Tyrepress

Banner Batteries has appointed Andrew Russell as Business Development Manager for the North of England and Scotland. Reporting directly to Country Manager, Lee Quinney, Andrew Russell will be responsible for “targeting Banner’s diverse and growing customer base of motor factors, garages, independent distributors and other specialist automotive parts outlets”.

In the USA, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC (Bridgestone Americas) has recalled 1,185 of its R123 Ecopia radial commercial trailer tyres, designed for long-haul and regional applications. The reason? “A total of 24 tyres were manufactured with one of the three stabilizer ply belts applied in the wrong orientation”, according to official documents filed with US National Highway Transport Safety administration. The affected tyres, sized 295/75R22.5, were produced at the company’s LaVergne, Tennessee plant between 1 and 7 September 2024.

Lowe’s, the world’s second-largest home improvement retailer, last week unveiled lowestires.com in partnership with Treadsy, which was founded and is led tyre industry entrepreneur Mike Welch. The launch, celebrated after three and a half years of collaborative development, targets Lowe’s Pro customer base – contractors, tradespeople, and small fleet operators – by offering “a seamless, nationwide tyre-buying experience”.

Michelin is relocating its UK headquarters, comprising its UK commerce and group services teams. The world’s largest tyre manufacturer is exiting its Riverside complex on Campbell Road in Stoke-on-Trent this month, with employees accommodated on Keele University’s award-winning Science and Innovation Park, around five miles to the west. The move sees the manufacturer take up residence in specially converted offices on a 600-acre park currently containing more than 50 companies ranging from multinationals to start-ups, and around 1,000 employees. Michelin says the move to the IC2 development at the site will provide “an enhanced workplace for staff” and boost the sustainability of its UK operations. Michelin confirmed to Tyrepress that there are “no implications for jobs” as a result of the move, while staff supporting its advanced retreading plant and its logistics and training centre will remain at the company’s manufacturing site on Campbell Road.

To demonstrate that its tyres are equally suitable for electric and combustion engine vehicles, in summer 2023 Nokian Tyres debuted its ‘Electric Fit’ logo. Since then, it has featured this logo in promotional and point-of-sale material but, curiously, the logo didn’t appear on tyre sidewalls. This has changed with the launch of the Nokian Tyres Seasonproof 2.

Michelin has published its tyre market trends for February 2025. Based upon sell-in data from local industry associations as well as Michelin’s estimate of sales by non-member manufacturers, these figures show a significant downturn in European original equipment markets, both for passenger vehicle and for truck tyres.

Kumho Tire has extended its original equipment business with Volkswagen Group with supply to the VW Tiguan and Cupra Terramar. It will deliver the Kumho Ecsta PS71 SUV for fitment on the Tiguan in sizes 215/65 R17 and 235/55 R18, while the Terramar will wear the PS71 in 235/55 R18.

In the ever-evolving landscape of automotive technology, the criteria for SUV tyres demand superior performance, along with enhanced safety, durability and longevity. Hankook reports that its SUV tyres are engineered with cutting-edge technology to deliver “superior traction, stability, and comfort”. With tread options for summer, winter and all-season applications, the SUV range includes the new Ventus evo SUV among other predecessor Ventus models, the Dynapro HPX, and the iON evo SUV- all engineered for optimal performance during summer months. For all-season use, the Kinergy 4S2 X and iON FlexClimate SUV are available.

The exclusive distributor of Marshal tyres in the UAE and Iran, Varga Trading co. LLC has announced that it will be providing a 4-year warranty. “Most people in this region are shocked to hear that our tyres have such a long-term warranty, our tyres are of the highest quality and we are convinced that they can out-perform many of the very expensive brands. The stated four-year warranty is a message of confidence to end-users about the quality of Marshal tyres and a message to our dealers that we are committed to providing them with superb after sales services,” said Varga's VP, Alireza Moaref.

Dubai-based Varga Trading co LLC has received ISO 9001:2000 accreditation. The 29-year-old company is said to have applied for the accreditation as part of its plans to be become a large scale tyre ditstributor.