Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone) has been honoured with the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for its contribution and commitment to improving road safety through its Bridgestone Road Safety Program (BSRP). Bridgestone was selected the winner based on its high level of corporate commitment that covers both strategic support for NGOs and the opportunity for employee involvement.

By leveraging education, knowledge exchange and strategic alliances, the BRSP promotes road safety worldwide and helps achieve United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.6, which calls for a halving of traffic-related fatalities and injuries by 2030. The initiative refocused in 2019 to concentrate on four key areas: safer roads, safer communities, safer mobility and employee engagement. Bridgestone's footprint in more than 150 countries and regions supports this realignment.

In line with Bridgestone’s commitment to community safety and underscoring the company’s global road safety vision of ‘Safer journeys and mobility for all’, the BSRP lives by its mantra of ‘Life is a journey. Let’s make it a safe one’ and is engaged in road safety initiatives across various regions. Some of the major initiatives include the ‘Bridgestone Road Safety Project’ in Thailand, ‘Project Sarthi’ in India, the ‘Sicurezza on the Road’ programme in Italy, the ‘Think Before You Drive – Kids’ programme in Latin America and as a member of society providing ‘Tires and Solutions that carry lives’ in Japan. Additionally, in 2022, Bridgestone committed to donating a total of USD 1 million to the United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) over four years (2022–2025) to enhance road safety on a global scale.

Paul Choo, Chief Human Resources Officer, responsible for HR and CSR across Bridgestone Asia Pacific, India, China (BSAPIC), said, “It is a true honour to receive the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award, one of the highest accolades in road safety. At Bridgestone, we continually strive to deliver value to our customers and communities, and the BSRP is an essential part of our efforts to achieve this. The programme’s initiatives consider the needs of each community and integrate road safety efforts tailored to bettering the daily lives of local road-users. This award serves as a testament to Bridgestone’s dedication to our ongoing collaboration with local stakeholders and the development of innovative strategies aimed at educating the next generation about road safety.”

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.”