The SIMA international agribusiness show in Paris will serve as a platform for Apollo Vredestein to introduce the widest available radial implement tyre with a diameter below the crucial 1,250 millimetre mark. From 26 February to 2 March, the company will showcase the 800/40 R 22.5 168D Flotation Trac radial, a product it developed with agricultural equipment manufacturers.
In response to a contracting market in 2013 and 2014, Italian wholesale giant Fintyre underwent a reorganisation, involving relocation north from Empoli to Seriate, Bergamo and a staff reduction of 60 employees. The overhaul of the company structure did not end there; it started a process in 2015, completed in late 2016, which has changed the face of Fintyre. This, it states, has consolidated its position as the leader of the Italian market with a share of around 25 per cent. In 2015, British investment firm BlueGem Capital Partners, which at that point held a 90 per cent share in Fintyre after its original 2009 investment, was recapitalised following a major financing agreement with GSO Capital Partners. The company then made two major acquisitions – Pneusmarket and Franco Gomme – which have helped to increase turnover from 255 million in 2014 to an estimate of more than 400 million euros in 2016.
With a product portfolio covering high-performance car tyres, comprising summer, winter and all-season options, as well as a comprehensive range of brand new tyres for light commercial vehicles, tyre manufacturer Apollo-Vredestein is now aiming to enter the UK fleet market. T&A understands that the company is spearheading the project with its Vredestein brand, but Apollo branded tyres will also be involved.
Austrian car workshop and automotive product fair AutoZum is the venue for the world premiere of the latest Vredestein tyre for the van and light truck market. Visitors to the show, which began yesterday and runs until Saturday 21 January, can view the Vredestein Comtrac 2 All Season tyre at the Apollo Vredestein stand (0702) in Hall 10.
A new campaign for the Vredestein agricultural tyre portfolio is being rolled out around the world under the hashtag #LIVETHELAND. The campaign, which focuses on the themes of ‘Feel the freedom’ and ‘Experience the performance’, follows in the footsteps of the successful #ROCKTHEROAD car tyre campaign.
Recognising the attractiveness of all-season tyres to the majority of the UK market, leading weekly magazine Auto Express has conducted its second comparative test of six products in the segment. Testing on the bestselling 17” size, 225/45R17, the magazine used the independent Test World facility, with support from Hankook, to test in snow, and Continental’s Contidrom to test in cold and wet conditions to represent winter, and dry conditions to represent summer. The full test also included two leading seasonal tyres, the Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen-1 winter tyre and the Continental ContiSportContact 5 summer tyre, which showed that all-season products continue to represent a compromise; however the performance gaps in the tests most relevant to UK drivers may surprise critics of year-round tyres.
Dutch tyre manufacturer Apollo Vredestein will introduce nine new sizes to its Vredestein Traxion85 tyre range at the upcoming EIMA trade show in Bologna, Italy. The international agricultural and gardening machinery exhibition runs from 9 to 13 November and is viewed by the tyre maker as the “ideal platform” to showcase its ongoing process of innovation to the farming community.
Dutch electronic music artist DJ Hardwell comes across as an unlikely bedfellow for a tyre manufacturer, however his association with Apollo Vredestein has proven golden. The ‘Run Wild’ music video by DJ Hardwell, part of Vredestein’s #ROCKTHEROAD promotional campaign, has been presented with a Golden Dolphin in the Integrated Communication category at the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards 2016. Facing competition from over 1,000 submissions and 177 selected productions, Vredestein was awarded the Golden Dolphin at a ceremony held in Palm Beach, Cannes last night.
Michelin’s new Pilot Sport 4 tyre has won the Auto Express Ultimate Tyre Test “by a clear margin” in the dry. The tyre performed well in virtually all of the test categories, which include dry handling, dry braking, wet handling, wet braking, wet cornering, straight aquaplaning, curved aquaplaning, rolling resistance and cabin noise.
The 7/2016 issue of German 4×4 and SUV magazine Auto Bild Allrad contains a test of seven size 215/60 R16H/V all-season SUV tyres. The tyres were fitted to a Skoda Yeti for evaluation purposes and rated for on-road performance in the snow, wet and dry as well as for environmental and comfort characteristics. Off-road performance was not tested.
A successor to the Vredestein Ultrac Cento has been unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. The new Vredestein Ultrac Satin is aimed at the premium high performance market and available in passenger car and SUV sizes. Manufacturer Apollo Vredestein says the Giugiaro-designed range was “developed for the discerning driver” and is crammed with advanced technology developed by the Apollo Tyres global R&D centre.
Apollo Vredestein intends to unveil the successor to its 2009-launched Ultrac Cento at the Geneva Motor Show on 1 March. The Ultrac Cento is Vredestein’s premium segment product and is available in 16 to 18-inch fitments, and it is assumed that the new Ultrac Satin will be offered in similar dimensions.
The Vredestein Traxion+ and Vredestein TraxionXXL tyres gained major recognition during the recent Agritechnica agricultural trade show. Following extensive evaluation by German testing and research institute DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft, or German Agricultural Society) in the spring and summer of 2015, it was announced at Agritechnica that both tyres have been designated ‘DLG certified’ products.
Apollo Tyres’ takeover of reifencom GmbH, operator of e-commerce sites in six European countries, has been described as part of the company’s strategy to expand its retail network in the European market. Apollo said its takeover will allow it to support the expansion activities of its subsidiary Apollo Vredestein, which include major investments in the European premium brand Vredestein. The company stated that it has major plans for growth via an expansion of its original equipment activities – the groundwork for which is being laid via the current construction of a new plant in Hungary.
A trio of new Vredestein agricultural tyres were presented at the recent Agritechnica show in Germany. These were the Traxion Harvest tyre for harvesters and the Traxion Versa and Endurion for telescopic handlers, backhoe loaders and compact loaders.
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