Bridgestone has launched the U-AP 002, its new flagship tyre in the city bus segment, to tackle urban mobility challenges while also reducing the total cost of ownership.

Developed in Bridgestone’s European Research and Development Centre in Rome and produced in Europe, the Bridgestone U-AP 002 is the successor to the U-AP 001 and comes with a B-grade rolling resistance to reduce fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. The new flagship tyre also offers 9 percent longer tyre life to ensure excellent mileage.

The Bridgestone U-AP 002 comes with a 200kg load capacity and is suitable for eight tonne steer axles. Apart from keeping CO2 emissions in check, the new tyre is engineered to reduce urban noise pollution by 2dB compared to its predecessor. The tyre’s closed pattern design supports city driving at a higher torque while the new sipe geometry protects it from side forces during operation, resulting in reduced noise levels, lower rolling resistance and prolonged wear life.

The new flagship tyre is developed using an improved rubber compound along with an improved drainage with a central water channel to ensure excellent grip in wet conditions. The new tyre also comes with 3PMSF and M+S markings to make it winter ready. All Bridgestone U-AP 002 tyres in 22.5-inch variants are RFID enabled for easy tracking throughout their entire lifecycle.

Tested in seven countries by Bridgestone’s fleet customers across internal combustion, hybrid and electric powertrains, the new tyre has already hit the market in its master size 275/70 R22.5 on April 1, 2021. The pre-cured tread for the master size will start rolling out at the end of 2021 to support Bridgestone’s ‘Total Tyre Care’ approach. The company will launch the tyre in three more sizes – 245/70 R19.5, 215/75 R17.5 and 315/60 R22.5 – later in the year, while the 265/70 R19.5 size is slated for a 2022 launch.

Mark Tejedor, VP - Commercial Replacement and OE, Bridgestone EMIA, said, “Urban mobility is faced with various challenges, such as inner-city CO2 emissions and noise pollution – challenges we’re investing in to help address. Public bus transport is an integral part of a city’s ecosystem and we’re delighted to launch a tyre that helps to tackle these various issues at once. Increased mileage, reduced fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, noise and total cost of ownership – these are features that benefit our customers, the environment and city life.” (TT)

LANXESS, a specialty chemicals company, has successfully placed a six-year-tenor euro benchmark bond with a coupon of 0.0 percent in the European capital market.
The company, with about 14,800 employees in 33 countries, will use the funds to finance the planned acquisition of IFF, a US-based chemical company involved in microbial control.

The new bond is listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange in denominations of EUR 1,000.

Michael Pontzen, CFO, LANXESS, said, “We have secured the first step of financing already quickly after the announcement of the acquisition of IFF Microbial Control and are happy about the very receptive reaction of the capital market to our offering.” (TT)

Goodyear has launched its new RT-3B bead-to-bead tread in US and Canada in sizes 20.5R25 and 23.5R25 for off-the-road (OTR) tyres.

The new retread provides all-around performance for loaders and graders. Joining the existing lineup of premium off-the-road Goodyear tyres, the retread provides up to 60 percent savings compared to a new tyre.

Used extensively in gruelling OTR applications, retreading helps extend the life of tyres while delivering high traction and minimal tread wear. Additionally, retreading promotes sustainability by reducing unnecessary waste.

The new Goodyear RT-3B is cured in a mould and press method to generate low heat through long hours of usage via its 115-level tread depth. Strongly cut-resistant in nature, the centerline lugs and open shoulder provides optimal traction.

Loic Ravasio, General Manager, Global and Americas OTR, Goodyear, said, “We are always focused on delivering high value and low cost of ownership to our OTR customers. The RT-3B is a substantial addition to our retread portfolio providing another great option for operators to help drive efficiency, reduce costs and protect the environment.” (TT)

Anshuman Singhania, Dy. Managing Director of JK Tyre, has been appointed managing director of the company, effective October 21,2020.

Anshuman Singhania joined the Company as an Executive and over the years has been deeply involved in various activities of the Company in different positions, said the company.

Singhania is also Vice Chairman of ATMA

He is a graduate from Oxford Brookes University, UK and an alumnus of London Business School. As a young leader, he started his career from the shop floor as an apprentice and has held several positions in Planning, Production, Product Development, Quality Control, Stores & Purchase, Finance as well as Sales & Marketing. Being a techno-savvy person, he has played a key role in implementing the latest technologies in the manufacturing process at JK Tyre.

Yokohama Off-Highway Tires recently held the groundbreaking and foundation stone unveiling ceremony of its new plant at Atchutapuram, Visakhapatnam - Andhra Pradesh, India.

In the online event, Masataka Yamaishi , President & Chairman of the Board, Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd broke the ground to commence construction work.

Yamaishi San unveiled the Foundation Stone virtually in the presence of Atao Kishi San: Chairman - ATC Tires Pvt. Ltd. and Managing Officer - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., Nitin Mantri – CEO and Anil Gupta – COO and the leadership team at Yokohama Off-Highway Tires.

The new plant will have a daily production capacity of 55 tons (rubber weight), with planned capital investment totalling US$165 million. The plant, which will be the company’s third plant in India, will manufacture its three brands ALLIANCE, GALAXY and PRIMEX brand tyres.

 Yokohama Off-Highway Tires currently has two tyre plants in India—the Dahej Plant in Gujarat and the Tirunelveli Plant in Tamil Nadu.