Tyre News

Hankook Winners Drive Off with Gripping Prize
Kumho Celebrates 30 Years in Europe
To the Moon and Stars for Mega Mileage Man
Maxxis Raises its Profile at Top Rugby Fixtures
Continental Wins Design Achievement Award
First Victory for GEMsport
Tyresafe Bike Safety Campaign
Scrap Tyres a Valuable Resource, not a Waste Product TRA Forum Told
Hankook and Team Jürgen Alzen Motorsport Prolong Successful Partnership for Endurance Racing Championships at the Nürburgring

Hankook Winners Drive Off with Gripping Prize

Dorset competition winner Janice Magookin from Bournemouth is looking forward to many thousands of happy miles in her Proton after winning a brand new set of Hankook tyres for her car.

Tyreland in Ferndown, one of Hankook's leading south coast dealers, was on hand to fit the tyres and Janice said she and husband Martin were delighted with the prize which also included motorsport goodies from the tyre company.

Hankook's Russell Garner said the competition had been a huge success and part of the tyre company's plans to forge closer links between dealers and Hankook's motorsport involvement.

"We are currently in our third year of supporting the Volkswagen Racing Cup and our involvement in British rallying is really putting us on the map with motorsport customers and motorists,'' he said. The Daventry-based operation is this year supporting a number of rally teams competing at all levels in the sport.

Kumho Celebrates 30 Years in Europe

Korean tyre manufacturer Kumho established its European base in Frankfurt, Germany in January 1978, so is now celebrating 30 years on the continent. The company's total European sales for 2008 are expected to exceed $1/2 billion.

Its technical development and brand image have been greatly strengthened by class wins in such high profile 2007 events as the Le Mans 24-hour race and the Irish round of the World Rally Championship - Rally Ireland. It also has the contract to supply control tyres for the Euro F3 Championship: a recognised feeder series for F1, that has spawned Lewis Hamilton and many other household name drivers.

Last year, Kumho further demonstrated its premium brand status by becoming a Platinum sponsor of the world's most famous football club - Manchester United - and the first of many intended joint promotions took place throughout the UK this January. This prestige agreement with Manchester United will remain in place until at least 2011.

Apart from its thriving aftermarket business, Kumho is increasingly supplying tyres to the major European car manufacturers for original equipment fitment. Among Kumho's European customers are Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen. The headquarters of Kumho's European technical operations is located near Birmingham.

To the Moon and Stars for Mega Mileage Man

A MAN TGA 6x2 tractor unit operated by Plymouth-based food distribution company Samworth Brothers has clocked up more than 1,000,000 km on the same set of Michelin XDE2 drive axle tyre casings. The company has achieved this impressive performance by following Michelin's Four Lives tyre policy, through stringent tyre maintenance managed in-house by its own Michelin-trained technicians and the high professional standards of their company drivers.

Dedicated to transporting frozen, chilled and ambient food products seven days a week, the MAN originally joined the fleet in 2004 and was specified with Michelin tyres as original equipment at the factory. The drive axle tyres covered a total of 562,296 km during their first life - the equivalent distance to approximately two return trips to the moon - before being regrooved during a routine vehicle maintenance inspection which enabled them to clock-up a further 119,820 km. After 682,116 km the regrooved tyres were removed and sent back to Michelin's Remix facility in Stoke-on-Trent, where they were remoulded into a new set of XDE2 Remix tyres.

The Remix tyres fitted by Samworth Brothers have already travelled an additional 317,884 km, bringing the total distance covered by these drive axle tyres to 1,000,000 km. With a further 10 mm of tread remaining, the tyres will remain on the vehicle until the end of their third life (when the tread reaches 3-4mm), at which point they can be regrooved to deliver yet further performance.

Kelvin Hunn, Fleet Maintenance Controller, Samworth Brothers Distribution, comments: "This is a clear demonstration that our Michelin tyre policy is delivering excellent value and we have worked hard with Michelin to achieve this remarkable standard. The company operates primarily on Michelin XZE2 and XDE2 tyres, which are designed for medium haul operations, returning the best performance across a mixture of motorway and A and B road use.

Maxxis Raises its Profile at Top Rugby Fixtures

English Super League rugby will soon be returning to our TV screens and Maxxis will be in the front row when current champions Leeds Rhinos and runners-up St. Helens feature among the first five matches of the 2008 season to be broadcast live. Maxxis is raising awareness of its brand by advertising at the first ten live matches of the 30-match season - which are expected to pull in a UK TV audience of around 38 million - and has the option to continue its support throughout the season, should it prove successful.

The TV schedule includes matches involving London Harlequins and Catalans Dragons, St Helens v Wigan Warriors and Leeds Rhinos v St Helens.

Continental Wins Design Achievement Award

Continental's CSEasy solid tyre has been honoured by the Fork Lift Truck Association for its pioneering design with a prestigious 'Archie'. Nominations for the award categories are made by members of the industry such as journalists, end users and FLTA members. The FLTA board choose a winner acknowledging the work of an individual or team for outstanding design achievement.

The CSEasy, launched little over a year ago, took industrial tyres to a new level. As the first ever tyre of its kind to be fitted with a torque wrench and no need for a mounting press, the pioneering CSEasy presented huge advantages to users. Mileage performance is higher than that of a standard tyre. The CSEasy boasts lower rolling resistance saving on energy consumption and reducing CO2 emissions.

David Ellison, chief executive at the FLTA, said; "The CSEasy is a deserving winner because it is a very innovative product which is of great benefit to users in our industry among others. For this reason, it was considered to be the design achievement of the year."

Hans-Jurgen Sauerwald, inventor of the CSEasy, said; "I am thrilled that Continental and the industrial tyre team have been recognised in this way. We have always known that the CSEasy was a ground-breaking solid tyre. When we developed the tyre our main aim was to simplify the tyre changing process for the end user whilst producing a tyre that met our high performance criteria."

The winners of the coveted 'Archies' were announced at the Awards dinner in Birmingham on February 9 2008. The 'Archie' trophy is modelled on Archimedes, acknowledged as the father of modern engineering, who embodies and represents the application of intellect and innovation over brute force.

First Victory for GEMsport

Rising Welsh rally star Elfyn Evans provided GEMsport with a cracking start to the 2008 season with victory in the Fiesta SportingTrophy on the Galway Rally. And there was more success for GEMsport with team mate Meilyr Evans finishing an impressive fourth Fiesta in a tough and tricky rally.

Heavy rain, sleet and very slippery conditions greeted the Fiesta SportingTrophy crews and they only completed three of the scheduled six high speed tests. But for 19 year old Elfyn the rally provided his first Fiesta victory - and a great start to his 2008 campaign which includes competing in the Fiesta championships both in Ireland and the UK.

But the victory was not without incident for Elfyn, son of rally legend Gwyndaf Evans who launched GEMsport last month. "On the second stage we slid off the road and damaged the front wings and bumper but thankfully managed to avoid two concrete posts,'' said Elfyn. "Then we had a puncture on the fourth of six stages which cost us some time.''

Elfyn and co-driver Gareth Roberts were lying second going into the final stage but a storming stage time ensured victory for the Welsh duo in the hustings.com Fiesta.

Tyresafe Bike Safety Campaign

For the first time, TyreSafe is mounting a tyre safety campaign throughout the month of March to highlight the dangers of defective or badly worn tyres on motorcycles and scooters. TyreSafe has already received support for its initiative from BikeSafe, the UK police force road safety campaign, which will culminate in a major bike safety show to be held at the police training centre in Hendon, North London, during the last week of March.

TyreSafe is also hoping to gain support for the campaign from trade associations within the motorcycle industry. The impact of congestion, CO2 emissions and hikes in fuel prices have boosted the sale of bikes and scooters which has, in turn, led to an increase in the number of accidents involving motorcycles and scooters.

Clearly, tyres play a crucial role in maintaining bike and scooter safety, and the TyreSafe campaign will focus on tread depth and the importance of tyre pressures in relation to road safety and the prevention of accidents. TyreSafe supporters, both tyre manufacturers and retailers, will be supporting the campaign. However, TyreSafe is inviting motorcycle dealers and bike tyre outlets to become involved in the initiative, and further details of the scheme may be found on the TyreSafe website at www.tyresafe.org.

Scrap Tyres a Valuable Resource, not a Waste Product TRA Forum Told

The consumer's negative view of scrap tyres is damaging the image of the whole tyre industry in the UK and needs to be addressed urgently, said ATS Euromaster's group marketing director Jonathan Cobb speaking at the recent Tyre Recovery Association Forum.

The dumping of tyres at the roadside, waste ground or in fields, though in reality representing a tiny proportion of the tyres scrapped in the UK, suggests to the consumer that garages, tyre retailers and others are unprofessional and are contributing to environmental damage. In fact, the UK has more than sufficient recovery capacity to deal responsibly with the 40 million or so scrap tyres we generate each year. This fact is not being communicated to the motorists of the wider community says Jonathan Cobb.

"The industry needs to do more." said Jonathan, "We must explain that scrap tyres are not a waste product but a valuable resource we can and should recycle. We must also engage with our customers and even invite them to contribute ideas to there re-use".

The Tyre Industry Federation's Responsible Recycler Scheme, to which most responsible tyre collectors subscribe, ensures that this is happening. ATS Euromaster is working towards developing scrap tyres as a materials source and is itself actively looking for ways of re-using scrap tyres and this is evidenced by the use of scrap tyres being turned into the flooring of the company's stand at the forthcoming CV Show at the Birmingham's NEC.

Hankook and Team Jürgen Alzen Motorsport Prolong Successful Partnership for Endurance Racing Championships at the Nürburgring

The successful cooperation begun last year between the racing team of Jürgen Alzen Motorsport and tyre manufacturer Hankook Tire for the International Endurance Racing Championships at the Nürburgring (VLN) will continue in 2008 as well. A contract to that effect, covering both the total of ten races in the popular German Endurance Series and the 36th International 24-Hour Race at the Nürburgring, has now been signed.

"After our extremely successful first year of cooperation, we want to continue to tackle the competition with our tyre partner Hankook Tire in 2008," says team leader Jürgen Alzen, explaining the team's objectives for the coming season.

"In 2007 we were able to gain a lot of experience and repeatedly missed out on a well-deserved victory by just a hair's breadth. We intend to change that this year." Manfred Sandbichler, head of the motor sports division at Hankook Reifen Deutschland, adds: "Building on our very strong lap times, especially toward the end of the season, and on the test results obtained over the winter, we are once again excellently equipped, tyre-wise. It is very important to us to ensure that after Uwe Alzen leaves, the team will remain in the absolute top league in terms of drivers as well."