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.
Fastlane Ltd in Malta has been awarded Pro-Align’s Alignment Centre of the Month for April – the first time the accolade has been awarded outside of the UK. Paul Beaurain, managing director, Pro-Align, said: “Fastlane is resolute about being the alignment specialist in Malta and continues to work hard to expand its business. They are incredibly enthusiastic in everything they do and are a worthy winner of our April award.”
Selby Magistrates Court has doled out a 12 month prison sentence to Paul Ketteridge from Leeds for the illegal dumping of thousands of tyres at a Yorkshire airfield and other locations. Ketteridge admitted to two waste offences in relation to Tockwith Airfield, and was found guilty after a trial on a charge relating to fly tipping at Goodmanham near Market Weighton. He also admitted three further waste offences in relation to thousands of tyres dumped in Bramham. At the same hearing, Eco Terra Tyres Ltd of Dringthorpe also admitted four waste charges relating to tyres at Tockwith airfield, and was fined £400 in total. The magistrates accepted the company had no assets.
American transmission company Competition Clutch has opened a dedicated UK sales office and logistics centre. The company has partnered with Universal Automotive in Kidderminster, from whose 40,000 sq ft facility Competition Clutch products will be available to UK end-users and retailers. The manufacturer said the move will build on the sales success of its diverse race-quality clutch range in its native USA and in UK motorsport.
Leading independent supplier of specialist wheels, tyres, axles and components for the OEM industrial and agricutural market, Totrax Ltd supplies the UK market with exclusive products from Emrald Greckster and Italmatic Comfort. The distributor recently announced a new website, having relaunched at www.totrax.com recently. Company representative Simon Tidmarsh told Tyres & Accessories: “We moved away from .co.uk to .com as a result of our increasing international sales for our off-road axle, springs and suspension customers.”
Double Coin and the China Manufacturers Alliance have launched a new mobile website aimed at North American customers. The site will complement the existing www.doublecoin-us.com and is designed and formatted for optimal viewing on any web-enabled Smartphone, including iPhone, Android, Blackberry and others. Features accessible through the mobile site include product specifications and warranty information, and visitors can use the dealer locator function to access over 1,000 independent Double Coin tyre dealers across North America. The phone’s GPS automatically redirects to the closest dealer based on the user’s current location.
Goodyear has announced that Mean Green, the world’s fastest hybrid truck, has broken two world speed records on its tyres. On 27 April, 2012 at Wendover Airfield in Utah, USA, the Volvo-built truck, owned and driven by Boije Ovebrink, broke records in the standing kilometre and flying kilometre international speed standards. The new world records are subject to FIA recognition, which will occur in about 30 to 60 days.
Work has begun on a US$19.5 million expansion project at Bridgestone America Tire Operations’ Bloomington OTR plant in Illinois, USA, the tyre maker reports. The project is expected to be completed in mid-2013, and most of the investment is being directed towards the purchase and installation of new machinery. Additional capacity realised through the project will primarily go to the production of tyres used in heavy industry, and Bridgestone says at least 40 new jobs are expected to result from the plant expansion.
Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner scored his first MotoGP victory at Jerez after fending off Factory Yamaha Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo in a closely contested Spanish GP. Masao Azuma, chief engineer at tyre supplier Bridgestone’s Motorsport Tyre Development Department, said: “I am happy with how both our wet and slick tyres performed at Jerez in what were very challenging operating conditions.”
Bob Majewski, president of the US-based Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau, has reminded all member retreaders of the costs involved in TRIB’s day-to-day operation, and appealed for annual membership dues to be paid – before errant members find themselves out of the loop.
Following positive experiences at its Mt. Vernon, USA plant, Continental has implemented a ‘Work-in-Process’ (WIP) Visibility solution from AeroScout at its tyre plant in Sarreguemines, France. AeroScout, a specialist in enterprise visibility solutions, first supplied the Wi-Fi RFID-enabled solution to Continental Tire the Americas as part of expansion plans for the Mt. Vernon facility; AeroScout says its product helped enable the site achieve a 20 per cent reduction in component tyre losses. Continental anticipates the French project will increase daily output at Sarreguemines by 4,000 units.
Goodyear has converted the last bits of its former Truckwise truck tyre programme to the FleetHQ moniker, reports Tire Review. Announced at the recent Truck World event in Toronto, Goodyear rebranded its Canadian fleet tyre and service to FleetHQ. The new Canadian brand will “create a consistent business solutions brand that offers products, services and information tools for trucking fleets and owner/operators throughout North America,” the company said.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has completed refinancing its principal US credit facilities. Darren R Wells, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said the actions “position the company” to continue implementation of its Strategy Roadmap: “We see this refinancing as a proactive step to improve our financial position, leaving us with no term debt repayments required until 2019.”
Yokohama’s Forever Forest programme continued last week with the planting of some 2,500 seedlings at Yokohama Tire Corporation’s Salem factory on 11 April. The latest action means that a total of 6,800 seedlings have been planted at the site as part of the Forever Forest scheme, which aims to plant more than 500,000 trees worldwide by 2017.
Harvey Brodsky, Retread Tire Association’s managing director, has announced that the association will feature at Messe Essen during Europe’s largest tyre exhibition. Reifen 2012 takes place between 5 and 8 June 2012, and the RTA booth (4.0-128 in Hall 4.0) will feature copies of RTA news releases, newsletters, casing & supplier memos, and more.
While progress in its campaign for increased safety checks on take-off, or second hand commercial wheels entering the UK market was delayed by the UK government’s back-tracking on proposed MOT changes, Motor Wheel Service has continued to develop its forged aluminium xlite brand, on which it has a worldwide distribution deal, launching its “next generation Xbrite” single part, transparent finish. The protective coating was specially developed for MWS, offering what it calls “the highest levels of corrosion resistance and unrivalled shine for xlite forged aluminium wheels”. In other news, a change in truck racing’s technical regulations will allow forged aluminium wheels to be fitted to the outside of the rear axle from 2013 onwards, responding to the wishes of 10-time British Truck Racing Championship, Stuart Oliver, who said of xlite: "lighter wheels mean less unsprung weight on the axle, creating less wear and tear to surrounding parts and greater grip between the tyre and the circuit.”
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
