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.
The Parts Alliance has announced the appointment of David Bloxham as national key account manager. He joins the growing National Accounts team, based in Solihull, during what he describes as “an exciting time of growth for the [automotive] aftermarket.”
US trade association TIA has released “Tire Safety Starts with TPMS,” the second in a series of consumer educational videos slated for 2013.
The video is a 5-minute overview of the safety benefits associated with TPMS and knowing when tires are underinflated.
A little over two months ago, Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC) announced its plan to build a new commercial tyre plant in the US. On 11 July it announced that the first phase of the facility in West Point, Mississippi will be designed by Kajima Associates/Architects & Engineers, PC of Atlanta, Georgia. The project taken on by Kajima Associates calls for the design of a 931,000 square foot (86,500 square metre) factory that includes production, warehousing and operations facilities.
These days it seems every tyre maker and his dog participate in motorsport. This is fine of course, and a good way to boost brand awareness. But serving as a tyre supplier involves considerable product development costs, not to mention the logistics and planning associated with each championship round. And motorsport sponsorship only reaches a particular target audience – unless, as we’ve seen throughout this year, in cases where the tyre supplier finds itself on the receiving end of negative media attention.
Bridgestone has donated £2,000 to a voluntary first aid service in Warwick in order to buy a defibrillator, new uniform and premium tyres for its four ambulances. The Leamington based brand says the Warwick Ambulance Association support demonstrates its commitment to vital community causes.
Continental has released details of its upcoming Eurobond offer. It says it will issue a bond with a volume of at least €500 million and a term to maturity of five years, and intends to use the issue proceeds thereof for the partial refinancing of its bond issued in September 2010. The offer is open to investors residing outside the US, Canada, Australia and Japan. The issue volume and bond conditions are expected to be determined in the next few days.
SE Tyres has incorporated the new integrated ledgers from Cam Systems into its Cameo data stream. The software provider says the new system will allow the fast fitter’s network to interrogate its financials more robustly. SE’s auditor says the system will allow the business to exert greater control over the business.
Cooper Tire has replaced its mid-range Lifeliner GLS in the US with a new model, the CS3 Touring. The new all-season tyre is available in T, H and V speed ratings, and sizes designed for highway and urban driving in today's modern passenger car and crossover vehicles. Cooper says the launch of the CS3 in combination with its current premium CS4 Touring tyre “offers a wide breath of sizes and feature options, giving appropriate choices for each consumer.”
As of yesterday the iconic American sports car, the Chevrolet Corvette, has been in production for 60 years. The first production model came off the line on 30 June 1953; since that day, some 1.37 million Corvettes have been manufactured and more than half of all Corvettes produced are said to be still on the road.
On 27 June, the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) received a US$25,000 donation from Michelin North America in honour of the 25-year partnership between both organisations. The cheque was presented to the NAIAS during its “Covering All Bases” event, an off-season, day-long planning meeting attended by more than 300 representatives of auto manufacturers, sponsors, and partners who participate in the NAIAS.
The Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI) recently held a Centenary Lunch for its past presidents and current and past board members. Held at the prestigious RAC Club in London, the Lunch offered its attendees the opportunity to meet and share memories of the RMI and the industry.
Hankook’s most recent addition to its high performance tyre range focuses on the increasingly important European segment of SUV tyres designed for high performance road use. In the March issue of Tyres & Accessories, we discussed the migration of SUV tyres to speed ratings above T; V alone has nearly 10 times the market share (20.4 per cent) it had 10 years ago, and though H (34.5) is currently the predominant designation for the SUV market, it is expected that SUV tyres will continue to follow the trends set by passenger cars. Indeed, 2012 saw a small year-on-year reduction in H’s market share. High performance tyres are now the most important story for SUVs as well as passenger cars.
While Cooper's announcement on Monday that it is to "reintroduce" the Discoverer CTS 4×4 tyre to European markets as part of its product strategy makes sense given the recent development of this segment towards high performance tyres designed for 100 per cent road use. It also posed a few questions about the tyre's history, and whether European drivers should expect different characteristics from markets around the world in which the tyre has been continuously available. Tyrepress.com asked Cooper for a few more details on the newly reintroduced CTS.
Prices for Lanxess’ Vulkanox (antidegradant) and Vulkacit (accelerator) rubber chemicals, two products used in tyre manufacture, will increase as of 1 July. Lanxess says the new pricing is required to offset higher production costs. The price increases will range between 0.05 Euro/kg and 0.20 Euro/kg (0.10 US$ and 0.30 US$), depending on the product and region.
The Independent Garage Association (IGA) is set to launch its onsite diagnostic training later this year. Following on from the success of their hybrid training which has so far seen the IGA deliver free training to over 1,250 technicians at more than 500 individual member garages, they are positioned to launch diagnostics training later in 2013.
The unique model will involve IGA staff visiting garages and training technicians to make the best use of their own equipment in "real world" diagnostic situations on customer's cars.
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