Toyo Proxes OE for Audi S6
Audi has chosen Toyo’s Proxes T1-AO as an original equipment fitment on its latest model S6. The tyre is supplied to the 5.2 litre V10 four wheel drive Audi in size 265/35 ZR 19 98Y in European, US and Asian markets
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.
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Light Up Your Life – And Your Wheels
NewsIf you want to make your car stand out from the crowd – particularly at night, then a new product from the USA could be right up your street.
MotionLite (patent pending) is an innovative, high-quality, wheel illumination system that does what no other product can; it lights up a vehicle's wheels from the outside.
Said by the makers to be easy to install, the electric system includes strobe and morph functions and is remote control operated, allowing users to switch between seven colours while in motion. MotionLite does not attach to or affect the look of a car's wheels.
TIA Launches Redesigned Website
NewsThe Tire Industry Association (TIA) has launched a redesigned web site at www.tireindustry.org. The redesign includes better organization of information and drop-down menus to make navigating TIA's library of information faster. In the coming months, TIA says it will be working to make the existing information “even…more helpful than before.” TIA is also said to be considering adding more interactive features and content.
"Providing our members and the public as much relevant information as we can is not enough; we are on a continual mission to make this information as easily accessible as possible. Our newly redesigned web site helps us achieve this, and we are confident that everyone will find our site more user-friendly, faster and easier to navigate," said TIA Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield.
Falken Tire Releases WildPeak A/T
NewsThe latest addition to the Falken Tire family in the US is said to be all-terrain, all-season and all-purpose. These words of confidence from the California based Falken Tire Corporation refer to the company’s new WildPeak A/T for SUVs and light trucks. The tyre features a symmetric five-rib pattern and rigid block design that Falken says allows for exceptional on-road response and optimised off-road handling. Stability, Falken adds, comes courtesy of two stiff, extra-wide steel belts. In addition, the tyre’s four wide multi-angled grooves are intended to maximise water, mud and snow evacuation, while biting block edges have been included for traction and control.
Bankruptcy Court Confirms Hayes Lemmerz Reorganisation Plan
Career TracksOn November 3 Hayes Lemmerz International announced that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has confirmed the proposed plan of reorganisation filed by the wheel manufacturer in July. Now that the go-ahead has been given, Hayes Lemmerz expresses confidence that the plan will significantly improve its balance sheet and reduce leverage. The company's total consolidated pre-petition funded debt of approximately US$720 million is now expected to shrink to approximately $240 million upon emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Reports: China Aiming to Reduce Tyre Exports
NewsChina Securities Journal has reported that China will soon issue new tyre industry policies aimed at raising the threshold for new plants and reducing the proportion of exports. The move follows the recent US decision to impose 35 per cent import duties on Chinese-made tyres.
Police Call For Backup to Tackle Flat Tyre
NewsWe trust the police to keep us safe and hardly raise an eyebrow when they put their lives on the line, but when a flat tyre threatens it seems the long arm of the law must remain at arm’s length. After finding the left side front tyre flaccid while parked on a stretch of double yellow line road in Surbiton, two police officers were obliged to ignore the weighty metal jack and firm spare wheel lying a tantalising few feet away in the patrol vehicle’s boot and instead wait two hours until a breakdown van arrived.
Falken Distributing Ohtsu Truck Tyres in USA
NewsFalken Tire Corp. is back in the medium truck tyre business in the USA, Tire Review reports, once again becoming the North American distributor for Ohtsu brand medium truck radials. Falken will take over marketing, sales and distribution of the Ohtsu brand as of 1 March, 2010. The Ohtsu brand is owned and produced by Sumitomo Rubber Industries, which also controls the Falken brand.
Snider Tire Opens MRT Retread Plant
RetreadingNorth American retreader Snider Tire joined the Michelin Retreading Technologies (MRT) network of servicing dealers earlier this year. The company has now furthered its involvement with Michelin with the opening of an MRT truck tyre retreading facility in the town of Bluffton, Indiana. The new plant, which brings the total number of MRT facilities in the US to 81, will service two of Snider Tire’s ‘Tire and Retread Asset Control System’ (TRACS) locations: Bytheville, Arkansas, and Cambridge, Ohio. TRACS refers to Snider Tire’s cradle-to-grave tyre and retread solution for trucking fleet customers.
Toyo’s Dave Taylor Closes Career
NewsDave Taylor, vice president of technical services at Toyo Tire USA, has announced his retirement after 23 years with the company, reports Tire Review. Toyo said Taylor played a key role in the pioneering of niche sizes and products such as the Toyo Open Country M/T and Proxes S/T. Earlier this week, sales vice president Armand Allaire left Toyo to become Kumho Tire USA’s new national vice president of sales.
Snap-on Diagnositics Appoint Sarah Philpott Acting Marketing Manager
NewsSnap-on has appointed Sarah Philpott as acting marketing manager. Philpott, who holds several qualifications in business management and administration (including an MBA from the University of East Anglia in Norwich) joined Snap-on Diagnostics in 2002. In addition to her new position, she also remains responsible for her primary role as sales support manager.
Bridgestone “Happy” with MotoGP Tyre Performance following Rossi Sepang Lap Record
MotorsportIn addition to sealing the MotoGP Riders Championship with his third place at the weekend, Valentino Rossi managed an outright lap record in qualifying on Saturday, suggesting to Bridgestone manager of the Motorcycle Tyre Development Department, Tohru Ubukata that tyre performance had been good: “Yes, in general I am happy with the performance of both our available compounds this weekend, but Valentino’s lap was very impressive indeed. The track temperature at the end of the session was 52 degrees Celsius, yet Valentino set his fastest lap on the softer front tyre and the softer rear tyre which shows that even in the high heat they had a suitable level of durability and good overall performance.
Kumho Tire USA Appoints Armand Allaire as National Sales VP
NewsIndustry veteran Armand Allaire has joined Kumho Tire USA as the national vice president of sales, reports Tire Review. Most recently Allaire was vice president of sales for Toyo Tire USA, and previously was a sales and marketing director for the then Bridgestone USA Inc. “Armand brings a unique blend of salesmanship and management experience to Kumho,” said JB Kim, Kumho's president and CEO, “we look forward to his guidance and vision as we build Kumho Tire for the future.”
FIA Elects Jean Todt as New President
MotorsportWorld motorsport and motoring body the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (or FIA to its friends) has announced Jean Todt as its new president for a four-year term. The FIA General Assembly staged its annual meeting, at which voting was completed, in Paris last week. Todt scooped 135 votes, while the other candidate, Ari Vatanen managed 49. 12 abstained or produced invalid votes. Voting in the General Assembly was made by secret ballot. The votes were counted in private by the FIA legal department, under the supervision of scrutinisers proposed by the two presidential candidates and designated by the General Assembly. The entire voting procedure was supervised by an external Huissier de Justice (French state-appointed public witness).
Continental Changes Industrial Staff
News(Tire Review) Continental Tire North America has made staff changes to its industrial tyre group. David Whitmore was named the unit’s new OE sales manager, while Paschal Dellavedova is the new south-central US region account executive for industrial tyres. Mark Madding is the new account executive for replacement industrial tire sales in the western US.
