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Hankook Recalls 3 RA08 Light Truck Tyres

Hankook Tire has is recalling a number of RA08 van tyre sizes in what the company describes as a “precautionary measure.” The sizes affected are: 185/75R16C, 205/75R16C and 215/75R16C produced at the company’s plant in Hungary between April 2008 and June 2009. According to the company, no other tyres produced in Hungary are subject to this action. Tyres supplied as OE to Ford’s Transit are said to similarly un-affected as they are produced at the company’s Deajon plant in South Korea.

Consumers who use the affected tyres are asked to immediately contact their local tyre dealer. Further consumer information will be offered at Hankook Tire Europe’s website (www.hankooktire-eu.com). Alternatively, consumers and the trade are being directed to contact their national representatives.

13th July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Ford China Announces Tyre Related Recall

According to Dow Jones, Ford is recalling 7,563 Chinese made Fiestas due to a tyre defect. The defect, which affects Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co Fiestas produced between October 22 and May 14, was noted on the website of Chinese product safety regulator the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

13th July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

DailyDepot to Promote New Designs; e-Commerce

Booth 2105 in Hall 2 will belong to DailyDepot Inc., a wheel production division under China Southern Motor Group. Products cover alloy wheel for passenger cars, steel wheel for passenger cars and steel wheel for commercial vehicles. The company has an annual production capacity of 5 million piece alloy wheels and 9 million piece steel wheels. It has in-house test labs and tooling work-shop, with teams to provide service from scratch, R&D to production to logistical services. Moreover, the company says it can support EDI and JIT system too.

Its experience includes the joint-development of new product and supply chain management, with customers including China Chery, China BYD, Audi, Ford, India Tata, and many other prestige after-market brands in United States and EU. DailyDepot will be welcoming interested observers to its booth, promising presentations on new designs in a fully-curtained area. It will also promote its new e-Commerce enabled website during the show, with registered customers in with a chance of winning a set of alloy wheels.

13th July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Industrial Tyre Association Makes Best Practice Plea

The Industrial Tyre Association (ITA) has called for more action to reduce the risks of making false economies when it comes to fitting industrial tyres. Len Sambrook, ITA chair explained: “When money is tight it can be tempting to buy cheap tyres or to delay replacing worn ones. But tyres are such an integral part of a forklift or industrial truck that by taking responsibility and following strict standards of specification and fitting of tyres users can significantly reduce the lifetime cost of the machine. Most of the time economies made around tyres are false economies in the long run.”

ITA points out that tyres are often the most overlooked part of a truck. But specifying the right type of tyre can affect the lifting, stability and braking distances of an industrial truck, as well as improve its fuel economy. The use of an inferior product will severely impact not only the truck’s performance but also the health and safety of the operator.

9th July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Businesses Invited to Apply for Queen’s Award

The 2010 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise will open for entries on 20 July 2009, organisers announced today. Businesses of all sizes and from any industry sector are being urged to apply for The Queen’s Awards – widely regarded as the UK’s highest honour for business success, and the equivalent of a company knighthood.

7th July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin PRM Report Examines Key Company Performance Areas

The fourth edition of the Michelin Group’s Michelin Performance and Responsibility (PRM) report is out. Focusing on the 2007-2008 period, this new report is a summary of the progress the company has achieved in its ‘Michelin Performance and Responsibility’ sustainable development approach – an approach designed around the five stages of the tyre’s life: tyre design, raw materials and purchasing, tyre manufacturing, commercialisation of tyres and tyres in use, and end-of-life recovery.

2nd July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Protyre Outlet Wins Michelin Motorcycle Tyre Retail Award

A pan-European retail award programme instigated by Michelin and designed to raise the standard of selling and fitting motorcycle and scooter tyres has been awarded to the Protyre outlet in Gloucester, the first in the UK.

The programme sets very high standards for a variety of customer facing elements at the retail end of the motorcycle tyre buying process. From ease of parking, point of sale, the attitude of the staff, waiting area, the selling process, tyre handling and fitting process – a total ride in/ride out service with the customer being the single most important focus, in essence a professional point of sale. The Protyre Gloucester outlet was the first UK tyre location to undergo this rigorous examination audit and passed with flying colours. A key element to gaining the award was the highly committed and professional approach adopted by the Gloucester team who have both an interest and passion for everything on two wheels. Two other Protyre outlets are currently being assessed under the Michelin Business Programme.

1st July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian TBR Capacity to Increase 3.77 Million Units by 2011

Truck and bus radial capacity at several Indian manufacturers is on the rise in anticipation of upcoming new vehicle launches. The country’s national industry body, the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA), says an estimated Rs 26,15 billion (£329 million) will be invested in TBR capacity in the years to 2011, providing an extra 3.77 million unit capacity.

This news, reported by Indian business website livemint.com, comes following a fiscal period in which commercial vehicle sales decreased by 22 per cent to 384,122 units. Yet, as the Wall Street Journal partner publication notes, industry experts believe the investment is justified. According to PriceWaterhouse Coopers analyst Abdul Majeed, the completion of a number of road infrastructure projects and the likelihood that laws will be introduced to phase out older vehicles will boost demand for new commercial vehicles.

29th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Breaking Down NHTSA’s Tyre Fuel Efficiency Scheme

Last week NHTSA issued its 148-page long initial proposal for a national tyre fuel efficiency testing rating and education program – nearly two full years after it was mandated in the 2007 Energy Act. To be sure, developing even the first pass version was no easy task. While the core requirement was to create a simple, straightforward means to help consumers find the most fuel-efficient tyres, getting there will still take some doing…and leave a few people disappointed.

There are some interesting points in NHTSA’s proposal. For instance, it suggests that with the advent of this proposal NHTSA recommends doing away with the current UTQG system, saying that the new rating program would be a more effective alternative.

NHTSA also estimates that it would take between two and nine years to test every single passenger tyre SKU, so it will allow tyre makers to basically test one tyre within a family (make/model/size range) and use those ratings across the rest of that model. Even then, NHTSA experts only 25 per cent of replacement tyre to be labelled at the time the program would formally launch. (Tire Review/Akron)

29th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

TyreSafe Launches Truck Tyre Safety Web Pages

TyreSafe has added truck tyre safety information to its website and is promoting a truck tyre safety handout through its online presence. Defective tyres represent a growing number of MoT failures in the HGV sector, with statistics recorded by VOSA showing that an MoT failure rate of 36.5 percent was recorded in 2007/8, with ‘condition of tyres’ ranking as the second most common failure defect.

25th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Win MotoGP Tickets and Prizes with National

Motorcycle Grand Prix fans take note – National Tyres and Autocare is giving visitors to its national.co.uk website the opportunity to win. Up for grabs are tickets to the paddock at Donnington on July 25 and 26 plus limited edition autographed prints of some of the biggest names in MotoGP.

National is running the free prize draw in conjunction with Bridgestone who donated the motorcycle prizes. For a chance to win tickets, visit the website before July 6, 2009. The autographed print draw will be separately held on August 28. No purchase is necessary in order to enter, assures National.

22nd June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

ATC Claims Name Change

American Tire Corporation is no more. In a statement placed on its now defunct website, the importer said it was changing its name to Colorado Tire Corp. In March, ATC lost its federal appeal of a trademark infringement case brought by American Tire Distributors. The mega-distributor claimed ATC’s name and logo “constitutes use in commerce that is likely to cause confusion and mistake and to deceive consumers as to the source or origin of defendants’ products or defendants’ business.”

The lower court’s order to ATC to vacate its name and logo was issued in August 2008. In its statement, the former ATC said: “In order to consolidate our corporate identity behind our company’s most recognizable and valuable asset, i.e., the Colorado brand OTR tires, which have been extensively approved and recognized by various users in different countries, the Board of Directors of American Tire Corporation has determined to change our corporate name to Colorado Tire Corporation.

“Any existing and ongoing contracts/agreements/authorizations between any company and American Tire Corporation shall be reentered with Colorado Tire Corporation by the end of June 30, 2009, or otherwise will be deemed invalid.” Other than posting the statement, the company disabled its website at www.americantire.us, and said a new site “will be announced separately.” (Tire Review/Akron)

22nd June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Gets Dealers Rugby Ready

When you hear the word ‘lion’ do your thoughts turn to the carnivorous big cat? No? Then Goodyear won’t have much trouble making you “Rugby Ready”. The company is helping its dealers catch the 15 a side fever with a new promotion it hopes will “get customers off the rugby pitch and into the forecourts.” In celebration of the brand’s partnership with the Rugby Football Union and the International Rugby Board’s Rugby Ready programme, Goodyear is offering rugby paraphernalia to dealers who buy direct from the company during June and July.

19th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Chinese Ministry Expresses “Deep Regret” after US Tyre Ruling

Continuing today’s theme of the fallout from the US International Trade Commission’s ruling that Chinese imports have disrupted the country’s markets, China’s Ministry of Commerce has expressed its “deep regret” at the decision. Yao Jian, a Commerce Ministry spokesperson posted the department’s reaction to the events on the ministry’s website:

“China has repeatedly expressed its opposition to foreign governments’ using safeguard clauses to launch investigations of Chinese products. The decision does not conform to objective facts, and also violates relevant World Trade Organisation rules in addition to U.S. law. We hope the U.S. will fully consider the actual situation of this case and proceed from the overall interests of the two countries’ industries,” Yao said.

Reuters reports that lawyers acting on behalf of Chinese manufacturers are arguing that US companies’ neglect of the low range market had occurred before they moved into the marketplace. The news organisation also notes that the complaint, which originated from the United Steelworkers, had not been voiced by US tyre producers.

19th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Firestone Launches New UK AG Website

Firestone has responded to the communications and complexity challenges of the agricultural tyre market by setting up a new website embedded in the Farmers’ Weekly magazine website. In its first full month the link was seen over 180,000 times, according to the company. Barry Coleman, Firestone’s UK agricultural product manager stated: “I’m delighted with the interest the new website has generated. It’s very interesting to see what farmers are actually looking for. The most visited area of the site is Tips and Downloads, where farmers can find advice about things like hydro inflation, tyre pressures and wheel alignment.” The site can be viewed at the following address: http://fwi.firstlightera.com/EN/Microsites/1/Firestone/

18th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors