Goodyear to supply ‘Runflats’ for Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati have selected Goodyear as an exclusive option on its the 400 brake horse power Quattroporte. Goodyear will supply Eagle F1 GS-D3 Extended Mobility Technology (EMT) tyres.
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Confirmation Of Job Losses At Goodyear
Product NewsThe Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has announced restructuring actions in its corporate headquarters and North American Tire operations that will eliminate more than 700 salaried staff positions. The action is being taken to improve the company’s fixed cost structure.
New Business Plan For Bridgestone Europe
Product NewsBridgestone Firestone Europe is to increase its capital by 400 million euros before the year-end, which will be undertaken by Bridgestone Corporation (Japan). Bridgestone will use capital to rebuild its manufacturing resources and to reinforce its sales organisation and financial position. The production capacity for high performance tyres will be strengthened by strategic investment in passenger car tyre plants to facilitate quick changes to future products. This will include the expansion of the Poznan plant, which will increase its capacity up to 23,000 tyres per day from its current capacity of 10,000 tyres. In addition, Bridgestone will increase the truck and bus tyre output from its Bilbao plant from 3,500 to 4,600 units per day by the end of 2005.
Jean Bergh New Managing Director At GTC*L
Product NewsThe new Managing Director at the Goodyear Technical Centre in Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg (GTC*L) is Jean Bergh (59) after the retirement of Theo Famulok. Famulok has headed up the 900 technicians at Goodyear’s R & D centre since 1994. 900 technicians in Luxembourg develop car, truck and agricultural tyres for Europe as well as for the Asian and African markets.
“BioTred” To Replace Soot And Silica
Product NewsAccording to the US tyre manufacturer Goodyear, they have developed a filling material for car tyres on the basis of renewable raw materials. Thanks to this new rubber mixture, as reported by the press officer Mr Fischer, tyre production will be less harmful to the environment and, compared to the normal silica tyre tread mixture, it offers a lower rolling resistance. Above all, it should be fuel saving. This new technology, which will be used for the first time in the summer tyre GT 3, will offer additional advantages for safety and handling. Presenting the BioTred for the first time to the German press at the end of January in Frankfurt, the company attracted a lot of interest. BioTred is an artificial name, with a deliberate spelling difference to “tread”, in order to highlight its ecological advantage immediately to the consumer. BioTred is a patented tread mixture containing an element from corn starch. However, in parts this element will replace the substances soot and silica which have been used for processing up to now. According to Dr. Annette Lechtenböhmer, who is a chemical engineer at the Goodyear Technical Centre in Luxembourg and also a university teacher at the Hanover University Institute for Process Engineering, this new filling material will reduce CO2 emissions in different ways. On questioning it was confirmed that the starch suitable for producing the filling material could also be generated from potatoes. Since Goodyear has spent five years developing this material and holds a couple of patents, a lead over the competition should be possible.
Cheng Shin Opens US Technical Centre
Product NewsIn December, Taiwanese tyre manufacturer Cheng Shin, producer of the Maxxis brand, opened a technical centre in Georgia where the company employs five people. Cheng Shin already has an R&D centre in Taiwan, employing more than 150 technical staff. The company does not plan to open other R&D centres outside Taiwan.
CASCAR Supplied By Goodyear
Product NewsGoodyear announced that it is to be the official tyre supplier to the Canadian CASCAR Castrol Super Series, underlining the company’s commitment to stock car racing. Special Eagle tyres were developed in Akron and manufactured at the company’s racing tyre plant in Chile.
Quality Awards For Three Goodyear Facilities
Product NewsThree Goodyear plants have become the first sites in the world to be certified under the new global ISO Technical Specification 16949. The plants are Fulda (Germany), Amiens (France) and the Luxembourg Technical Centre. TS 16949 is expected to be recognised as a standard by all car manufacturers worldwide.
Ultra-Low Aspect Drive Axle Tyres From Bridgestone/Firestone
Product NewsBridgestone/Firestone Europe (BFE) has revealed details of a new, ultra-low aspect tyre for trucks and city buses. Called GMD (Greatec Mega Drive) the tyre replaces a pair of dual-mounted drive axle tyres with a single unit. Advantages claimed by BFE include lighter weight, lower rolling resistance and increased carrying capacity. Sizes are 435/45 R22.5 (for city buses) and 495/45 R22.5 (for trucks). Bus tyres will be commercially available early next year and the larger GMD truck tyres in 2002.
New Technical Centre Building For Bridgestone in Tokyo
Product NewsBridgestone Corporation celebrated the completion of a major addition to its Tokyo Technical Centre on Monday, November 13th. The new building is part of a year-long series of events to mark Bridgestone’s 70th anniversary in March 2001. On hand for the completion ceremony were 56 Bridgestone executives, employees and guests, including Bridgestone President and Chief Executive Officer Yoichiro Kaizaki. The company has invested about 65 million Dollars in the project. The new Technical Centre Building stands eight stories tall and offers a floor space of around 34,000 square metres, bringing the total floor space at the Technical Centre to around 53,000 square metres.
