Kordsa opens California technical centre
With the opening of its California technical centre, Kordsa reports that it has established three technical centres on three continents within a year.
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Martin Winter appointed ZC Rubber technical director EMEA & Americas
Zhongce Rubber (ZC Rubber) has appointed Martin Winter technical director tire development EMEA & Americas. Winter took up the position on 1 August 2022. He brings with him more than 20 years’ experience of working in original equipment tyre development with Continental, Goodyear, Hankook, and most recently Sentury Tire, where he was global technical director OE. ZC Rubber opened its Europe Technical Center (ETC) in Hannover Germany in 2021. It will use the ETC to support the global development of its original equipment business and to work with key OE accounts in the region. In his new role, Winter will report to Martin Wells, vice president ZC Technical Center & global OE.
Sailun to open US tyre development centre
Sailun Tire AmericasSailun Tire Americas is planning to open a US technical centre in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA that will develop tyres for passenger, light truck, SUV, CUV and medium truck tyres applications as well as tyres for electric vehicles. Tyre developed there will ultimately end up at both OE and replacement destinations.
Davanti Tyres opens European Development Centre at IDIADA
DavantiDavanti Tyres is opening a European Development Centre at Applus+ IDIADA. The brand, owned by the UK’s Oak Group, says the centre will “spearhead its next-generation tyre design.” Davanti has previously used the Spanish facility, located in the northeast of the country near Barcelona, in the development of its tyres. It says the facility will allow its research and development team to experiment more with innovative new designs and materials, speed up new product development, and enhance ongoing testing and improvement of its existing range. General manager Peter Cross calls the move “the biggest step Davanti has taken since we brought our first tyre – the DX390 – to market.”
STARCO & Kenda integrating European technical teams
The technical team that STARCO operates in Europe is joining together with parent company Kenda’s technical team. The aim of integrating the two teams is to leverage synergies within the firms’ global technical structure as well as drive further technological improvements. According to STARCO, it also represents a significant step in both companies’ growth plans for Europe.
Kenda expanding Germany R&D centre
Kenda Rubber Industrial has expanded its research and development centre in Germany, reinforcing its development team in Winsen (Luhe). Italian Antonio Gallo has joined Kenda Europe Technical Center (KETC) as a tyre tester to put the Taiwanese manufacturer’s high-performance tyres through their paces.
Nexen Tire Europe relocates headquarters
Nexen Tire Europe moved its head office and European technical centre to a new purpose-built 11,000 square metre location in Kelkheim, Germany on 5 September 2018.
According to the company, the Lise-Meitner-Straße site was constructed in less than 13 months, with the focus on making an ecologically friendly building and using materials sourced from local companies.
Valeo launches AI global research centre
Valeo has launched the first global research centre in artificial intelligence and deep learning dedicated to automotive applications.
Bridgestone opens new Asia tech centre site
Last week, Bridgestone Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. officially opened its new Asia Pacific Technical Center (APTC) facility in Thailand’s Pathum Thani Province. The APTC team relocated to this new, larger facility in late March from a site north of Bangkok, where it had operated since its inauguration in 2013. Bridgestone says the new facility will help the APTC to “strengthen its functions and better develop products suited to the region’s customers’ needs and requirements.”
Nexen Tire in Europe – new factory, R&D centre and distribution channels
Times are changing for Nexen Tire in Europe. This year the Korean tyre maker intends to start work on its first production facility on European soil and on the construction of a new and larger European technical centre. Changes are also being made to the way Nexen tyres reach European customers. Nexen Tire Europe president Seung-Do Jin recently spoke to Tyres & Accessories about these plans, and on what the company hopes to achieve in Europe.
Goodyear follows up a winter hit with the UltraGrip 9
It’s never easy to follow up a smash hit – just ask Gotye – but with more than seven million UltraGrip 8s shipped in Europe since 2011, Goodyear’s ninth generation winter tyre is following an all-time great. Travelling to Goodyear’s Innovation Centre Luxembourg earlier this year with dealers from across Europe, Tyres & Accessories got an exclusive preview of the new tyre, in addition to some insights from Xavier Fraipont, director technology consumer tyres EMEA, about the development process that has led to the UG 9.
Cooper plans Ohio technical centre to supplement Melksham facility
Cooper has formally announced its plans for a $35.5 million Global Technical Center in Findlay, Ohio, Tire Review reports. Located at the tyre-maker’s headquarters the new tech centre will occupy the same building as the company’s North America Technical Center (NATC). Expected to be operational by the end of the year, the GTC will supplement the tyre-maker’s regional tech centres around the world, including its Asia Technical Center in Kunshan, China, its European Technical Center in Melksham, England, and its NATC, on site.
Cooper Tire dedicates relocated Asia Technical Center
The formal dedication for Cooper Tire Asia’s new technical centre facility took place on 12 June, the company reports. The Asia Technical Center (ATC) in Kunshan, China is located near the Cooper Kunshan Tire (CKT) plant some 30 miles/50 kilometres from Shanghai. The new, purpose-built facility replaces the ATC operation in Shanghai and will house 65 material scientists and tyre engineers. The ATC is one of four Cooper Tire & Rubber technical centres around the world, and focuses primarily on the design and development of passenger car and truck tyres for the Asian and Chinese markets.
New Falken tyres, technologies introduce brand’s next generation in Europe
Showcasing significant technological and performance breakthroughs, Falken launched its latest Azensis and Sincera products at the Ascari Race Resort near Malaga, Spain. Tyrepress took the opportunity to speak to Isamu Ishida, managing director, Falken Tyre Europe, and Matt Smith, managing director UK & Ireland, about the direction of Falken post Sumitomo and Goodyear’s Dunlop joint venture, having sampled the benefits of the new tyres at Ascari.
Seat to produce first-ever SUV
Seat has announced that it is to manufacture its first-ever SUV; it will come to market in 2016 and is already in development at Seat’s Martorell facility, Barcelona. “This is an excellent piece of news, since it takes Seat into a new territory, in one of the largest and fastest growing segments in the world,” […]
