Wheels
Tomorrow (Tuesday 29 March 2011) between 13:30 and 14.00, MP Paul Goggins, will lead a debate on road vehicle wheel safety in Westminster Hall. The debate is expected to focus upon how substandard second-hand wheels are entering the commercial vehicle wheel supply chain, the inherent problems this may cause, and what can be done to monitor and assess the scale of the issue.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems has announced a further price hike on agricultural, forestry tyres and wheels effective April 2011. The latest price increase of 9 per cent covers both the European and North American market places. “Booming raw material prices, especially for natural rubber,” were cited as the reasons for the price increase.
Mytyres.co.uk – the UK online shop of Europe’s leading online tyre retailer Delticom – is offering motorists a simple tyre safety check list to ensure their tyres are fit for purpose and help to keep them safe on the road. Interestingly the five-point safety check begins with a recommendation to change tyres when tread depths reach around 3mm.
The Al Saeedi Group in the United Arab Emirates has announced that it has been appointed as the distributor of Rader Vogel wheel and wheel-related products in Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and its home country of the UAE. Based in Hamburg, Germany Rader Vogel is one of the leading manufacturers of Vulkollan wheels and castors in the world. The company manufactures a wide range of industrial wheels to suit various applications.
UK distributor of the xlite wheel brand Motor Wheel Service has reported a milestone with its customers Montracon and Wilcox, both commercial vehicle body designers. MWS has received an order for the companies’ hundredth set of xlite forged aluminium truck wheels for use on their tipper and walking floor trailers. The two companies work together on the production of the trailers, with Montracon providing chassis and Wilcox supplying aluminium tipper body requirements.
Tyres & Accessories magazine, produced by the team behind tyrepress.com will be covering the subjects of wheels, raw materials and diagnostic equipment in its April edition. For all enquiries relating to this magazine, email the relevant editor listed below, or theeditor@77.237.250.82. For advertising enquiries, email scott.parker@77.237.250.82. This preview, along with deadline information, can be found at the foot of the e-Newsletter, sent to over 16,000 subscribers on every business day. To subscribe to the e-Newsletter, click the "Get a Grip on Tyres" banner in the right hand column of the tyrepress.com homepage.
A lot is happening within Starco, says group marketing manager Brian Lorentzen. Some of this activity was witnessed in the days and weeks before he spoke with Tyres & Accessories; during this time the firm announced the establishment of a joint venture with Argentine agricultural tyre and components manufacturer Buco plus the pilot rollout of its first online shop. These two events are part of a wider growth strategy covering the next few years, Lorentzen shares.
The world’s only specialist sircraft tyre manufacturer, Birmingham-based Dunlop Aircraft Tyres has stated that the appointment of Ken Hutchins as technical sales manager will help to strengthen the company’s reach into North and South America. Hutchins has a wealth of experience in the aviation industry, having previously worked for aircraft wheels and brakes companies Goodrich and Messier-Bugatti. Based in Houston, Texas, and reporting to Dunlop Aircraft Tyres’ sales and marketing director David Skepper, Hutchins will drive sales of the company’s products throughout North America and the fast-expanding South American markets.
When it comes to the development of the 4×4 tyre segment, there are still two sides to the market, according to a Continental UK analysis. But on one side at least there are clear signs of the car-ification of 4×4 tyre line, something that has developed in parallel with continued purchase of SUV type four wheelers.
Leicestershire-based Performance Wheels has announced a new range of coloured wheel bolts, following on from its popular coloured tuner nut range. The PW bolts are made from “high-grade Chrome Vanadium alloy-steel construction has been heat-treated to exceed DIN 10.9 before each bolt is triple nickel plated, then chromed, then electro-deposition coated in the appropriate colour,” says the company.
Details of the comprehensive Starco range of tyres and related products have long been available in catalogue form, and the company has now taken the first step in transferring this information online. Customers in Germany are the first to experience the company’s new “STARCOshop” and Starco intends to roll out online catalogues for its aftermarket customers throughout the whole of Europe within two years.
Denmark’s Starco has announced the formation of a joint venture with Buco S.A., a family-owned company located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Buco specialises in the development of rubber parts for agricultural machinery, and under the joint venture’s terms the Starco Group receives exclusive European distribution rights for the entire Buco product range – including a comprehensive range of semi-pneumatic tyres and wheels, corrugated hoses and telescopic tubes for seed drills. Starco Europe group marketing manager Brian Lorentzen states that with the joint venture both companies will “benefit from their combined product expertise and market knowledge, all of which supports a strategy of expanding further into the agricultural segment in Europe.”
The 2011 versions of two iconic US muscle car models are to be fitted with the Firestone Firehawk GT as optional original equipment, reports Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO). The V-rated all-season Firehawk GT will be supplied in size 245/45R20 99V on the all-new Dodge performance flagship saloon, the 2011 Dodge Charger plus the 2011 Dodge Challenger muscle car.
Alcoa Wheel Products has appointed James Crampton as the business’s new UK sales manager. Appointed in a moved that the company said was designed to strengthen its UK position, Crampton brings with him 15 years of experience in the commercial vehicle industry.
Alcoa’s automotive wheels business secured the contract to supply lightweight forged aluminium wheels for critically acclaimed Ferrari 458 Italia. The deal, which was sealed at the end of October 2010, sees the company supply forged aluminium wheel technology that ensures that the front wheel weighs just 10.3 kilos, while the rear wheel weighs 11.5 kilos, a significant saving compared to a typical cast aluminium wheel and a result that is only achievable with a forging process.
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