Double MXGP wins in Charlotte achieved on Dunlop
USA riders on Dunlop tyres scooped both FIM World Motocross Grand Prix victories at the Americas Grand Prix in Charlotte yesterday. Dunlop riders used the Dunlop Geomax MX3S front and rear.
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.
Posts
Tariff time again, but will they make a difference?
It’s tariff time again. The US government has imposed trade sanctions on US-produced OTR and industrial tyres before. They have done so with car tyres twice before. This time it’s truck tyres. But are they effective? Will they halt the rise of Chinese tyre manufacturers in general? And what does it mean for those doing business with truck tyres in the UK and Europe?
Harley-Davidson to pay emissions penalty in USA
Harley-Davidson is paying US authorities $12m (£9m) to settle allegations its motorbikes polluted the air at higher levels than allowed. It has also been ordered to stop selling “super tuners”, devices that enable motorbikes to generate power but also increases emissions.
Rockwell helping Chinese tyremaker automate US plant
CEOs and experts from China’s leading companies gathered in Shanghai and Beijing to explore how smart manufacturing will deliver value to the manufacturing industry and support government initiatives including China Manufacturing 2025. Hosted by Rockwell Automation “The Connected Enterprise CEO Forum” was led by Rockwell Automation’s new president and CEO, Blake Moret. However the interesting point from a tyre industry perspective is that the firm revealed that it is helping any unnamed Chinese tyremaker construct a factory in the US.
Yokohama investing in US R&D centre, doubling staff
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. is to establish a tyre research & development centre in North Carolina, with R&D activities scheduled to start this September initially in the greater Charlotte area. The company presently conducts R&D on tyres for the North American market in several US states and in Japan, but aims to consolidate the majority of these R&D activities at the new centre. With the consolidation, Yokohama also plans to double the current size of its North American R&D staff.
US Heritage Rally for vintage cars
America’s Car Museum (ACM) and the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) have announced that Boston will be the starting point of “The Drive Home II: The Heritage Run” – an 11-day, 2,150 mile winter road rally, from December 28 to January 7, concluding at the opening of the North American International Auto Show.
The Drive Home II (TDH II) will feature ACM’s 1957 Chevrolet Nomad, 1961 Chrysler 300G and 1966 Ford Mustang, all of which completed the first “The Drive Home” in early 2016, from the Museum’s headquarters in Tacoma, Washington to Detroit.
Michelin Tweel production rising to meet demand
A facility dedicated to the production of the Tweel airless radial opened in the USA late in 2014, and Olivier Brauen, Michelin head of Michelin Tweel Technologies, states that now the site in Piedmont, South Carolina is fully operational, the company can respond to demand for these products. It has done so by increasing supply of its 12N16.5 X Tweel SSL Hard Surface tyres.
Pirelli opens first P Zero World outlet
How do you reach the “most discerning” consumers within a market and become the “undisputed leader” in premium-tier products and services for this group? For Pirelli, the answer is to offer an entire “brand experience,” and the tyre maker is now putting this concept to the test in North America with the opening of its first P Zero World retail outlet.
USW comments on India OTR tyre determination
The United Steelworkers (USW) union has expressed its disappointment in the US Department of Commerce’s preliminary determination regarding the introduction of anti-dumping duties for OTR tyres imported from India. USW international president Leo W. Gerard notes that the Department of Commerce announced a negative preliminary determination for anti-dumping duties in response to the petition filed by the USW and Titan International earlier this year.
Michelin patent infringement suit settled
Michelin North America shares that it has “reached favourable settlement agreements” with Atturo Tire Corporation and Svizz-One Corporation Ltd., regarding the patent infringement suit it filed in the US District Court in Greenville, South Carolina on 13 May. The specific terms of the settlement are confidential.
Yokohama announces ‘Ultimate Chelsea FC fan’ in USA
Yokohama Tire Corporation has found its “ultimate Chelsea FC fan”. Responding to the Yokohama True Blue Fan Challenge contest, Daniel E of Phoenix, Arizona put on his Chelsea beanie and shirt and started working on the winning entry. The tyre manufacturer, and Chelsea shirt sponsor, called his short video “creative” and “clever”, awarding it the top prize out of hundreds of entries: a trip to see Chelsea beat Liverpool 1-0 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on 27 July. The prize also included $1,000 in spending money, tickets, hotel, airfare and a 2016-2017 Chelsea FC jersey signed by the first team squad.
SRI increasing capacity at US tyre factory
Production capacity for passenger car and light truck tyres at Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ (SRI) Tonawanda factory in the US will double by the end of 2019 as part of a US$87 million investment the company will make over the coming four years. The Tonawanda site came under SRI ownership following the dissolution of the Japanese manufacturer’s global alliance with Goodyear Tire and Rubber last October, and the capacity increase will facilitate the tyre maker’s growing reliance upon the plant for meeting North American market demand.
Sentury Tire looking to erect US plant at Tennessee ‘Megasite’
When Tyrepress.com visited Qingdao Sentury Tire Co., Ltd in China late last year, newly-appointed executive vice-president Rami Helminen shared details about the US factory project he’d been hired to head. He disclosed that “hundreds of millions of US dollars” would be invested in a factory, and that a search for a suitable site was already underway. It appears the tyre maker has decided upon a location in the state of Tennessee.
Goodyear wins US Secretary of Defense award
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has been named a recipient of the 2016 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the nation’s highest honour given to employers for exceptional support of guard and reserve employees. Goodyear and the other recipients will be honoured in a ceremony at the Pentagon on 26 August.
Chelsea FC US tour ‘boosts’ Yokohama brand
As the countdown begins to the 2016/17 Premier League football season, Yokohama is aiming to achieve a “global brand boost” thanks to Chelsea FC’s pre-season preparations in the United States, which includes participation in the International Champions Cup.
