Capital Markets Day earlier this month, Swedish firm Trelleborg outlined a new organisational structure. As of 1 January 2013, the Trelleborg Group will be divided into five business areas; Trelleborg Coated Systems, Trelleborg Industrial Solutions, Trelleborg Offshore & Construction, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions and Trelleborg Wheel Systems. The company says the new arrangement makes for a “more focused” organisational structure.
Mandatory tyre labelling will provide extra opportunities in the market, opines a major European Aeolus Tyre wholeslaer. Although the label’s aim is to deliver more environmentally-friendly, safer and efficient transport, the wholesaler believes it will also help to challenge established brand reputations. The company expresses confidence in the quality, mileage performance and longevity of Aeolus products, and it sees the label as a means of conveying these aspects and instilling users with greater confidence in basing their decision-making on price. “The buying process will become more transparent and all tyre brands will have the same opportunities,” commented Bertus Heuver, director of Heuver Tyrewholesale, supplier of the Aeolus brand in a number of European markets.
Iona Capital has recently announced an investment in Gradena Limited to recycle waste tyres and UPVC. Gradena is a joint venture between Gradsol Ltd and Dena Technology Ltd, a provider of nanotechnology solutions and will manufacture wood replacement goods from the waste tyres and UPVC. Gradsol is a management consultancy company that specialises in sustainability and operational consultancy, particularly in the waste sector.
In the USA, rental car company Hertz has announced a new initiative, in partnership with Liberty Tyre Recycling, that will recycle up to 160,000 tyres annually. This is part of Hertz's promise to implement a zero-landfill policy for the tyres the company uses each year.
According to Hertz, most of the tyres the company and Liberty Tyre Recycling will reprocess go towards several different uses. Many will end up shredded and converted into rubber mulch, which is ideal for public spaces because it is non-allergenic, will not wash away during rain, has no effect on plants, pets or children, and finally, resists insect, mould or fungi infestation. It lasts longer than wood mulch, does a better job of sealing in ground moisture and also reduces the amount of trees needed to create mulch.
Dmack has unveiled a new environmentally-friendly rally tyre whose tread is designed to reduce damage to roads and help cut costs and improve sustainability in motorsport. The Dmack Surface Saver has a low impact and less aggressive tread pattern which results in reduced abrasion and damage to gravel roads, the Anglo-Chinese manufacturer says. The E-marked tyre exhibits a symmetrical D-block design with reduced edges and 3mm less tread, measures it says give the tyre enhanced durability.
Alcoa Wheel Products Europe has introduced four new wheels for truck and trailer applications at the IAA trade show in Hannover, Germany. The fitments comprise: 22.5×11.75”, 45mm offset wheel for inloaders; a 22.5×11.75”, 80mm offset wheel; 22.5×11.75”, 135mm offset and five ton load index; and a 22.5×13.00” lighter wheel with higher load capacity.
UK tyre manufacturers and distributors are risking their long-term sustainability in order to increase sales, according the latest report issued by Plimsoll publishing. Yet while sales have seen an upsurge, the 127 companies continuing with their current business model are said to be “in danger of spiralling out of control and are heading for rocky ground. “
Alongside its B-TAG launch, Bridgestone Commercial Solutions, a division of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, introduced a suite of products and services it says are designed to increase a mine's productivity and reduce costs, while maintaining a constant regard for safety. Bridgestone Mining Solutions (BMS) thus combines tyre sales and repair with tyre management and retreading to address every phase of a mine's tyre-related needs.
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