winter Archives - Page 15 of 28 - Tyrepress

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Conti to Review Romania Production as OE Orders Decrease

Production output at Continental’s Timisoara factory in Romania will be reduced due to falling orders from OE customers. Numerous vehicle manufacturers, including Dacia and Volkswagen have temporarily suspended production in recent weeks, and Michelin has already announced a planned two-week pause in production at its Romanian facilities during December.

Conti has not specified the extent of its changes to production output, but company representatives indicate that production will not be halted. While original equipment sales are down, the replacement tyre market has been more resilient. “Moreover, Romanians have started becoming more interested in acquiring winter tyres,” reported Continental Romania market manager Martin Zaloudek. “This has also been felt on the market and, according to Continental estimates, the winter tyre market will hit 800,000 units this season, up 40 per cent year-on-year.”

4th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Battery Advice for Colder Weather from Johnson Controls

With decidedly chilly weather on offer throughout parts of the country, a great many motorists have been pondering the ability of their car battery to last them through a trouble-free winter. Johnson Controls says there are a number of measures drivers can take to check that the battery is up to the job of getting the car started in the sub-zero temperatures we can expect to avoid what has become known as winter battery strain:

1st December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

German Goodyear Dunlop Factories Halt Christmas Production

Workers at Goodyear Dunlop’s six plants in Germany will return from their Christmas holidays two weeks later than normal following the decision to extend the winter holidays at all the sites. Production will end on 19 December, with workers returning on 5 January, 2009.

The spokesperson for Goodyear Dunlop in Hanau, Gabriele Velte stated, “The crunch is hard on all of us – also at the Fulda factory.” Citing this example, Goodyear Dunlop’s Fulda plant, which produces the Fulda brand as well as other brands, employs 1,400 workers. In previous years, the facility has worked throughout the Christmas and New Year period – the usual holidays excepted. “This has never happened before, as long as I can remember,” continued Velte.

28th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyresure Encourages Winter Tyre Pressure Check

Tyresure is encouraging drivers to check their tyre pressures as the temperatures plummet. With winter drawing in and early mornings seeing temperatures nudging zero and below, many motorists aren’t checking their tyres and adjusting for the cooler temperatures. Air contracts when it is cooled, meaning that first thing in the morning your car tyre pressures could be several pounds lower than they were during the summer months – with an obvious effect on your car’s handling and road manners.

25th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

UK Batteries: No Wholesale Price Reduction

Despite falling commodity and metal prices, UK Batteries has warned the aftermarket that there won’t be a wholesale reduction in unit prices. While it is true that the price of batteries is strongly influenced by the London Metal Exchange (LME) and LME came down in July, August and September, at the same time the value of pounds sterling against the US dollar meant battery prices have still been affected.

“Some of our customers will look at activity on the LME and when they see this reduction in the price of lead, they will assume there is going to be an automatic price drop,” explained UK Batteries’ marketing and communications director, Neil Warren. “But it’s not quite as simple as that. There are a number of other factors that have to be taken into account and the market needs to be fully aware of them. The poor performance of the pound against other currencies is strongly affecting the situation and also distributors like us work to a two to three-month lead time when stockholding batteries for the winter months.”

21st November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

TyreSafe: Cold Weather Tyres Offer Safer Alternative

With Winter upon us TyreSafe is advising motorists to consider fitting cold weather tyres in order to improve road safety. Slippery roads accounted for 55 per cent of road traffic accidents in which road environment was a contributory factor in 2007, according to Department for Transport (DfT) figures. In November 2007, the DfT recorded a spike in personal injury accidents as drivers were caught out by the drop in temperature and increased rainfall, with 16,559 accidents recorded, nearly 700 more accidents than at any other time in the year.

20th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Dunlop Employees Dig In for Community

A handful of employees from Goodyear Dunlop togged up in their warmest and braved the winter chill to help brighten their local landscape. Eight employees planted over 130 hedges and trees in partnership with British Waterways, creating a tranquil orchard in the midlands. The tyre maker reports the area in Wombourne, Staffordshire, has been transformed from muddy disused land to an oasis of calm for local residents and visitors to enjoy.

“Last year members of the HR team helped to improve the environment for wildlife at our local canal system as part of our commitment to helping our local community,” said Darren Green, Heath, Safety and Environment manager at Goodyear Dunlop. “It proved to be such a good team building exercise that we are back again, and this time planting trees. The hard work was well worth the effort when we think of all the people who will benefit from this new woodland which we are sure will be enjoyed for years to come.”

18th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Ballymena Staff Told: Extend Christmas Break

The Belfast Telegraph has reported that Michelin has told its staff at the French giant’s Northern Ireland facility to take an extended Christmas holiday due to the economic downturn. The factory usually remains running except on Christmas and Boxing Day, but this year will not produce anything for ten days between 23 December and 2 January. Michelin Ballymena employs 1,000 people, producing heavyweight truck tyres for North American and European markets.

The paper confirmed that workers will need either to use up holidays or take unpaid leave, though those who are most in need of the money will be able to clock on to clean the factory during the winter break. This follows the news today that the EU is reporting that the eurozone area is in recession.

14th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kwik-Fit Fleet Counters Winter Dangers with Safety Checks

Road casualties peak in the winter months, and a causal factor in many instances is that at least one of the vehicles involved is not maintained to the best possible level. For this reason Kwik-Fit Fleet is once again offering free safety checks. Company car and van drivers can call in at any of Kwik-Fit’s 670 High Street centres for the free five-point safety check, which covers:

13th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Let There Be Light

A Shropshire company believes it could have the answer to safety fears raised by Powys County Council’s decision to turn off more than 9,000 street lights to save cash which may set a trend throughout the UK.
Council chiefs are turning off two out of three lights in non-core residential areas after it was revealed the authority’s £500,000 lighting bill was set to rise by £175,000.

But Grant Taylor, managing director of GIBS 2000 Limited and inventor of Traxeyes, believes his innovative glowing light system called Traxeyes could be the answer: “It’s ironic that cars and road users get multi million investments on road safety and pedestrians and cyclists get nothing.”

7th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Canadian Winter Tyre Thefts – the Work of Organised Crime?

The new law in Quebec, Canada making winter tyres mandatory on provincial roads may be the factor behind rising thefts of these products. Canadian broadcaster CTV reports that on the morning October 30, following the region’s first major snow of the season, a number of Montreal motorists awoke to find the winter tyres stolen from their vehicles.

31st October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

RIAS Supports Tyre Safety Month

Insurance firm RIAS has given its “full backing and support” to Tyre Safety Month, the insurance firm has announced. “Any initiative that helps improve driver safety and reduce the number of accidents on our roads has our full backing and support,” said Janet Connor, managing director at the over 50s insurance services specialist, adding: “It’s vitally important, especially in winter when conditions are worse, to encourage drivers to think more carefully about those small and inexpensive checks that could help save lives.”

23rd October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Winter Tyre Shortage Anticipated in Canada

New legislation making winter tyres mandatory in the Canadian province of Quebec is expected to lead to a shortage in some regions. Many retailers in the Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island – receive their tyres from Quebec, and the new law is already having an affect in this area east of that province.

“It could potentially be very difficult to get certain tyre sizes,” Allan Harris, manager of Miller Tires in Charlottetown informed Canadian broadcaster CBC News. “People should get their tyres early and not leave them until the last minute, because if they do they could be left out in the cold.”

21st October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Russian Tyremakers Voice Support for Increased Import Duties

Russia’s leading tyre and rubber industry companies have met as part of a subcommittee organised by the Russian Federation’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The meeting, conducted by subcommittee chairman, Sibur-Russian Tyres’ Igor Karavaev, was held to discuss varying issues including import duties, the regulatory use of winter tyres in the Russian Federation and the issue of end of life tyre recycling.

10th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Suzuki Announces Support for Tyre Safety Month

Suzuki GB has become the first vehicle manufacturer to pledge support for the 2008 Tyre Safety Month campaign. As part of its commitment to the TyreSafe initiative, until the end of October Suzuki is offering free tyre safety checks at participating dealers in the automaker’s franchised network in the UK.

9th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors