Industry Opinion

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Electric vehicle battle moves beyond cars

For the future of automotive technology perhaps we should look to the skies, or even below the sea

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Dr Peter Harrop, chairman, IDTechEx

Positive signals for the Italian plastics and rubber machinery industry

According to Assocomaplast (the Italian trade association, a Confindustria member, of 160 manufacturers of plastics and rubber machinery, equipment and molds), ISTAT data related to the January-April 2010 period confirm the recovery of the sector, including import-export results, after the serious crisis that hit the industry throughout 2009 and well beyond.

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Stefania Arioli, Assocomaplast

Costly misconception

Over the past 13 years I have written many articles on the subject of balancing tires and complete wheel assemblies. What is also important to talk about now, is shock absorbers.

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Roger Le Blanc, Counteract Balancing Beads Inc

Economic recovery? Only if WE collaborate

So, with the hard fought UK election battle in the not too distant past, what exactly did we learn from the creation of the coalition government? What message did this give to business leaders of today or tomorrow? Was it that you can only win if you can beat the opposition into submission through a war of words and half-baked truths? Businesses don’t succeed like that. We have to know our strengths and how to use them to compliment those of our clients and our suppliers.

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Martin Wing, Kepner-Tregoe

Defending TPMS

A number of car companies in the UK have voiced criticism of the European Union’s decision to make TPMS fully mandated by 2014. The criticism has focussed on a suggestion that they are an unnecessary piece of technology and one for which some motorists have suggested that they would rather not pay. The rationale advanced from some quarters is that a driver should take responsibility and check tire pressures on a weekly basis; clearly this does not happen.

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Alfonso Di Pasquale, Schrader Electronics

Racing tips from a tire engineer

Official FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) tire supplier Yokohama offers a behind-the-scenes look on what tire advice its experts give to the star drivers and their teams.

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Susumu Watanabe, technical department manager, Yokohama

Tire 'squaring' dangers for motorcyclists

Motorcycle riders are being warned of the dangers that continuous upright riding on fast straight routes can do to their bikes' tires.

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Gary Hartshorne, motorcycle tire technical specialist for TyreSafe

New tires still let down motorists

Road users' lives are at risk because a quarter of new tires legally sold in the UK do not meet the most stringent safety tests.

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David Smith, managing director, Continental Tyres UK

Dynamic material and sensing equipment

While EU regulations are heavily increasing the test requirements on end-products, fatigue testing of tire reinforcements under the relevant stress loads should be done in the early design stage of new material and tire developments.

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Philippe van Bogaert, Bogimac

ASEAN aggressive in global rubber and plastics

Whilst often viewed in the shadow of its massive Northern neighbour, China, the Southeast Asian grouping of nations known as ASEAN continues to be a hotbed of activity in the rubber and plastics sector.

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Eva Rugenstein, Messe Dusseldorf, Germany