winter Archives - Page 19 of 28 - Tyrepress

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Be Seen, Be Safe with Dickies

UK based workwear manufacturer Dickies produce a high visibility range of garments designed specifically for those working in the automotive industry whose work takes them out of the workshop and onto the roads. Combining regulation safety and detailed construction, this range of robust high visibility garments offers comfort, durability and protection when working at the roadside.

In distinctive high visibility orange and navy all the garments feature regulation 5cm reflective strips and are fitted with a number features intended to assist those working in this tough occupation. For example, the Recovery Poly/Cotton Trousers are fitted with multi-entry cargo pockets complete with a pocket for a mobile phone and radio. Kneepad pouches that will take flexible cushioned kneepads are also fitted to relieve the discomfort of working in a kneeling position on hard road surfaces.

There are three jackets all complying with EN471 Class 3, the standard for the Primary Route Network (PRN) and all other roads with a speed limit of 40mph and above.

15th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper’s Winter Groove

New from Cooper Tire for the upcoming cold season is the recently launched Discoverer M+S Sport, a range of winter tyres introduced to meet the needs of high performance 4×4 vehicles. According to Cooper the Discoverer M+S Sport’s number one strength is its winter traction, particularly during snow and icy conditions. The tread design of the tyre incorporates biting edges that offer a high degree of grip without compromising tread element stiffness. Cooper attributes the road grasping qualities of the tread to a patent pending feature it calls “Snow Groove Design Technology.” The tyremaker reports that this unique design utilises the superior traction characteristics of ‘snow on snow’ grip as opposed to ‘rubber on snow’, while at the same time dispensing of unwanted snow build up in the tyre’s grooves. The zigzag sipe pattern present on the Discoverer M+S Sport ensures strong wet traction as well as winter performance. The depth of the sipes allows their efficacy to continue as the tyre continues to wear with use.

14th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Van den Ban Re-brands Flamingo as Blackstone Tyres

For the past thirty years Van den Ban Autobanden B.V. (VDB) has distributed its private brand Flamingo tyres, building up from initial local distribution in Holland into the current UK and European distribution network. The tyres are manufactured by a premium brand European manufacturer and are said to stand for ‘Comfort and Durability’ which is illustrated in the name of the CD patterns. The assortment consists of three distinctive patterns: CD1000, CD2000 and CD 3000 which serves the high performance sector of the market up to size 235/40/R18. Also a Flamingo Alaska winter tyre assortment has been available for a number of years now and has proven to be successful.

Blackstone Alaska winter tyres will be introduced first, as of the Autumn of 2007. Then in the first quarter of 2008 the PCR (CD range) will also be changed to Blackstone.

13th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Himalayan Sure-Footedness with Federal

Taiwan’s Federal Corporation have been producing winter tyres since the start of the decade, and for the coming winter months are offering UK drivers a choice of two cold weather tyres to choose from.

The Himalaya WS1 is aimed at the performance market and features a compound of tensile synthetic SBR rubber mixed with silica, a combination Federal claims lends itself to prolonged working life. The tread contains v-shaped longitudinal grooves and wide channel grooves for traction-improving water and snow dispersal, and the straight centre rib with cross sipes is designed to improve straight line stability and passenger comfort. The shoulder blocks on the Himalaya WS1 have been beefed up to provide an appropriate level of handling stability and steering response on winter surfaces.

10th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Deldo Sales Reach Record Levels

Belgium based wholesaler Deldo Autobanden has released its sales figures for the first six months of this year, and claim the results highlight the company’s strong performance and year by year growth. During 2007 Deldo has already attained half-year record sales of more than 3,400,000 tyres, and many European dealerships for Deldo’s exclusive Wanli, Sunny and Fortuna brands have been established. The development of dealers has also been boosted by a specific marketing promotion program launched in December 2006.

The wholesaler states they have been ‘happy’ with pre sales of winter tyres, despite many of their clients still holding considerable stock. Deldo states their pre sales of Wanli and Sunny tyres, for which more than 80 studdable and non-studdable sizes are available, have reached 65 per cent.

23rd July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook to Show New European Made Tyres at IAA

Hankook Tire will showcase its first European-made tyres, low rolling resistance tyres at this year’s 62nd IAA Car Show. In addition to the products offered to car manufacturers, Hankook Tire offers innovative products which are also affordable on an average income. One example here is a new UHP-product, which will – at the fair in Frankfurt – be shown to the public for the first time to be launched in Europe within spring 2008.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to obtain information about the eco-friendly Hankook Optimo K715 from the recently started European production. It has already been tested by the independent German consumer-protection organisation Stiftung Warentest (issue 03/2007), with the overall ranking “good”. According to Stiftung Warentest, the Optimo K715 contains also the lowest amount of harmful ingredients of all 29 tested tyre makes.

19th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Nexen Shows New N6000

At Autopromotec, Nexen Tire was showing examples of its extensive range of UHP, SUV and winter tyres. One of the company’s latest products is the N6000, which is an ultra high performance summer tyre, designed for drivers of sports cars and sporty coupes, who enjoy the performance of their vehicles. The N6000 will eventually be available in 15 Y- and W-speed rated sizes, for rims from 15″ to 20″ and with aspect ratios from 55 series down to a very low profile 35 series.

Nexen says that an ultra high performance tread compound gives excellent dry traction, while the directional tread design, with its four, wide, straight channels and lateral grooves, provides good wet performance and aquaplaning resistance. Another recent introduction is the H- and V-rated Roadian HP range of tyres for SUVs. Available in 18 sizes, from 65 series to 30 series aspect ratios and rims up to 22″, the Roadian range combines a silica tread compound with a directional tread pattern to provide high performance tyre qualities to luxury SUV drivers.

22nd June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Avon Offers to Keep Performance Cars Cool With Winter Products

Avon Tyres has expanded its cold-weather programme with the addition of new sizes to fit a broad variety of popular high performance cars and 4x4s. Introduced to tackle the precarious driving conditions motorists face from November onwards, the Ice Touring ST and the Ranger Ice have been introduced for high performance saloon cars and 4x4s, respectively.

The Ice Touring ST’s specially-engineered tread pattern is designed to deliver grip and handling in winter temperatures. Its high silica content, together with extensive siping, helps keep the tread blocks flexible at very low winter temperatures, which aids grip in the wet and traction in the snow. Wide spacing of the tread blocks also helps prevent the tread clogging up with snow.

30th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Delticom Continues Strong Growth in First Quarter

According to preliminary figures, Delticom revenues increased by approximately 52 per cent to 38.9 million euros compared with 25.6 million euros for the same period in the previous year. EBIT improved to £300,000 at 31 March 2007 following negative EBIT (30,000 euros) in the first quarter of 2006.

The first three months of the year are seen as the weakest in terms of sales and earnings and this was no different for Delticom. Most winter tyres had already been bought before the turn of the year and sales of summer tyres only begin in earnest in the second quarter, a company statement read.

“With the preliminary quarterly figures, we started the current year somewhat better than we had thought”, explained Rainer Binder of the Delticom AG Managing Board, adding: “Having increased our revenues by 34 per cent in fiscal year 2006 and generated a strong EBIT margin of 5.9 per cent, the online tyre market also offers good growth opportunities for us this year. We intend to make use of these in the course of the year and to continue our strong growth in 2007.”

18th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Winter Range for Interstate

Netherlands based Interstate Tire & Rubber Company has announced the introduction of a new range of exclusive brand Interstate winter tyres for the 2007 season. Called the Interstate Winter IWT-2, the new tyres are produced in China to a European design and intended for European conditions, and to maximise the range’s Europe-wide appeal Interstate will release the Winter IWT-2 in two silica compound variations, a softer compound for Nordic regions and a firmer ‘West European’ compound.

Being designed with winter conditions in mind the range feature three-dimensional sipes on both the inner and outer shoulders, and these sipes are laid out in an interlocking format that prevent the sipes from sticking to each other when subjected to lateral forces, thus increasing dry road stability and handling while providing grip in snow and ice conditions. The centre tread is laid out in a v-shaped pattern, which Interstate claims serves to direct water from the tread area into the wide circumferential grooves positioned on either side of the centre tread.

14th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Q1 Results “Better Than Expected” – Nokian

Nokian Tyres had a “better than expected” first quarter of 2007. During the quarter Nokian Tyres recorded sales of approximately 200 million euros a 34 per cent gain on the 149.4 million euro reported a year earlier. Operating profit trebled, with profits of 39 million euros achieved during the quarter.

Nokian cite the main reasons for these better than expected results to be continued strong sales growth in Russia plus stronger than expected summer tyre sales. Winter tyre pre-sales exceeded previous year and the newly launched Nokian Hakka summer tyre range boosted summer tyre sales. Nokian Tyres’ targets for 2007 will remain the same. The company’s projected full year net sales are 900 – 1,000 million euros.

23rd April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Studded Tyre Ban to be Extended in Iceland

The Reykjavík City Environmental Health and Protection Committee has suggested that studded tyres should be banned for a longer period in winter. Studded tyres are used for driving in snow and, according to an Iceland Review report, are “known to cause air pollution.” Currently, studded tyre usage is permitted in winter from 31 October to 15 April across Iceland. The suggestion is that two weeks could be added to the off season in Autumn and Spring. Despite the fact that there is usually snow in Reykjavík that other areas, there are now plans to regionalise the legislation. Iceland Review quoted government sources as saying that studded tyres are hardly needed in Reykjavík thanks to regularly salting and gritting.

12th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cold Weather Handling

Yokohama is already looking ahead to the next cold season – March, a month in which people began to pack away their winter coats and winter tyres, saw the launch of their new W.drive, a high performance tyre designed to provide confident roadholding in all winter conditions. With speed ratings up to V, the new Yokohama tyre is clearly not intended only for jaunts to the supermarket on a frosty morning – indeed its target market is very broad, encompassing everything from compact cars right through to performance vehicles.

11th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Iran’s Yazd to Benefit from IDB Loan

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is preparing to grant a 10 million euro loan to Yazd Rubber Industries in central Iran. The company will use the loan to acquire raw materials.

Yazd Rubber Industries specialises in the manufacture of tyres and inner tubes for bicycles, motorcycles, passenger cars and light trucks, and – according to the company – produce ranges of both summer and winter tyres.

10th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Matador’s New Generation Winter Tyres – A Stronger Focus on Safety

When the decision was made to produce a third generation of passenger car winter tyre, Matador gave its design team the brief of coming up with a tyre specifically suited to the challenging driving conditions encountered during the European winter. The team set out to create a product possessing what they considered the optimal shape – and the end result was the MP59 Nordicca.

Compared with its predecessors, the MP59 Nordicca has been developed with a stronger emphasis on driving safety, particularly in the most demanding conditions. Matador believes the enhanced traction and braking properties on snow and ice surfaces afforded by the new tyre are strong factors that contribute to a more rewarding and comfortable driving experience. In addition to increased grip on snow and ice, the 3-D lamellas on the MP59 Nordicca’s tread pattern blocks allow for greater stability and rigidity in the blocks during dry surface transfers of load.

5th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors