UK Fulda Challenge Team Selected
Hankook Chooses Hungary as Site for European Plant
Bosch and Michelin Collaborate to Enhance ESP Programme
North East Tyre and Exhausts Receive Michelin Five Star Award
Cooper Tire To Form Joint Venture With Shandong Chengshan
BRMA to Change Name
Bridgestone Potenza RE050 tyres fitted on Ferrari GG50 Concept Car
Goodyear Achieves Record Sales Bridgestone Officially Opens Steel Cord Plant in China
Commercial Tyres flies the flag for the ContiNetwork!
Bridgestone E-Reporter Winner Heads to Japan

UK Fulda Challenge Team Selected

The UK's 2006 Fulda Challenge team has been selected following a European Selection Event in Sulden, South Tyrol/Italy. The two-person team consists of Martin Yardley, a Royal Marine Physical Training Instructor from Portsmouth and Kate Balchin, a Metropolitan Police Officer from Bagshot in Surrey. Both qualified following a nationwide search and two selection weekends held in Lympstone, UK and Sulden, Italy.

Five men and five women travelled to Italy to compete for the selection and the two coveted tickets to Canada. Awaiting them was three days of intense physical challenge designed to test fitness, endurance, determination and driving ability. Runners-up Mark Chryssanthou and Karen McDonald narrowly missed team selection but will maintain their fitness and remain on stand-by.

Nine teams from around the world will compete in next year's Fulda Challenge, including Canada, Poland, Belgium, Austria, The Netherlands and Germany. The competition will take place from 28 January to 7 February 2006. As well as experiencing magnificent scenery, the teams will undertake a series of demanding activities such as ice climbing, cross-country skiing, mountain bike racing, chasm crossing, snowshoe trekking and much more.

Martin's experience is endless as training is part of his daily work regime. He is also a ski instructor, which will stand him in good stead for some of the tough winter events in Canada. "I am very, very pleased," Martin said. "I feel honoured to have made it through because the competition was so close. I have trained really hard for this and I feel like I deserve it. I am really looking forward to competing with Kate - we will make a strong team and we'll work well together.

"I'm in Canada over Christmas and I plan to do some training in Norway if I can. I'm also going to do some skidpan training in preparation for driving on ice." Kate, who has been running for three years and competing in triathlons for only two and a half, already has a number of accolades under her belt. In the World Police Games, which were held in Quebec earlier this year, Kate won three gold medals in triathlon, open-water swimming and team cross-country.

Hankook Chooses Hungary as Site for European Plant

Korean tyre manufacturer Hankook has announced that it is to build a 500 million euro manufacturing plant in Dunaujvaros, Hungary. The plant, which is located close to Budapest, is expected to begin tyre production in the second half of 2007.

Bosch and Michelin Collaborate to Enhance ESP Programme

Bosch, in collaboration with Michelin, has enhanced some of the traditional functions of the Electronic Stability Programme (ESP®) and adapted them for run-flat tyre technologies. The self-supporting run flat technology allows a tyre, even after complete loss of pressure, to run at 80kph for 80 kilometres. The cluster of enhanced ESP® functions is called "Run-Flat Stability Control" (RFS).

RFS contributes to maintaining the maximum level of driving safety and mobility even after a loss of tyre pressure. In the event of a loss of pressure on one or several tyres, Run-Flat Stability Control significantly reduces the risk of understeer or oversteer. If the car does not respond to the driver's steering actions, ESP® initiates braking interventions on individual wheels and reduces the engine power. In the event of heavy understeer, the system reduces the car's speed as quickly as possible by applying braking to all the wheels. It prevents the car from swerving and is very useful at motorway exits or for sudden lane changes. The car can now be controlled more easily even during braking manoeuvres on surfaces with different coefficients of friction.

"This is a result of the joint efforts of both companies and underlines their joint commitment to making motoring safer", says Klaus Meder, Executive Vice President at Bosch Chassis Systems Control, where he is in charge of the development of brake control systems.

"For Michelin, ESP® plus RFS opens up new avenues of further innovation on run-flat technologies", explains Pedro Costa, Vice President for Continued Mobility at Michelin. "For vehicles equipped with ESP® plus RFS, we will design run-flat solutions with greater performances: for example, we can optimise the run-flat support ring of PAX System or the reinforcement of the sidewalls in case of Michelin ZP self-supporting tyres. We believe ESP® plus RFS will accelerate the broad-scale deployment of run-flat technologies."

Bosch and Michelin established the Paris-based "Innovations in Safety Systems" 50-50 joint venture in 2002 in order to pool their efforts at further optimising the interaction between tyres and brake control systems.

North East Tyre and Exhausts Receive Michelin Five Star Award

The new North East Tyre and Exhaust Centre on the Silverlink Business Park at Wallsend, North Tyneside has received accreditation under Michelin's Five Star Award Scheme which certifies high quality premises, expert staff and exemplary customer service. NETE is the first centre in North England and one of just six centres approved to this advanced standard anywhere in the UK.

The Michelin accreditation programme is designed to raise the standards of the tyre distribution industry in the same way that the Michelin Guide has done for restaurants and hotels over the past 100 years.

North East Tyre and Exhaust Centre was founded 35years ago by the Darcy family and there are three generations still working for the business today. The firm has grown steadily to have seven branches in the North East and 250 employees. The Newcastle branch has recently benefited from further substantial investment with a giant new warehouse to improve stock holding to 6000 tyres and 3000 exhaust systems. NETE prides itself on a 1-hour rapid response service to its many commercial vehicle operators.

Cooper Tire To Form Joint Venture With Shandong Chengshan

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has announced that it has reached an agreement to obtain a 51% shareholding in Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Passenger Tire Co. Ltd. and Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Truck Tire Company, Ltd. This agreement also includes a 25% ownership position for Cooper in the steel cord factory which is located adjacent to the tyre manufacturing facility in Rongchen City. Cooper's cash investment will be about $70 million.

The two new companies, which will be formed upon governmental approval of the transaction, together were known as Shandong Chengshan Tire Company, Ltd. (Chengshan) of Rongchen City, Shandong, China. Chengshan is the 3rd largest Chinese-owned tyre manufacturer with expected replacement, OE and export sales in 2005 of approximately $500 million. The company makes passenger car and light truck radials as well as radial and bias commercial tyres primarily under the brand names Chengshan and Austone.

"This is another major step in our Asian strategy," said Thomas A. Dattilo, Cooper's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Chengshan is an excellent and profitable Chinese manufacturer that is already selling a significant number of tyres around the world, and especially in China where Cooper has plans to have a leading market share position in the future," he concluded.

The agreement is subject to a number of government and regulatory approvals in China, but is expected to be finalized by year end.

BRMA to Change Name

The British Rubber Manufacturers Association is to be split into two associations one for tyre manufacturers and another for rubber companies. The two new Associations will be known as the British Tyre Manufacturers' Association (BTMA) and the British Rubber and Polyurethane Products Association (BRPPA). The changes will take effect from January 1st, 2006.

Bridgestone Potenza RE050 tyres fitted on Ferrari GG50 Concept Car

Bridgestone has announced that its flagship Potenza RE050 tyre will be fitted onto the Ferrari GG50 concept car designed by world-renowned car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. The Potenza RE050 enables superior handling, while an emphasis on comfort produces a quiet driving experience.

Bridgestone has already supplied Potenza tyres to a variety of new high-performance cars. They have also been employed in some of Ferrari's flagship models, namely the 612 Scaglietti, Enzo Ferrari, and Superamerica.

The Ferrari GG50 was designed by Giugiaro to celebrate his 50th year engaged in car design. The concept model, based on the Ferrari 612 SCAGLIETTI, is the only one of its kind in the world and is not intended for production or sale.

The tyres for the Ferrari GG50, the Potenza RE050 RFT, feature run-flat capability, and are of size 245/35R20 on the front wheels and 305/35R20 on the rear wheels.

Goodyear Achieves Record Sales

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has reported net income of $142 million (70 cents per share), the highest quarterly result since the third quarter of 1998, reflecting record net sales and strong operating results in the company's tyre businesses. The quarterly results were up substantially from the prior-year period, when the company recorded net income of $38 million (20 cents per share). All per share amounts are diluted.

Record quarterly sales of $5.0 billion were a 7 percent increase from $4.7 billion during the 2004 period. The growth in sales reflects improved pricing and product mix in each of the company's businesses, higher volume in its international tyre businesses, and the favourable impact of currency translation.

Third quarter tyre unit volume increased to 58.4 million units, compared to 57.4 million units in the 2004 period, a 1.8 percent gain.

"All six of our business units achieved third quarter sales records, and all of our tyre businesses achieved improvements in segment operating income compared to last year," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert J. Keegan. "This improvement, including a second consecutive $5 billion sales quarter, is further evidence that we are executing to our plan," he said. "Specifically, we are winning through our strategy of focusing on high margin market segments and bringing higher-margin, differentiated new products to market quickly. Our new-product focus was highlighted during the quarter by the introduction of the Goodyear Fortera featuring TripleTred technology in North America, the Dunlop Wintersport 3D in Europe, and the early European success of the Goodyear UltraGrip 7 winter tyre."

Bridgestone Officially Opens Steel Cord Plant in China

Bridgestone, through its wholly owned subsidiary in China, Bridgestone (Shenyang) Steel Cord Co., Ltd., has held the official opening for a plant producing steel cord in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. Bridgestone invested US$94.3 million in the construction of the plant, which began producing steel cord for truck and bus radial tyres in August this year. Production capacity is projected to reach 70 tons per day by the end of 2007. About 100 people attended the opening ceremony, including Chinese government and municipal officials such as Song Qi, deputy mayor of Shenyang. Heading the Bridgestone contingent were Masaharu Oku, the board of director, vice president and senior officer responsible for tyre production and distribution, Hiromichi Odagiri, vice president and senior officer, chief representative of Bridgestone tyre operations in China, Kaoru Fujioka, vice president and officer in charge of steel cord, and various other plant officials.

Commercial Tyres Flies the Flag for the ContiNetwork!

Continental has announced that the truck tyre service provider, Commercial Tyres, has joined the ContiNetwork and has branded their entire fleet of breakdown vans with the ContiNetwork logo to mark the news.

ContiNetwork membership gives Commercial Tyres exclusive territories - covering parts of East and West Sussex, Kent, South Surrey and South East London - to provide expert service to Continental's growing base of national and regional truck fleet customers.

Commercial Tyres, who have always been a strong supporter of the Continental truck tyre range, will also be using its ContiNetwork Partner status to grow its own base of local fleet customers.

Commercial Tyres is a privately owned business formed in 1976 by Paul Kuske, Managing Director. The business has a strong reputation for service and has built up an impressive customer base through offering comprehensive fleet management and 24-7 / 365 days a year breakdown cover. A fleet of 17 dedicated service vehicles are operated by trained City and Guilds commercial fitters, and are fully equipped to offer 'on site' commercial tyre fitting services, which include balancing, alignment, regrooving and general maintenance.

Commercial's headquarters are located in Ashford, Kent and they have branches in Maidstone, Kent and Crawley, West Sussex.

Bridgestone E-Reporter Winner Heads to Japan

As the inaugural season of the GP2 Series comes to a close in Bahrain this week (29-30 September), Bridgestone is pleased to announce Mike Channell, from Wakefield - UK, as the overall winner of its pan-European Bridgestone e-reporter young journalist competition.

Seven finalists were selected for the second phase of the competition, winning a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend a European Grand Prix and report on the inaugural GP2 Series for the websites of Bridgestone Europe and the GP2 Series.

Mike Channell attended the Italian Grand Prix in Monza (2-4 September), interviewing a number of drivers, including GP2 Champion Nico Rosberg and runner-up Heikki Kovalainen, before writing the winning race reports and diary entries featured on the Bridgestone website.

As the 2005 Bridgestone e-reporter winner, Channell will be flying to Japan for this year's Tokyo Motor Show. He will also visit Bridgestone's museum of art near the Corporation's Headquarters and get the opportunity to experience some ecological activities in more rural parts of Japan. The award of a state-of-the-art laptop will also help his career in sports journalism.

Bridgestone e-reporter was open to all students aged 18-30 studying full time in Europe, offering a unique opportunity to young individuals hoping to pursue a career in journalism. Entrants were required to write a 300-word article on a motorsport related topic and, imagining they were a correspondent for a national newspaper, prepare interview questions for Bruno Michel. All entries for the first stage of the competition were presented to a panel of judges - chaired by ITV's Formula One Studio Analyst Tony Jardine - from which the lucky seven were selected based on their writing ability, appreciation for the target audience, creativity and an eye for a good story.