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Truck Tyres

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Pirelli Develops New Premium “Gommoncino”

Pirelli continues to aspire to innovation in the area of truck tyres, while also acknowledging its desire to tap into new and emerging markets. Now it has developed the Gommoncino, a new 385/55R22.5 size, premium-tread FH85 Amaranto, which the manufacturer claims is able to sustain superior loads and return greater mileage. Simultaneously, the company announces that it continues to strengthen its position in emerging markets, especially in China and South America, through OE alliances with some of the world’s largest industrial vehicle manufacturers.

4th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Dunlop Makes Big Push for Birmingham Children’s Hospital

Birmingham’s city centre canal system received some unusual visitors on August 31 when Goodyear Dunlop employees rolled one of the company’s Marathon truck tyres along its banks in a bid to raise funds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital. This unusual challenge was thought up by the company’s truck tyre department, which was seeking to take on an endurance challenge in aid of the companies’ corporate charity. The two-mile push saw the team of 15 from Goodyear Dunlop’s Birmingham and Wolverhampton sites negotiate bridges and slopes in an effort to move the 62 kilogram, metre high Goodyear Marathon truck tyre along the historic canal route.

3rd September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

European Tyre Volumes Remain Weak

In July the European passenger car tyre market fell 7 per cent, with truck tyres falling 3 per cent, according to Michelin sourced figures. In contrast, the ailing North American market appears to be beginning to recover, according to Deutsche Bank estimates. Here the market was flat in July with truck tyre sales actually growing 3 per cent. Business in the emerging markets is reportedly strong with both Brazil and China both growing at 20 per cent plus rates.

3rd September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Shandong Yinbao Tyre Group Spreads Its Wings

International News, News, Product News

The Shandong Yinbao Tyre Group is set to embark on a programme of international expansion. Established in 1994, the company has become a famous name in China, designing, manufacturing and marketing tyres and inner tubes for the domestic market, under the brand names GoodTyre, Yinbao and Huibao. The product range is extensive and includes truck, agricultural and industrial tyres, as well as giant OTR tyres, for example, size 36.00 R51, plus a range of inner tubes. Products are already exported to over 50 countries, but the company, under the direction of chairman Mr. Yonghua Liu, has decided that the time is right to concentrate more on developing export business.

Manufacturing is carried out at three plants in China and Shandong Yinbao has built up a network of distributors to handle sales outside China. The products are all DOT, ECE, INMETRO and SNI approved, among others. As well as adopting a policy of continuous quality improvement, the company is dedicated to extending the life of its tyres and, as an example, its website proudly mentions the fact that the company’s heavy-duty, radial truck tyres are capable of running for 200,000 kilometres.

1st September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Full Maxxis Truck Tyre Range Now in UK

Following the launch of its 22.5 inch truck tyres at the 2005 Brityrex exhibition, Maxxis has expanded its range over the past few years – most recently introducing a super single to the market – and the brand is continuing to prove worth its salt via long-term mileage tests with leading UK fleets.

“The full range of Maxxis truck tyres is now available in the UK and sales have increased steadily on the back of the excellent results we’ve been getting from our customer test programme,” says Maxxis UK International managing director Derek McMartin. “The figures reflect those achieved in tests carried out elsewhere in Europe, and put Maxxis right up there with the top brands in the sector when it comes to quality, reliability and value for money, so we’re delighted to expand our offering by incorporating a full truck range of steer, drive and trailer tyres.”

28th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Celebrates 10 Years in Aiken County

The first tyre rolled off the production line at the Bridgestone Firestone North America Tire (BFNAT) factory in Aiken County, South Carolina on August 26, 1998. A decade on, the facility is producing 25,000 passenger and light truck tyres every day. The 10th anniversary of production was commemorated with a luncheon, at which business and local community leaders were the guests of senior company officials.

27th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

A Continent of Contrasts

International News, Product News

Africa is a market that presents tyre manufacturers with both problems and opportunities. Theoretically, the potential may be there for a thriving industry and market, yet unreliable infrastructure, taxation issues and political instability are all features of the African tyre industry landscape that make operations complicated. However, despite such hurdles, the situation in some areas is improving.

In mid-July Dunlop Nigeria announced the planned closure of its factory, claiming tariff reductions on imported goods as a deciding factor. In early 2007 the Nigerian government reduced the tariff on imported truck and bus tyres from 40 per cent to 10 per cent, undermining, in Dunlop’s view, the investments it had made in expanding its radial production programme.

22nd August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Reiff Adds GT Radial to Retreading Program

Reiff Reifen operates a state of the art retreading facility in the German town of Reutlingen. This Bandag franchise operation retreads in excess of 40,000 truck tyres each year, all of which are subjected to strict quality control measures. All casings are inspected with a SDS shearography machine that can detect any minor internal separation, and all inspection data is recorded on the company’s mainframe. Tyre building is performed using a Bandag-AZ builder extruder and curing is carried out in four completely new installed Bandag electrical autoclaves. Reiff operates to ISO 9000 standard and contracts TÜV Automotive in Munich to endurance test its retreaded tyres to confirm compliance with ECE 109 regulation requirements.

21st August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook US Prices Rising up to 10%

As of October 1, prices for Hankook Tire products in the US will increase by up to 10 per cent. The new price structure will apply to the company’s full range of passenger car, light commercial and truck tyres.

“While our company continues to make every effort to control manufacturing and distribution costs without compromising service to our customers, the unprecedented increases in the costs of raw materials and energy make this announcement necessary,” stated Bill Bainbridge, Hankook’s director of brand communications. He added that the company’s price increases are consistent with price rises announced recently by other major tyre manufacturers marketing their products in the US.

21st August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

The Greenest Tyres

Tyre manufacturers have been using recycled rubber in agricultural and OTR tyres for some time, but new research shows that lower rolling resistance passenger and truck tyres could be greener still if they also used ultra fine recycled rubber powder in their compound recipes.

At the end of May, Rice University’s Marc J Epstein and business academic Tamara Bekefi published a fascinating paper entitled: “The Value of Green Tyres to Corporate Pofitability.” The paper looks at the current environmental and economic situation and points out that there is a “real possibility that the supply of virgin rubber will not be able to meet demand in the coming years.” It may not get to this point immediately – research conducted by Deutsche Bank analysts shows that, having gained a huge 40 per cent this year, natural rubber prices are now beginning to level off to their 18 month average and may follow fuel price falls – however, looking to the longer term, Epstein and Bekefi’s point still stands.

19th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Green Tyres Mean Business

The tyre industry definition of a ‘green tyre’ is taking on a new meaning. Ever since tyres have been mass produced these two words have referred to the semi-finished un-vulcanised tyre product. Now the tyre industry is taking on an increasingly ecological focus and ‘green tyre thinking’ is giving retreaders the opportunity to ‘sell’ the uniquely environmental benefits they offer over and above new tyres. With this in mind, Tyres & Accessories interviewed Patrick O’Connell, director of one of the UK’s leading independent retreading operations, and learnt that retreads are not only the greenest tyres on the market, but that they make sound business sense too.

Everyone knows that retreads are greener than new tyres, but now it seems retreaders are making a concerted effort to shout about the eco-benefits of their tyres. The first step has been commissioning new research demonstrating, once again, the environmental soundness of retreads. Numerous reports have been conducted by organisations such as WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) and recently Best Foot Forward, who were commissioned by the Centre for Remanufacturing and Reuse. This independent life cycle analysis was carried out to compare the relative carbon footprints of new tyres and retreaded tyres and concluded that the manufacture and distribution of a retreaded tyre results in significantly less carbon emissions than the production of a new tyre.

15th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

With Chinese input Prices on the Up Could there be a Retread Renaissance?

International News, Retreading

Raw material price increases affect every part of the tyre production and distribution chain. At the moment all the new tyre manufacturers (from the largest to the smallest) are feeling the raw materials pinch, which has been reflected in a run of less profitable financial reports. Even the Chinese manufacturers that were able to offer the “economic option” for so long are being forced to restructure their prices. Prior to this the low price of new Chinese made truck and bus radials had been hindering sales of quality retreads, so now that the price differential appears to swinging back against the Far Eastern budget producers, will this provide the opportunity for a resurgence in retread sales?

Take Qingdao, Shandong province-based Aufine Group Co Ltd. In August Tyres & Accessories received notification that the company was bringing in a second “unfortunate” price increase in three months, brought on by the “not small” (23 per cent) increase in Aufine’s natural rubber costs. The fact that the Chinese government clamped down on production in regions adjacent to Qingdao during the last quarter has also affected the distribution of these products. Furthermore, in addition to pressures mentioned above, the supply of Chinese tyres is also described as “inconsistent” since the pound’s value has fallen against the Euro. As a result Chinese manufacturers are increasingly ‘cherry-picking’ sales in the most lucrative international markets.

15th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Max-imum Benefit

In early August Goodyear was host to more than 50 representatives from DAF Trucks along with fleet customers, presenting a workshop to show the benefits of specifying the latest DAF truck models with the new Goodyear Max Technology tyres. Included in the event, held at Goodyear’s European Technical Centre in Luxembourg, was a visit to the company’s truck tyre production facility in Wittlich, Germany and its Luxembourg Mounting Facility (LMC), where tyres earmarked for OE manufacturers are fitted to wheels before shipment to truck manufacturers.

13th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

RMA Projects 2008 US Tyre Shipments to Decrease 4%

Tyre shipments in the US are projected to decline by nearly 4 per cent this year compared to 2007, says the Rubber Manufacturers Association. Combined OE and replacement tyre shipment for the passenger/light commercial vehicle and truck segments are anticipated to decreased by more than 12 million units to approximately 298 million, reports the RMA. Such a decline, it believes, reflects anticipated worsening domestic economic pressures for both the consumer and commercial sectors.

13th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone H1 Results Show Lower Profits

Bridgestone Corporation has released details of its consolidated business and financial results for the period January 1 to June 30, 2008, the first half of the current fiscal year. Overall net sales of 1,641.1 billion yen (£7.70 billion) were recorded during the six-month period, an increase of two per cent over the previous year. Operating income, at 83.6 billion yen (£392 million) showed an 18 per cent drop on the first half 2007 figures, and net income of 37.2 billion yen (£174.47 million) is 30 per cent down on the previous year’s result.

8th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors