Across the Atlantic they are called tires, while over here we use a “Y” and say tyres. This tag provides the latest tyre business news emanating from the United States of America (USA), whichever way you spell it.
A licensing agreement signed between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and US firm Xerion Advanced Battery Corp. is expected to exploit a technology said to potentially enable the charging of electric vehicle batteries within minutes. Under the terms of the agreement, announced on July 19, Xerion has been granted the exclusive right to bring the University’s ‘StructurePore’ battery-charging technology to market.
The labour minister of India’s West Bengal state has asked Ruia Group chairman Pawan Kumar Ruia to clarify his intentions regarding Dunlop India, and its Sahaganj plant in particular, to the state government. Labour minister Purnendu Bose visited the Sahaganj facility on July 17 – and articles published by India’s media indicate he was not impressed by what he found.
Falken Tire Corporation, the US based subsidiary of Sumitomo Rubber Industries, has appointed Vivien Winneke its director of human resources. Commenting on Ms Winneke’s new role, company president and CEO Richard Smallwood said: “As Falken continues its rapid ascent in sales, it becomes increasingly important to find and recruit talented individuals who can support that growth. This rapid expansion of personnel, along with increasingly complex labour laws, make human resources one of the company’s cornerstones that advocates our cultural belief of plan ahead to maximise opportunities and manage risks.”
Toyo Tire North America has signed a deal with the state of Georgia and Bartow County to help expand the county’s bonding capacity and Toyo’s Georgia plant, reports Tire Review. The $910 million bond deal will add 470 new jobs to the plant, which first opened in 2006. Georgia governor Nathan Deal, Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing president Jim Hawk and James Jarrett, chairman of the Bartow-Cartersville Joint Development Authority signed the deal at a press conference on 12 July.
BKT Tire (USA) has added four new products to its agricultural range and a go-kart tyre in the USA and Canada, reports Tire Review. The two new tyres to the market are the BKT TF 9090, which was created for front axle fitment on tractors. It has three ribs for increased traction and stability on wet soil, according to the manufacturer, and is available in size 4.00-12. The SM 68 is a new go-kart line available in size 11×6.0-5.
Goodyear is well known for its tyres, yet more than a few people may be surprised to learn that the company has also been involved in the blood donation business for almost six decades. Since 1952, workers at the US-based firm’s headquarters have donated a total of 182,663 pints of blood – that’s 86,431 litres – for use at local hospitals. These employee donations have benefitted 547,989 patients over the years, and Goodyear’s long-term dedication to blood donation has now earned the company the “2010 Top Corporate Blood Donor Award” from Northern Ohio Red Cross Blood Services. The award was recently presented to Goodyear chief health officer Brent Pawlecki.
The US Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently awarded three industry teams a total of US$7 million to aid the development of computer-aided software design tools for producing the next generation of electric vehicle batteries. The three teams’ projects support the DOE’s Computer-Aided Engineering for Electric Drive Vehicle Batteries (CAEBAT) program, a project aimed at helping the automotive and battery industries design and develop electric vehicle batteries more quickly, thereby lowering unit cost.
Tyre production at Goodyear’s Union City, Tennessee plant has come to an end. Plans to close the factory by the end of the year were announced in February, yet production has ceased even soon, it appears, than the tyre maker itself originally anticipated. “When we announced our intention to close the plant, we expected the shutdown would occur by year-end,” stated Goodyear chairman and CEO Richard J. Kramer. “Since then, the product transfers to the other Goodyear plants have been completed more quickly than expected. We are now able to meet the needs of our consumer tyre customers without further production in Union City.”
Vee Rubber has had a long period of sustained growth in the last two decades, and is now the employer of over 4,000 at its three large manufacturing facilities on the outskirts of Bangkok. Their combined production now exceeds 25 million tyres per annum, about half of which is now exported through branch offices throughout Asia, Western Europe, USA, Canada and Latin America.
Founded in 1995 and based in Beijing Best Choice International Trade Co. Ltd. quickly established strategic business relationships with domestic tyre manufacturers eager to market their products internationally. Over the years, this has led to the development of a loyal customer base. Consequently, Best Choice reports that it has the developed the ability to source quality tyres at very advantageous prices. All this culminated in the launch of a new private brand at the recent Autopromotec exhibition.
For the third year in a row, The National Business Group on Health, a US non-profit organisation devoted to representing the perspective of large employers on national health policy issues, has honoured Michelin North America as one of the best employers for healthy lifestyles. The tyre maker is one of 48 national employers to receive the 2011 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles award and one of only 20 to receive the group’s Platinum Award; this is the second year Michelin has received this highest award.
The June issue of Tyres & Accessories is now available to subscribers online in our virtual magazine format. This edition contains complete coverage of Michelin's recent Challange Bibendum summit plus features on high performance tyres and the exhaust market. All you have to do is click "more" to flick through the e-paper pages or click "signup" in the top right-hand corner of this screen to register for a free trial account.
Bridgestone Corporation is one of 16 companies, and the only tyre maker, to be honoured at this year’s Boeing Supplier of the Year awards. The Electrical/Hydraulic/Mechanical Standards category award is the second consecutive Boeing supplier honour for Bridgestone; the Japanese manufacturer was chosen from a pool of some 17,500 active Boeing suppliers in more than 50 countries around the world.
Cooper has refused to comment on multiple Serbian news reports quoting Serbian finance secretary Miodrag Djidic as saying that Cooper Tire is interested in acquiring Trayal’s automobile tyre plant. When questioned on the subject, a Cooper Tire Europe spokesperson told Tyres & Accessories that’ the company’s “corporate policy is not to comment on rumour or speculation.”
Various Balkan region news sources have reported Cooper Tire & Rubber’s intention to invest in Serbia’s Trayal. The US firm’s plans apparently involve investing 50 million euros in Trayal over the next two years and increasing production from one million to 3.4 million tyres during that time and then boosting it to seven million over the subsequent two years.
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