Bridgestone Americas has raised more than USD 2.4 million for United Way of Greater Nashville through its 2024 ‘United by What Really Matters’ fundraising campaign, further strengthening its 30-year partnership with United Way. Additionally, by establishing a comprehensive staff volunteer programme that resulted in 500 service hours around the region, the company further enhanced its financial contributions.

In order to assist United Way's vital programmes and initiatives in Middle Tennessee, Bridgestone has raised over USD 15 million since 2015. More than USD 850,000 was donated this year by coworkers at the company's Americas headquarters in Nashville as well as a contribution from the Bridgestone Americas Trust Fund. Additionally, on October 15 at Nashville's Hermitage Golf Club, Bridgestone and its partners organised the company's sixth annual Bridgestone United Way Charitable Golf Tournament, which raised close to USD 1.6 million. The competition continues to be United Way's biggest national fundraising event.

Bridgestone extended this year's campaign by offering its first-ever community service initiative to its Nashville-based teams from 7–22 November. Together, they contributed 500 hours of their time to help United Way partner organisations and organisations with community gardens, food sorting, hygiene kit creation and other projects.

Sara Correa, Chief Marketing Officer, Bridgestone Americas, said, “What really matters is helping empower our teammates to make a transformative difference in the communities where we move, live, work and play. That’s why United Way is one of Bridgestone’s most important and valued partners. We are grateful for the generosity of our teammates and partners who continue to show up for our neighbours when they need it most by supporting United Way’s critical work.”

Erica Mitchell, CEO-Elect, United Way of Greater Nashville, said, “We are incredibly grateful for Bridgestone's unwavering commitment to our mission. Their generous contributions and dedicated partnership have made a profound impact on our region, helping us unite the community and mobilise resources so that every child, individual and family thrives. Together, we are creating lasting change, and we look forward to continuing this meaningful collaboration.”

JK Tyre & Industries, one of the leading tyre manufacturers in the country, has achieved a new milestone of inaugurating its 100th JK Truck Wheels brand shop in India.

The JK Truck Wheels brand shop acts as a one-stop shop for providing holistic solutions for the truck and bus tyre needs. The new facility has come up in Erode, Tamil Nadu, and is spread across 15,000 sqft. It was inaugurated by Anuj Kathuria, President (India), JK Tyre & Industries.

“This is a significant milestone in our journey to enhance customer experiences across India. It reflects our dedication to providing exceptional services and being the preferred tyre partner for commercial vehicles. We are the most preferred brand in the Truck Bus Radial (TBR) range of products, and we would further consolidate our position in this space by enhancing the overall value. We continue to focus on making the tyre-buying process efficient, customer-centric, and innovative. With Tamil Nadu emerging as a vital transport hub, this milestone outlet strengthens our presence in the region. We are confident that this new JK Truck Wheels will enable us to deepen customer connections, empower fleets, and support businesses across the state,” said Kathuria.

The tyre major currently has established a network of 1,600 touchpoints in southern part of India, of which Tamil Nadu stands as the biggest market for tubeless tyres for trucks and buses. It further aims to expand its market share with high focus on Chennai, Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, Karur, Kanyakumari, Madurai, as well as Puducherry.

Apollo Tyres commemorated the National Farmers Day by holding a felicitation event for farmers who have adopted sustainable farming practices, recognising their dedication to protecting the environment, enhancing food security and building better communities.

Farmers proudly displayed their outstanding organic goods during the event – a lively celebration of sustainable agriculture – in the presence of Mulrajsinh Vaghela, District Livelihood Manager, Vadodara, and Radhika Jadeja, Assistant Director of Horticulture, Gujarat State Government Office, Gandhinagar. The potential of sustainable practices was exemplified by six exceptional farmers who stood out as change agents. They were duly acknowledged, underscoring the significance of agricultural innovation. These farmers are now leading the charge to create a robust and healthful food system, and others may learn from their sustainable methods.

Through the Apollo Tyres Foundation (ATF), Apollo Tyres is advancing sustainable agriculture by encouraging biodiversity, environmental sustainability and community well-being through focused farmer training initiatives. A total of 3,261 farmers in Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have benefited from ATF's training assistance on improved crop planning, enhancing soil health and using organic manure.

Geetaben Shantilal Parmar, one of the farmer beneficiaries, said, “I felt uneasy initially when ATF encouraged me to transition to sustainable practices instead of sticking to conventional agriculture. Change can be hard to implement, especially when it’s something linked to our daily livelihood. However, I soon realised this was a chance to redefine my approach, Now, I enjoy the benefits of farming that uses fewer resources, promotes a rich diversity of crops and livestock and enhances my ability to respond to the unique conditions of my local environment.”

LingLong Tire and Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (Real Madrid) held a meeting on 2 December at the Real Madrid Training Ground (Ciudad Deportiva) in Madrid, Spain. This was the first in-person meeting since the strategic collaboration was formally announced on 27 September.

The meeting was attended by representatives from both sides, including Wang Feng, Chairman of LingLong Tire; Álvaro Arbeloa, Real Madrid Ambassador and Emilio Butragueno, Director of Public Relations for Real Madrid. In order to experience the intense football culture and team spirit, they also went to the Real Madrid training facilities. During their journey to Madrid, LingLong Tire extended a special invitation to its international partners to attend a Real Madrid versus Getafe game at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. This event showcased LingLong's brand image through brand displays around the stadium.

According to the partnership deal, LingLong will work with Real Madrid on market promotion, brand creation, fan interaction and other important areas, thereby increasing LingLong's worldwide visibility and impact. At the same time, LingLong will use Real Madrid's worldwide reach to deepen people's understanding of the product philosophy of safety and high value, as well as the goal of ecologically sustainable development.

Feng said, "The collaboration between LingLong Tire and Real Madrid Club de Fútbol represents an important showcase for the LingLong brand on the global stage. We look forward to elevating LingLong's brand influence worldwide through this partnership while also adding new brilliance to Real Madrid's outstanding track record and brand image."

Pyrum Innovations AG has submitted approval documents under Germany’s BImSchG law for its Green Factory II GmbH at Perl-Besch, paving the way for construction to begin in spring 2025. Despite earlier technical delays at its Dillingen/Saar site, the submission was made on time following receipt of final technical data.

At Dillingen/Saar, Pyrum reached a key milestone with over 2,000 operating hours logged at TAD 2 and 1,000 at TAD 3, meeting critical investment criteria for partners like Remondis. Production intervals for the new lines have been extended from four to four-and-a-half weeks, improving efficiency and output.

CEO Pascal Klein commented: “Shortly before the turn of the year, we have made significant progress in our rollout plan. With the submission of the building permit for Pyrum GreenFactory II GmbH, we have overcome the last major obstacle before the groundbreaking ceremony in spring 2025 in Perl-Besch. In addition, the two new lines have reached a new threshold. The high number of operating hours not only meets the assumed requirements of our partners, but also continues to demonstrate the performance of our technology. We are very proud of this new milestone and are already looking forward to the development of upcoming customer projects.”