What is described as “the world’s largest front-end loader and mining tyre”, the Firestone 70/70-57, fitted on a LeTourneau L-2350 loader, has made its debut at a mine in Wyoming. The Firestone Super Rock Deep Tread tyre is almost 13 feet tall and weighs nearly 8 tons. It takes four people 17 hours to build the tyre and the curing time is 24 hours.
Back in 1989 the market researchers were telling the motor industry and the press that the boom in 4×4 vehicles had peaked. Anyone who wanted a 4×4 already had one and the market would stagnate before declining. How wrong they were. What they failed to recognise was the change in the demographics of the market and the complete change in the image of the 4×4, which, nowadays, we are driven to call a Sports Utility vehicle (SUV). The market is still growing and every vehicle manufacturer in the world has an SUV range, or is planning an SUV range. The growth in the market has been less about the development of the grass roots off road vehicle than the emergence of the SUV as a fashion and lifestyle statement. There are still those who use their 4×4 for the purpose for which it was designed, either work or leisure, but the phenomenal growth has been in the luxury end of the market where the vehicles may look as if they are designed to tackle the wild mountain tracks, but will be lucky if they clip the kerb in the supermarket car park. The dilemma for the tyre dealer was that the vast majority of tyres for 4×4 vehicles were originally designed for agricultural use and, though, moderately capable in the mud, were less than well suited to road use. As the market developed, the availability of increasingly road biased tyres increased. As the SUV market grew there also developed a growing demand for higher and higher performance road tyres. Today the advent of the BMW M5 and now the Porsche Cayenne and the continued road refinement of the Range Rover has set an unprecedented demand for high and ultra-high performance road tyres aimed at SUVs. Tread patterns, widths and profiles that wouldn’t look amiss on a sports car now adorn vehicles which have a heritage which harks back to the Willy’s Jeep.
SmarTire Systems Inc. has strengthened its financial position with the completion of three private placements totalling $6.4 million. Since September 2002, $1.184 million has been released to the Company. A total of $5.2 million is subject to registration. The financings include a $1.0 million placement of common shares and warrants with European investors, $400,000 in convertible debentures and a $5.0 million facility for the placement of common shares. Proceeds from these private placements will fund ongoing operations, purchase inventory to satisfy current and projected product demand and retire debt. ”With implementation of the TREAD Act less than a year away, we have been extremely busy formalizing corporate relationships, completing supply agreements and quoting for new business,” says Robert Rudman, President and Chief Executive Officer of SmarTire. “With our improved financial position we are better able to address the anticipated demand for tire pressure monitoring already evident in North America and Europe and beginning to emerge in the Asian markets.”
Lisoni & Lisoni has filed a petition with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) formally requesting that the agency reopen its investigation of the Firestone Steeltex tyre series, which it suspended. At the close of the investigation in April, 2002, the NHTSA said it would reopen its investigation if sufficient additional safety-related evidence became available. Lisoni & Lisoni announced it had provided the NHTSA with extensive documentation and evidence, which included remnants of the Steeltex tyres series R4S, R4SII and A/T which had suffered severe tread separation. Commenting on the source of the alleged defects, William Hagerty, a tyre analyst stressed: “We have reason to believe that Bridgestone ordered Firestone to “de-engineer” the tyres to cut production costs, thereby compromising the quality and safety of the Steeltex tyres. Ultimately, these less robust tyres were unable to withstand the demands of larger vehicles. We also have reason to believe that Firestone instructed store owners not to submit warranty claims and tyre failure complaints in exchange for purchasing discounts, bonuses and other incentives. This alleged directive allows Firestone to report artificially low failure rates on the Steeltex tyre series.”
Maloya, the Swiss subsidiary of Vredestein, has introduced a W-rated tyre, the Futura Sport W. The tyre comes in two 45-series sizes, for 17″ rims and has a directional tread and silica tread compound.
The first 15 seat passenger van tyre related roll-over case has begun at Wichita Falls, Texas. This is the first case to come to court since the NHTSA issues an advisory about the vehicles in April 2001. The first hearing will establish the validity of expert testimony. The defendants are DaimlerChrysler Corp, Michelin North America (Canada) Inc, Michelin North America Inc, and Michelin Americas Research and Development Corporation. The case arose after the alleged tread separation of a Michelin tyre which is claimed to have caused the vehicle to roll over several times resulting in four deaths.
Michelin’s Edouard Michelin and Continental’s CEO Manfred Wennemer have both spoken to analysts at the Paris Motor Show regarding the prospects for their companies. Michelin says that raw material increases (15 per cent in the first months of the year) will have an adverse effect on 2nd half business. Michelin’s strategy is “to get more value out of the tyre”, which Edouard Michelin says should not be regarded as a commodity. The company will also add production in low labour-cost countries. Continental’s European restructuring is bearing fruit with good economies of scale from concentrating truck tyre production at Puchov. However, the US market “remains difficult”. The current brand mix in the US aftermarket is 80 per cent General Tire, 20 per cent Conti. The aim is to make this nearer 50/50. Wennemer said that the forthcoming “tread act” in the US has great potential for the company in the field of tyre deflation sensors.
A judge in a US court case has allowed sanctions against Cooper Tire. Two brothers are suing Cooper over the death of their parents in an accident, which they allege was caused by a tread separation. The defendants claim that Cooper destroyed documents relating to production records from 1992, but Cooper says it is uncertain whether the documents were relevant. The judge said that he would allow the plaintiffs to inform the jury of the destruction of the documents, and that they could draw whatever inference they wished. He also awarded attorney’s fees and expenses concerned with the destruction of the documents. Cooper said it would appeal the decision.
As from this spring, Marangoni Tyre is launching an effort to broaden its customer base in Germany – at the same increasing its tyre sales in general – for their second brand Stunner. New partners are being sought in the trade for the distribution of this second brand. The German market has so far not been very much exposed to Marangoni’s second brand, and the corporation hopes to introduce the tread design formerly known as ‘Zeta ESC’ to the market under the name of Stunner ‘Scudo’. The ‘Zeta Linea’, successor to the ‘Zeta ESC’, will take its place within the Marangoni product range, now that it is available in many new dimensions up to 19 inch. Further, at the Essen tyre trade show, Marangoni intends to announce that the ‘Vanto’ tyre model will take over from the ‘Heron’ model and the Italians will officially present this new tyre to the international trade press soon afterwards. The asymmetrical Vanto will be available in sizes up to 16 inch, maximum 235/55 R 16W and, according to PR and Communications Manager Mario Apolloni, its introduction will herald a ‘very special and important moment’ for Marangoni.
The latest J.D. Power customer survey concerns heavy truck tyres as original equipment. Respondents rated tyres for safety, durability, tread life and overall value. Michelin came out on top, closely followed by Bridgestone, although Bridgestone customers reported the fewest problems per 100 tyres. According to the report, the biggest problems associated with tyres are excessive or uneven tread wear and blowouts.
Michelin has produced what it claims is the world’s largest tyre. The new radial XDR 59/80 R63 has been developed in conjunction with Caterpillar for its new 797B, the largest truck in the world, designed for use in large surface mines and weighing more than 600 tons. The tyre is more than 13 feet high, nearly five feet wide and weighs more than five tons. The tread depth is 4.5 inches and the tyre can carry a load in excess of 100 tons.
Vredestein and Giugiaro have teamed up for a second time to produce a stylish ultra high performance car tyre – the Ultrac. This follows the success of the Giugiaro designed Sportrac, which encouraged Vredestein to ask the Italian design studio to work with them on their first venture into the UHP segment. The result is a variation on a theme, the now familiar extended deep vee tread pattern has been touched by natural influences and now follows a sweeping pattern taken from nature, using the veining of a leaf as inspiration. Many will wonder whether a tread pattern designed by a stylist is as effective as a tread pattern designed by a tyre technician, but by adopting the rule that form follows function, the result is a tyre which appears to perform as well as any of its UHP competitors. The real innovation though is in the compound and the building of the tyres. The Silica Silane compound turned the mixing process into a chemical reaction which had to be time and temperature controlled. Further, the tyre building required an accuracy offered only by new tyre building lines. Vredestein invested some 50 million Euro in production facilities for the Ultrac. It is a venture which leads the Dutch manufacturer into the burgeoning UHP sector, however, MD Rob Oudshoorn told NRZ, “We don’t consider this as a growth market, we see it as another opportunity to sell tyres.”
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. will voluntarily replace up to 200,000 size LT245/75R16 tyres on passenger vans and ambulances, starting in March, as a preliminary investigation of the tires by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concludes. NHTSA believes tread separations in the four-ply tyres may have led to 11 fatal accidents and numerous injuries. The program involves 16-inch Load Range E tyres made between 1996 and 2000 and encompasses 51 different lines. Goodyear says the tyres are not defective. NHTSA began investigating Load Range E tyres in November 2000. Goodyear is contacting registered tyre owners through direct mail and other methods. It will replace the tyres with same size, six-ply units. “This is a proactive tyre replacement program,” say Goodyear officials.
This is a business on the move, this business is exciting. Tyres may sometimes be regarded as commodities in the eyes of marketing strategists, tyres seem to be boring, but insiders know that this is not correct. Tyres are high-tech products, the only problem is that most consumers do not realise this. Because of this we are looking for communicators who can whip up enthusiasm. The most important task of the tyre business must be to raise the image of the “round black things”. In reality this industry has for a long time collaborated with companies from the high tech electronics sector and there are many points of contact with the so highly-regarded IT companies. Applications in seemingly remote areas of science are checked for a possible transfer to tyres. In building tyres a revolution has happened, historical inventions since the first pneumatic tyre from John Boyd Dunlop as well as radialisation or the tubeless tyre, silica compounds or lamella technology in respect of materials or tread design, are all in the past and are only little steps in the history of the tyre. The dynamic of the tyre business in terms of technology is fantastic: a “brave new world” of tyres has begun. Unfortunately this feeling of progress and the many technical innovations which have had such an impact on the tyre industry and the tyre trade have not filtered through to everyday business. We – who deal with tyres day in and day out – ought also to be infected by this contagious enthusiasm which is rife in research and development departments, whose technicians are sometimes regarded by outsiders as somewhat staid. Let’s have a review of the year 2001: whoever reads the headlines of this business and comes from a totally different sector will envy us for being in such a dynamic industry.
Bridgestone has launched four new motorcycle tyres. The first is the Battlax BT-090 an ultra-high performance tyre for mid-sized motorcycles. The tyre uses cutting edge technologies to create an ideal sporting on-road and race tyre. The second, the Battlax BT 012SS, is designed to give uncompromising performance for motorcycles over 600cc. Also announced are two new motocross tyres for medium and medium to hard circuits, the M401 (front) and M402 (rear) for medium terrain, and the M601 (front) and M602 (rear) for hard terrain.
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