Bridgestone and Goodyear Move Eastward
Two Bridgestone plants situated in Chinese towns Tianjin and Uci are going to increase the production of radial passenger tire. In this way Bridgestone wants to satisfy consumer demands in radial tires in the area. The company’s main goal here is to promote its eco-friendly Ecopia tire.
The new facilities at the Uci plant are scheduled to be brought into operation in May 2012 while the Tianjin plant will increase its production capacity in July. All in all, Bridgestone will invest 75 and 140 million Euro in both plants respectively.
The company plans to produce as many as 16,300 tires per day in Uci, the total quantity being increased by 4,100 units. The Tianjin plant, in its turn, will achieve the number of 25,300 tires per day in summer 2012.
Speaking about Goodyear company, I should congratulate them on receiving the “Superbrand” award in Delhi. Goodyear got highest marks in a number of respects and was the only tire-maker to be honored in this way. The award was given to Rajeev Anand, Goodyear India vice-president and managing director.
Mr Anand says that Goodyear India is highly proud of the fact. The award signifies the hard work done by all the company’s employees and partners. He added that the company’s strive for innovations and their investments into scientific research help them go ahead of the others.
Bridgestone Ecopia EP100A Goes to the Middle East
This month Bridgestone wants to conquer the markets of the Middle East with its latest eco-product, the Ecopia EP100A tire. The tire differs from its Bridgestone sister-models by its eco-friendliness and a high safety level it delivers.
Bridgestone Ecopia EP100A is the company’s latest generation eco tire. It offers an excellent blend of reliable handling and low rolling resistance, the latter being vital for lower fuel consumption. The tire helps reduce fuel consumption by 3.1 per cent as compared to standard Bridgestone tires.
Shoichi Sakuma, Bridgestone chief executive in the Middle East, stresses that they are proud to have a tire that promotes friendly attitude to the environment without compromising on driver and passenger safety.
Bridgestone does its best to constantly improve its production technologies to provide for healthy environment for present-day and future generations. In the Middle East the company collaborates with an independent organization that works with the World Wildlife Fund (the WWF).
For half a year already the company has been in charge of the Tyre Safety and Eco Station campaign in the countries of the Persian Bay. The campaign is aimed to reduce the quantity of road accidents by informing people about fuel-effective and eco-friendly driving styles.
Bridgestone Ecopia EP100 will be available in the Middle Eastern market in the third quarter of the year.
Bridgestone Conducts the Research at the CV Show
Bridgestone Company has conducted a survey concerning the most important factors customers stick to when choosing a tire brand. At the CV Show they offered everyone the possibility to win two tickets to the British MotoGP championship provided that they answer a simple question – “what makes you trust this or that tire manufacturer?”
The survey was quite a success for as many as five hundred visitors took part in it. The results are as follows: thirty-nine per cent of people pay most attention to the tire wear resistance and quality. These parameters leave behind such characteristics as price, traction, safety and affordability, which gave tire-makers food for thought.
As Andy Dingley point out, Bridgestone UK company is satisfied with the popularity of its stand gained during the CV show. And the survey results are of a great interest as they help the company understand what customers want from the tire-making industry.
Bridgestone has also unveiled its new Ecopia line-up at the show. The tires are designed for commercial use on in city vans and help transport companies save on fuel thanks to their low rolling resistance. The tires inflict minimum harm of the environment, feature long mileage and can be retreaded when significantly worn.
Auto Bild Tests 225/40 R 18 Summer Tires
On the threshold of the new season the Auto Bild magazine conducted their regular summer tire performance tests. This time they compared 225/40 R 18 tires, the size being standard for numerous sports cars and tuned vehicles. The tires were mounted on Mazda MPS.
The Auto Bild tested as many as 10 tires during these tests, namely Hankook Ventus S1 evo K107, Pirelli PZero, Continental ContiSportContact 3, Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric, Uniroyal Rainsport 2, Bridgestone Potenza S001, Dunlop SP Sport Maxx T, Michelin Pilot Sport 3, Falken Ziex ZE 912 and LingLong L688.
The best wet performance is shown by Hankook Ventus S1 evo and Goodyear F1 Asymmetric as their steering response is perfectly precise while their braking distance is exceptionally short. At the same time, the cheap Chinese LingLong tire disappointed the testers by its poor handling and rather a long braking distance. The affordable Falken tires also proved the fact that it’s better to decide in favor of a higher price tag than to compromise on safety.
The best dry handling is to be found with Pirelli PZero and Continental ContiSportContact 3. Uniroyal Rainsport 2 is not very good in this respect, but it is made designed specially for wet roads. Pirelli and Bridgestone deliver the shortest braking distance in the dry.
Uniroyal and Bridgestone provide for the best hydroplaning resistance in this group while LingLong shows the poorest wet performance despite its V-shaped tread pattern. Pirelli and Hankook deliver the shortest braking distance in the wet. Hankook and Goodyear show the safest maneuvering in the wet while Michelin and Falken would be slower in this respect.
You shouldn’t wait extra smooth ride from you sport utility vehicle, yet Bridgestone and Uniroyal tires absorb road irregularities comparatively well. The stiffest tires are LingLong and Falken. As to noise build-up, all the tires don’t differ much unless you have a sensitive ear.
To colclude with, it should be said that it is Hankook S1 evo and Pirelli PZero that were called the best tires as a result of the Auto Bild summer tire tests.
