German Winter Tyre Sales Down, Reports Association
(Staffordshire, U.K./Tyres & Accessories) Germany has long been presented to U.K. motorists as the ‘poster boy’ for winter tyre sales in Europe, but it appears that this year the market boasting a winter segment accounting for around half the total passenger car tyre sector is shaping up to be somewhat lacklustre.
Ceat OTR Factory Plans in Final Stage
(Staffordshire, U.K./Tyres & Accessories) Plans by India’s Ceat Ltd. to build a factory for the production of 60 tonne OTR tyres should be finalised by the end of the year or shortly afterwards, and construction of the new facility, located near the city of Patalganga in western India, is anticipated to begin by next May.
Conti Signs European Road Safety Charter
(Staffordshire, U.K./Tyres & Accessories) On Nov. 26, Continental AG added its signature to the European Road Safety Charter, a document outlining the goal to halve the number of fatalities on roads within the European Union by the year 2010 – a reduction to 25,000 from 50,000 EU road deaths recorded in 2004.
Apollo Considering Germany for New European Factory
(Staffordshire, U.K./Tyres & Accessories) In mid-November the joint managing director and COO of Apollo Tyres, Neeraj Kanwar, reported that “we are looking at project feasibility in the Eastern Europe region in terms of cost of manufacturing and approach to market.”
Underinflated Tyres Continue to Waste Billions in Fuel
(Staffordshire, U.K./Tyres & Accessories) Efforts to educate on the benefits of correctly inflated tyres seem to be falling upon deaf ears – Groupe Michelin has found that almost 80% of cars on British roads are running with incorrect tyre pressure and over half have levels are considered dangerous.
Rubber Tech 2008 Dates Announced
(Staffordshire, U.K./Tyres & Accessories) The All India Rubber Industries Association (Northern Region) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have announced dates for the inaugural Rubber Tech 2008 – an international exhibition and conference on rubber technologies, machinery and products.
STL’s Dietz Named WTC Chairman-Elect
(Akron/Tire Review) Tim Dietz, an account and technical sales manager for Standards Testing Laboratories, was named chairman-elect of SEMA’s Wheel & Tire Council.
Consumer Confidence Nosedives in November
(Akron/Tire Review) Even after setting new buying records in the days following Thanksgiving, Americans are now more pessimistic about the U.S. economy.
Wabash Picks Fuel Efficient Goodyear Tires
(Akron/Tire Review) Goodyear’s Unisteel G316 LHT with its Fuel Max Technology has been tapped as the standard radial on Wabash National’s DuraPlate dry van trailer.
BFNAT OTR Plant Gets OSHA Award
(Akron/Tire Review) Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire’s Bloomington, Ill., OTR tire plant was awarded the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star status.
Hungary Holds Hankook Factory Subsidy
(Akron/Tire Review) The Associated Press reported that the Hungarian government has stopped an $820,000 training subsidy payment to Hankook Tire Co. due to violations of the country’s labor laws.
Bridgestone Run-Flats on Nissan GT-R
(Akron/Tire Review) Nissan has selected the Bridgestone Potenza RE070R run-flat as standard OE for its 2009 Nissan GT-R.