A conference in Berlin has crystallised an intense debate about the EU Tire Label. The event, organised by Marcus Evans Events took place on Tuesday and Wednesday this week (16, 17 April). It is still too early to say anything about the success or otherwise of the EU Tire Label. Early indications suggest that there
Category: AA-commentaries
One of the most beautiful tires I’ve seen
Trawling the web this morning, I came across this image. It is taken from the Renault website. Renault launched this concept vehicle — the Twin’z — at the Milan Triennale this week. The Triennale is a festival of outstanding design. It’s not a car show. The Triennale audience is more used to fashion and product
Tire manufacturing in Europe
Tire manufacturing in Europe is going through something of a crisis. In January Goodyear announced the closure of its factory in Amiens-North. Last month Bridgestone announced the closure of its factory in Bari, Italy. None of this has provoked much debate Rumours that Michelin will reduce its output, however have triggered a string of comment
Tire stories from Geneva Auto Salon
Three key stories emerged from the opening day of the Geneva Motor Show. ETRMA members met in Geneva and agreed to work together to help governments enforce the EU Labelling scheme Tire makers see the EU car tire sales downturn as structural – no recovery any time soon. BMW once again leads the OE field
Amiens, workers and productivity
Anyone who follows the news will have seen the letter from Titan CEO, Maurice (Morry) Taylor to the French Industry Minister, Arnaud Montebourg. It suggests that French workers are lazy and unproductive. Taylor adds that he has no interest in buying the factory in Amiens from Goodyear. Rather than take on the French unions, he
Rubber plantations and child labour
A report from Denmark says child labour is being used to tap rubber. As part of their CSR policies, tire companies are asking their suppliers to provide a 100% guarantee that no child labour is used in the production of rubber. Such guarantees are all but impossible. Most rubber is produced by smallholdings. These can
Tire researchers over-loaded
R&D staff at tire makers around the world are over-loaded. This was one of the messages coming out of the Tire Technology event held this week in Cologne. The pressure of work from new product launches; labelling requirements and re-formulating is restricting tire makers’ ability to work with suppliers on new developments. If suppliers want
Pirelli’s calendar finally makes it into the 21st century.
Pirelli has removed the nudes from the famous Pirelli Calendar. Thank Goodness! It is unfortunate that the most famous object associated with a tire company is a set of nude and semi-nude images of women. I thought the Pirelli Calendar was out-dated. I thought it was sexist. I thought it was inappropriate to a modern,