Mercedes-Benz reports that its UK retailers now have stocks of cold weather tyres for the coming winter. Apart from the obvious benefits winter tyres offer – better grip and shorter braking distances at temperatures below seven degrees Celsius – the cold weather tyres supplied by Mercedes-Benz dealers are supplied with the ‘MO’ sidewall designation, confirming their approval an a Mercedes-Benz original equipment fitment.
Amongst the Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks range on display at Agritechnica is a version of the Arocs retrofitted by the manufacturer for agriculture. The 310kW (421hp) tractor Arocs 2042AS is fitted with permanent all-wheel drive in order to facilitate the efficient transportation of heavy loads at speed – an application that requires specific tyres.
At the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, which opens to the media today ahead of its public opening on 7 November, the newly-created Mitas Moto business unit will introduce itself to the world. The new business unit will also introduce its first product, the Sport Force radial for sport, naked and touring bikes.
Yokohama Rubber has confirmed its presence at the Tokyo Motor Show, which begins on 22 November and opens to the public the following day.
Steven J. Borick intends to retire as chief executive officer and president of Superior Industries International early next year, and the company’s board has commenced a search for his successor. Borick will relinquish these three roles at the US-based aluminium wheel manufacturer on 31 March 2014, however he will remain chairman and assist with the management transition.
In July, Carlisle Companies announced it was seeking “strategic alternatives” for its Carlisle Transportation Products (CTP) business after it recorded a non-cash pre-tax loss of $100 million due to goodwill impairment during the second quarter of 2013. This strategic alternative turned out to be a divestment; this week the company said the tyre and wheel business has been purchased by American Industrial Partners for an enterprise value of US$375 million. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.
The company that gave the world the forged aluminium wheel has released what it calls the “most advanced aluminium wheel alloy in 45 years.” Alcoa says the new lightweight alloy, which it calls MagnaForce, is on average 16.5 per cent stronger than its 6061 alloy in similar applications. The use of MagnaForce will thus allow for lighter, stronger wheels with the same corrosion-resistant characteristics found in the current Alcoa range.
Uniwheels reports that its ‘Thalassa’ rim has been selected as an original equipment fitment on the Volvo XC90. The Swedish four-wheel drive will receive a 20-inch diameter version of the lightweight, five twin-spoke alloy rim.
Commercial and OTR tyre service equipment manufacturer Esco has launched a new tyre runout gauge.
Tiger Wheel & Tyre says it is just as excited now about being voted “Best Place to Buy Tyres in KwaZulu Natal” as it was the first time the company won this accolade nine years ago and every year since. This is the ninth consecutive year the company has won the award, which is based on votes by Daily News newspaper readers in the ‘Daily News Your Choice Awards 2013’.
Uniwheels shares that it is supplying 20-inch alloy wheels to the latest BMW 6 Series M Sport Edition. The wheels are produced at the company’s Werdohl plant in Germany and are fitted to order on Coupé, Cabrio and Gran Coupé versions of the model.
US-based wheel service equipment manufacturer Hennessy Industries has launched a new line of auto lifts under the BaseLine by Coats brand name. As is the case with the BaseLine by Coats tyre changer and wheel balancer ranges, the new lift line-up is designed specifically for workshops seeking quality at an affordable price.
Tyre and wheel traders are among the UK's best businesses when it comes to answering customers' telephone calls, according to a survey of 3,630 companies by audio branding specialist PH Media Group. The survey revealed that tyre and wheel suppliers put callers on hold for an average of just 20.05 seconds. Only garden centres (17.44 seconds), demolition firms (17.67) and pharmacies (19.63) performed better. Still, there is room for improvement. Previous research has shown 50 per cent of callers will hang up within 20 seconds if forced to listen to silence while on hold.
Despite the dangers involved, texting while driving is perfectly legal in at least ten US states. Yet the practice has many opponents, including Goodyear Tire & Rubber, who today is sending out the blimps to spread an anti- texting and driving message. The messages carried by the three Goodyear blimps today promote ‘It Can Wait’, a US-wide education and awareness campaign encouraging drivers never to text while behind the wheel.
In 2012-13 record numbers of visitors to Tyrepress have been accessing the site via tablets and smartphones, and with this trend continuing to grow the relaunched Tyrepress website will offer readers an improved user experience through responsive design. The chief benefit of responsive design will be to resize and rearrange elements of the site automatically to present it in a format better suited to smaller screens – whether this is a 10” iPad, a 7” Nexus 7 or a 4” smartphone – making it easier to read and navigate.
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