Truck Tyres
The UK’s second largest manufacturer or remoulded truck tyres, Bandvulc, intends to unveil a new range of tyres at April’s Commercial Vehicle Show being held at the NEC in Birmingham. Bandvulc says this new range will further enhance the success of its tyre management subsidiary, Bandvulc Tyre Contracts.
(Akron/Tire Review) Goodyear’s North American Tire division has created a new internal team called the Customer Development Organization.
The announcement was made this past weekend at Goodyear’s annual dealer conference in Orlando, Florida.
Michelin has launched a tyre that the company claims to be the most notable technological breakthrough since the radial technology was first applied to truck tyres in 1952. The tyre – Michelin’s X One MaxiTrailer – reportedly provides up to 50 per cent more mileage than a comparable standard 385/65 R 22.5 tyre.
(SA Treads, Douglasdale, South Africa) When we first met Claudio Boezio in early 2005, he had just assumed responsibility for Continental Tyre SA in his role as MD. At the time and by his own admission, he was fortunate to inherit a well-run, stable ‘ship’. But if there’s one thing that remains constant in the tyre industry, it’s change.
Bridgestone’s Brazilian subsidiary, Bridgestone Firestone do Brasil Indústria e Comércio Ltda., has inaugurated its second Brazilian facility, approximately two years after the announcement of plans to invest in the State of Bahia. Built to meet both domestic and export demand, the 7-hectare plant will focus on the production of car and light truck tyres and is set to directly generate 500 jobs, with a further 1,200 or so jobs expected to be generated in related fields.
Although the Indian tyre market is mainly characterised by its strong growth, it still is a market that is relatively self-sufficient. India still imports tyres, and the volume of imports is forever growing. Nevertheless, the import market still accounts for less than three per cent of the total, although decreasing tariffs and duties over the coming years will certainly facilitate tyre imports. But the question remains why Goodyear and Bridgestone remain the only foreign tyre manufacturers to have established their own production base in India – despite all the talk about how important the Indian market, as part of the so-called emerging BRIC states (Brazil, Russia, India and China), is considered to be.
On January 26 Michelin renewed a long-term global contract with the Volvo Group. The initial contract was signed in December 2003, and under the terms of the new contract Michelin will offer truck tyres as OE for vehicles assembled by Volvo in Europe, North America and South America under the brand names Volvo Trucks, Volvo Buses, Renault Trucks and Mack Trucks.
Former Balkrishna Industries Ltd. executive director Yogeshkumar (Yogesh) Mahansaria and his brother Ashokkumar have reportedly quit the fast-growing Indian tyre producer, citing “family differences” as the reason. Yogesh has now teamed up with US equity firm Warburg Pincus to acquire Israel’s Alliance Tire for US$45 million. Alliance has been in negotiations with the two buyers, and the transaction is expected to be completed before June. The Alliance purchase forms part of a new venture that Yogesh Mahansaria has been quoted as saying he intends to float in the near future.
Ceat Limited has outlined a £76 million capital expenditure plan spread over the next three years. The plan includes setting up of two greenfield plants, one for radials and the other for speciality tyres. This is a more ambitious plan than previously reported, as the company was expected to establish a single plant where all the above-mentioned activities would take place.
In December last year, 12 sales staff from Belgian tyre distributor Deldo Autobanden paid a visit to the new factory of their partner South China Tire, in Guangzhou.
South China Tire, producer of Sunny and Wanli branded tyres, is to expand capacity to around 15 million tyres a year with a new plant. The first phase of the new plant began production in September 2006, and offers additional production of two million tyres (the total capacity is six million tyres). The total project will take up till 2012 to complete, with a final annual capacity of around 15 million tyres.
Well-known Saudi Arabian tyre specialist General Retread has entered into a partnership with Bandag to launch precure tyre retreading in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is a virgin market for Bandag.
The new Tyre Lift from Penny Hydraulics is a versatile platform lift for handling tyres, wheels and loads up to 250kg between ground level and a first floor or mezzanine store. Penny Hydraulics says it offers a cost-effective solution for complying with manual handling regulations and reduces the risk of injury. The entire handling process can be carried out by a single person, with no manual lifting involved.
Comparison tests between the latest Goodyear Regional RHSII truck steer tyre and an unnamed competitor show that Goodyear’s Regional RHSII has superior performance in the areas of wet braking, rolling resistance and noise. TÜV Süd carried out the tests to provide an independent report on the comparative performance of the new tyre, its predecessor and its main competitor in the European market. The test centre was guarded about the identity of the competitor, with the official copy of the report that Tyres & Accessories has seen describing the product as a: “high-quality tyre of a well-established European manufacturer.”
Five years after the debut of its original eTire Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), Michelin has begun to show off its eTire II second-generation sensor equipment. This new eTire system incorporates technology devised by UK company Transense Technologies, who granted Honeywell a licence to develop their TPMS design on behalf of the French tyre maker.
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