The unprecedented lockdown imposed in March last year turned the supply chain of companies upside down, and the tyre companies were no exception. However, the intensity of disturbance was relatively high for Yokohama Off-Highway Tires (YOHT), which exports more than 90 percent of its production. According to Padmakumar G, Executive Vice President – SCM at YOHT, unprecedented lockdown led to unprecedented initiatives for YOHT. “Most importantly, we learned the importance of being able to react, adapt and set up crisis management mechanisms to weather situations of uncertainty,” says Padmakumar G.

Q) Was Yokohama Off-Highway Tires (YOHT) ready for the unprecedented lockdown?

Padmakumar G: The whole of 2020 was an extraordinary time when ‘business as usual’ was not an option. From the beginning of the year, it was clear that we were braced for a marathon and not a sprint.

At work, we had a unique period of simultaneous supply and demand shocks. Our plants in India were closed for a couple of weeks. As they (plants) were finally allowed to operate, we faced government-mandated operating restrictions and labour shortages that prevented us from running the plants at total capacity.

On the positive side, our plant in Israel was running at full capacity and continued shipments as planned. All sales and administrative employees at global locations were working from home and were doing their best to be accessible at all times. In North America, our network of national warehouses was open, stocked at historically high inventory levels and operating at full local, regional, and national distribution capacity to ensure continued deliveries to locations.

Our competitive position, market share, brand and diversification of our businesses in products and regions helped us see some all-time highs during these challenging times.

Q) Vendors and customers got panicked because of the uncertainties instilled by the lockdowns. How did you keep their morale and confidence intact in those tough times?

Padmakumar G: Unprecedented lockdown led to unprecedented initiatives for YOHT. The acute restrictions and lockdowns created many urgent situations that required immediate attention in the early days of the pandemic. At YOHT, we believe that no crisis should go to waste.

Adaptability, inventiveness and tenacity of our team paved the way to a ‘recovery mode’, and we started planning for the longer-term proactively. We did not face substantial business and operational disruptions – from mitigating the effects of reduced supply to managing disruptions to logistics suppliers and hurdles in meeting their contractual obligations to customers.

YOHT has an agile team that quickly reprioritised the customers’ requirement and ensured critical supply continuation through our multiple sourcing locations. We closely integrated with suppliers, vendors and customers to have better visibility. Consistent communication and streamlining the complexity helped us keep our commitments while keeping the morale and confidence in the most challenging times.

Q) YOHT is mainly into export of products and imports of raw materials? How did you cope up with the supply-demand situation?

Padmakumar G: Prioritisation of critical supply with effective utilisation of available inventories of finished goods, raw materials, and production capacities were the immediate focus in the lockdown situation. What also helped is that we have a wide base of sourcing raw material from multiple sources. We were able to keep our facility running at full efficiency to meet market requirement. We stepped up all measures to ensure that our customers get our products in the earliest shipments.

Q) ATG is now a part of Yokohama, a global giant in the tyre industry. What changes has Yokohama brought in the supply chain?

Padmakumar G: Yokohama has a strong legacy of quality, and its manufacturing and supply chain is very process-driven. The Kaizen processes and digitalisation of our daily supply chain activities helped us improve our process and culture. 

Q) What did you learn from the pandemic?

Padmakumar G: The importance of supply chain resilience and risk management is more apparent than ever. Most importantly, we learned the importance of being able to react, adapt and set up crisis management mechanisms to weather situations of uncertainty. 

Q) There has always been pressure to reduce cost and improve efficiency by shortening the order-to-delivery period. Could you share a couple of examples highlighting the company’s efforts that reduced the cost and enhanced supply chain efficiency?

 Padmakumar G: To shorten the order to delivery, YOHT has initiated Strategic Inventory build-up through S&CP (Sales & Capacity Planning) and effective cost management through strategic buying of raw materials. We have also increased the manufacturing flexibility to reduce delivery in our business of handling 3500+SKU’s.

Q) What new ideas will the company implement at the Visakhapatnam plant to have better supply chain management?

Padmakumar G: Investment in technology that will gain data insights like MES & digitalisation, improving transparency and considerations on sustainability in the supply chain will be key focus areas of our SCM processes in the Visakhapatnam plant. 

Q) What are the current challenges in the business?

Padmakumar G: Current situation of increased raw material cost, an aggressive demand for containers and increased shipping cost are some of the major challenges in SCM across industries. 

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Dunlop Motorcycle Europe has strengthened its position in the urban mobility sector by launching the ScootSmart 2, a new all-season scooter tyre engineered to enhance grip, handling and durability under a variety of city riding conditions. The tyre is designed for riders who depend on their scooters for daily transportation, from short commutes to longer journeys through metropolitan areas.

Building on the original ScootSmart introduced in 2012, which gained a strong reputation among scooterists for reliable all-weather performance and longevity, the second-generation model addresses the evolving needs of modern riders. Dunlop has incorporated its sport touring expertise into the ScootSmart 2, blending advanced motorcycle tyre technologies with a design specifically tailored for scooters. The tyre features a new high silica compound that improves traction across a wide range of temperatures and road surfaces, including wet and dry conditions, while preserving mileage performance.

An all-new tread pattern distinguishes the front and rear tyres for specific handling benefits. The front tyre includes a jagged centre groove to cut through surface water and reduce braking distances, with main grooves oriented for effective water dispersion at intermediate speeds. Secondary grooves and shoulder tread elements boost grip on slippery surfaces. At the rear, a continuous tread centre supports wear resistance and dry-road traction, while the groove layout maintains wet-weather grip. Dunlop’s internal testing indicates a 10 percent reduction in wet braking distance compared to the previous version, marking a clear safety improvement.

ScootSmart 2 offers extensive size coverage for a broad range of scooters, from lightweight city models and retro designs to high-end performance maxi scooters. The lineup will ultimately include 75 sizes covering rim diameters from 10 to 16 inches, accounting for roughly 84 percent of the scooter market. Availability across Europe begins in the second quarter of 2026, with the full range arriving in the fourth quarter of that year.

Roberto Finetti, Marketing Manager, Dunlop Motorcycle Europe, said, “With the introduction of ScootSmart 2, Dunlop builds on the proven success of ScootSmart to deliver a clear step forward in performance for today’s scooter riders. The tyre offers stable and well-balanced handling, even for the most demanding riders with a more spirited riding style. Urban riding is full of contrasts. ScootSmart 2 is designed to handle all of them, and our broader launch campaign brings that idea to life in a way that feels dynamic, with playful assets that resonate with the needs of riders in cities, always ready to stop and go.”

Dmitri Talboom, Product Manager, Dunlop Motorcycle Europe, said, “In developing ScootSmart 2, we set out to build on a product that already had a very strong reputation among scooter riders across Europe. We have combined expertise from our sport touring products with a design tailored to optimise urban riding, and have achieved marked improvements in wet grip, braking and handling. The end result is a tyre that gives supreme all-round performance while also delivering the versatility that is essential for everyday use across sporty, classic, high-end performance and commuter scooters.”

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Cooper Tires has strengthened its product offering in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region with the introduction of the Cooper Summer tyre range. This newly launched portfolio is specifically designed for passenger car and sport utility vehicle drivers seeking dependable, no-nonsense performance across a broad spectrum of summer road conditions. The lineup is purpose built without unnecessary frills, focusing squarely on reliable everyday driving.

The Cooper Summer range spans the ultra-high-performance, high-performance, and sport utility vehicle segments, delivering a balanced driving experience where it matters most. Key engineering priorities include energy efficiency, confident braking on wet surfaces and extended tread life. Every tyre in the lineup is engineered to maintain grip consistently over time, ensuring that vehicles can handle daily demands without sacrificing safety or longevity.

This product launch coincides with the rollout of Cooper Tires’ refreshed global brand identity, which draws on over a century of proven durability. The new visual branding underscores the company’s longstanding commitment to rugged reliability and hard-earned confidence, appealing to drivers who value substance over promotional claims. The Cooper Summer range embodies this philosophy by promising road-tested performance rather than empty marketing rhetoric.

The portfolio covers 162 stock keeping units across rim diameters from 14 to 22 inches, addressing 81 percent of the most sought-after fitments in the region. All tyres in the range are electric vehicle ready, reinforcing Cooper’s dedication to durable engineering for modern mobility. To achieve dependable summer performance, the tyre relies on a lightweight, optimised casing with advanced materials that reduce rolling resistance while maintaining high speed stability. An asymmetric tread pattern maximises road contact, and enlarged outer shoulder blocks improve braking stability, while well distributed grooves quickly evacuate water to reduce aquaplaning risks. Stiffer ribs and a balanced footprint promote even pressure distribution, reducing irregular wear, and the compound architecture preserves tread stiffness throughout the tire’s life.

Independent testing by the German publication Auto Motor und Sport in size 195/55R16 placed the Cooper Summer in seventh place with a good rating, praising its safe, precise and reliable handling on both wet and dry roads along with very good aquaplaning protection and rolling comfort. With speed ratings of H, V, W and Y, width ranges from 165 to 285 mm, and aspect ratios from 30 to 70, the Cooper Summer portfolio is positioned to support dealers through the 2026 summer season and beyond, proving that Cooper continues to deliver tough, well-engineered products for real world demands.

Ben Glesener, Senior Technology Director Product Development Consumer EMEA, said, “With the Cooper Summer range, we set out to build a summer portfolio drivers can rely on without hesitation. We engineered this portfolio around three benefits that matter most – energy efficiency, confident wet braking and strong tread wear – and made sure every element of the tyre works together to support them. From the asymmetric tread pattern to the lightweight yet robust casing, Cooper Summer delivers balanced performance without compromise. It’s a significant step forward for Cooper in EMEA, and a clear expression of what the brand stands for today: dependable performance, built with purpose.”

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Doublestar Tire, a leading Chinese tyre manufacturer, recently showcased its flagship products at the 139th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, held in Guangzhou. The event reached a record scale, gathering exhibitors from over 210 countries and regions and highlighting cutting-edge technologies in advanced manufacturing, new energy and low-carbon environmental protection.

Doublestar presented three specialised tyres. The TBR mining tyre D170 was developed for complex mining conditions with enhanced wear, cut and puncture resistance. The new OTR tyre DFA603 offers high loading capacity, safety and durability, boosting support for construction machinery. The PCR star product DH03 provides superior road grip, low rolling resistance, fuel economy, reliable braking and reduced noise for driving comfort.

The company’s participation demonstrated its continuous research and innovation in professional fields and reaffirmed its commitment to overseas markets. Doublestar aims to provide safer, more energy-efficient and intelligent tyre products and travel solutions, earning widespread professional recognition.

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Continental is showcasing ‘The Sound of Premium’, an immersive installation, at Milan Design Week 2026 held at BASE Milano from 20 to 26 April. The experience translates the brand’s advanced tire engineering into a multisensory journey, redefining how urban mobility sounds. Key technologies on display included Continental’s noise-reducing ContiSilent and Urban Silent Technology, which actively lower rolling noise through sound-absorbing materials inside the tire and tread patterns optimised for city speeds.

Cities are dense with movement and noise, where even invisible elements like tyres shape the acoustic environment. Continental’s technologies reduce road noise at its source, enhancing both driving stability and interior comfort. The installation invites visitors to reconsider urban sound not as a nuisance to be eliminated but as an element that can be precisely engineered and controlled.

The exhibition unfolds in three distinct phases: chaos, harmony and quiet. Layered city sounds first create tension and disorientation, then gradually dissolve as rhythm and balance emerge. The journey ends in a state of calm defined not by silence alone but by acoustic precision. A tyre displayed as a design object underscores how engineering can improve urban well‑being.

An interactive installation of 25 touch points allows visitors to shape their own sound environment in real time, activating different acoustic layers through touch. Each participant creates a personal composition reflecting their rhythm and sensitivity. The resulting experience can be recorded and shared via QR code, extending the dialogue between technology and individual expression beyond the exhibition space.

As electric vehicles become more widespread, rolling noise has grown into a dominant source of urban traffic sound. Continental meets this challenge by applying its expertise at the tyre‑road interface, developing measurable reductions in interior noise. Through ‘The Sound of Premium’, the company positions silence not as emptiness but as a performance feature.

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