Tyre News

Barratt Homes and Hankook Join Forces
Cooper Tire on Track to Fight Malaria in Africa
Bandvulc Injects Colour into Prestigious Awards
Maxxis Signs New 3-year Motocross Sponsorship Deal
KYB Expands in Europe
Higgins Scores Double Success with Hankook Tyres in China
Roadrunner Celebrates Back-to-Back Success

Barratt Homes and Hankook Join Forces

Britain's biggest housebuilder, Barratt Homes, has joined forces with Hankook to promote two of the biggest events in Swansea this month. On July 21 Barratt Homes ran an open day to unveil its brand new showhome complex at Copper Quarter whilst just a few miles away in SA1 competitors were getting underway in the Swansea Bay Rally, a round of the prestigious Hankook Gravel Rally Championship.

"Swansea is such a vibrant city,'' said Barratt Homes Sales Director Sandra Dixon. "There is always so much happening and the ongoing regeneration means that the city is destined for even bigger things.'' To mark the events organisers of the Swansea Bay Rally had a sneak preview of the new showhomes at Copper Quarter while sales staff at Copper Quarter had the chance to see inside the rally car.

Cooper Tire on Track to Fight Malaria in Africa

Legendary adventurer, Kingsley Holgate, and Cooper Tire have linked up to begin an epic humanitarian mission across the African continent, in the continuing fight against malaria. Following Holgate and Cooper's collaboration on last year's Rainbow Expedition, the off-road tyre manufacturing specialist is spearheading another twelve month-long trip, the Outside Edge Expedition.

A convoy of 347 Land Rovers all shod with tough all-terrain Cooper tyres - the longest humanitarian train ever - set off from the Cape of Good Hope in April. The mammoth expedition will circumnavigate Africa, travelling as the name suggests, around the edge of the vast continent.

The aim of the trip is linked to the Cooper-supported One Net One Life campaign, which will see the expedition delivering tens of thousands of life-saving mosquito nets to pregnant mothers and children under the age of five. Shockingly, two babies die every minute from the bite of a mosquito - that's 3.5 million Africans a year - more than die from HIV/Aids, according to the One Net One Life campaign.

Also linked to the Outside Edge Expedition is the Cooper Tire-supported Right to Sight initiative, in which 'readers' are supplied to help poor-sighted villagers. The Outside Edge Expedition will arrive back at the Cape of Good Hope to coincide with next year's Africa Malaria Day, April 25, 2008.

Bandvulc Injects Colour into Prestigious Awards

Devon based Bandvulc, one of Europe's leading manufacturers of retreaded truck tyres, has sponsored an Environmental Prize at this year's prestigious Year in Industry Contribution to the Business Awards that serves to reflect its widening commitment to green initiatives that have real, measurable impact.

The new, green category was won by Adam Stables who was also awarded a £250 cheque at the South West Regional Finals recently held at the University of the West of England. Demonstrating the value that pre-university students can add to business, the national Year in Industry scheme places high calibre school leavers into local engineering and manufacturing companies to work on specific year-long projects.

"Every year I am amazed at the level of projects some of these young people carry out considering the age group," says Patrick O'Connell, director of Bandvulc. As a Year in Industry (YinI) judge between 2002 - 2006, the decision to sponsor a green prize was driven by his own in-house initiatives to significantly reduce Bandvulc's carbon footprint and extend best practice to Plymouth's wider manufacturing community.

" I believed an environmentally focused project deserved recognition for the first time this year and for future years, creating substantial energy savings for host companies that have far reaching consequences for the environment too," he adds. Adam used his passion for environmental issues to investigate methods of making Plymouth based Kawasaki Precision Machinery (UK) Ltd more energy efficient.

Many of his recommendations have already been implemented with more in the pipeline, ultimately saving KPM in excess of £60k per year. Mark Ansell of Kawasaki Precision Machinery (UK) Ltd who managed student Adam, from Ivybridge says, "Adam has uncovered a wide range of opportunities to save energy, many of which the company hadn't previously considered. His dedication to these environmental projects has enabled the company to achieve savings much quicker than would have been the case without him."

Mark continues, "The Year in Industry scheme provides young, intelligent and enthusiastic individuals - their open minds and new ideas prove ideal for stand alone projects. By focusing on their projects, without other distractions and tasks absorbing their time, results can be realised more quickly than relying on existing company resources. They bring with them the ability to challenge the constraints of convention. It is this free thinking that questions long established practices and forces change." As well as this award, Adam won the Best Manufacturing Project awarded by the Plymouth Manufacturers' Group last month.

"As a judge for the Bandvulc Environmental Award I was encouraged by the exceptional calibre of students engaged on 'environmental' focused placements - it just demonstrates what savings and improvements many businesses can achieve," says Paul Gilbert, South West Regional Manager for Envirowise. "To this end, Envirowise is delighted to be able to support The Year in Industry with the implementation of the YinI PLUS - a resource efficient version of a YinI!!"

Maxxis Signs New 3-Year Motocross Sponsorship Deal

Maxxis is continuing its support of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship through to 2010 after signing a new three year deal as title sponsor.

Maxxis has been supporting the country's top motocross series since 2002, during which time the championship has grown both in stature and popularity. The new contract runs from the 2008 season and will provide continuity for everyone involved.

"The professionalism of motocross has increased dramatically since 2002 and the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship is recognised as one of the strongest domestic motocross series in the world, proving just how exciting the sport can be," says Maxxis UK managing director Derek McMartin.

"Our enhanced financial contribution will enable the ACU to reinvest to make the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship bigger and better than ever. It will also take motocross to a wider audience by helping the ACU to leverage the kind of primetime TV coverage which has done so much to boost interest in British motocross in the past couple of years."

Maxxis, which supports the Relentless Suzuki, Kawasaki Twisted Seven, Albion KTM and Moggstar KTM factory supported teams, as well as a host of individual riders competing in the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship, has not only renewed its contract as title sponsor of the series, but has also increased its investment to sponsor the youth championship in 2008.

KYB Expands in Europe

Shock absorber manufacturer KYB Corporation has expanded its position as a global manufacturer by opening a new factory at Pardubice in the Czech Republic. A new company - KYB Manufacturing Czech, s.r.o (KMCZ) - has also been established. The new factory has already started production and employs over 200 personnel.

Using state of the art technology, the plant will manufacture automotive shock absorbers for the original equipment market, and further strengthens KYB's presence in Europe - complementing its manufacturing facility near Pamplona in northern Spain.

Higgins Scores Double Success with Hankook Tyres in China

Hankook Tyres has played an integral role in the 2007 success of former British Rally Champion David Higgins who has been blitzing the opposition in China. The Welsh-based driver and co-driver Ieuan Thomas have won the first two rounds of this year's Chinese Rally Championship - and praised the Hankook tyres for their impressive performance.

"This was my first international win on tarmac and the tyres played a huge role in this success,'' said a delighted David. "It was one of the most demanding rallies for tyres with long corners into more long corners so finding the right compound was extremely important.''

David and Ieuan were fastest on all but two of the high speed tests with their TQ Education Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 performing faultlessly during the event and the success puts the WY team firmly at the top of the points table.

Roadrunner Celebrates Back-to-Back Success

A Lancashire tyre dealership is celebrating back-to-back success at a local country show after impressing judges with a colourful stand promoting road safety. It is the second year running Cabus-based Roadrunner Tyres has secured the 'best trade display' accolade at the annual Great Eccleston Agricultural Show.

The First Stop dealership used this year's event (14/15 July) to support network partner Bridgestone's global Think Before You Drive campaign, which encourages motorists to regularly check the pressure, grip and condition of their tyres. Employees were joined by a crash test dummy, who helped technicians pass on vital safety advice. The Roadrunner Tyres team also used the event to raise awareness of its specialist off-road and agricultural tyre services.

"The Great Eccleston Show is a major event in this part of the world, and to make the impact we have in securing the 'best trade display' title for a second successive year is a fantastic achievement," said Barbara Hodgkinson, who runs Roadrunner Tyres with husband Andy. Hopefully winning the trophy is a sign that the Think Before You Drive safety message got through to visitors to the show!"