This is the seventh in a series of reports about the Reifen 2014 International Trade Fair from esteemed international journalist John Stone. The event is being held in Essen, Germany, May 27-30.
Stone, who writes European Notebook for Modern Tire Dealer, wrote previews in his inimitable British style until the show began. This is his report on Day Three of the show.
As the third and penultimate day of the Reifen Show in Germany draws to a close, I have once again been seeking out developments and announcements from exhibitors in what has been another lively session.
First of all: a summary of the Triangle Tyre Group press conference last night (Wednesday), which took the theme of 'Shaping the Foundation for Growth' and explained that during the past few months the company has been redefining how to drive its business forward in the future.
Having opened its Global Business Centre in Shanghai almost a year ago to focus on international market developments in Europe, Triangle intends to establish a new strategy for both PCR and TBR products based on market situation and competitors' movements.
Europe also will see the launch of new Triangle products within the next few years that will eventually replace its complete current PCR product portfolio. This strategy will be based around filling gaps in key sizes in Europe. The company also intends to introduce a new SUV range in Europe in due course.
Triangle also has revealed plans to further develop its distributor network, particularly in regional locations, markets and segments where there is an opportunity for strong growth. Of particular interest will be Germany, France and a number of emerging markets such as Romania.
Over at the Bridgestone booth, a series of new truck and bus patterns are attracting a lot of interest, including the U-AP 001 All Position Urban tire and the new Generation Firestone FS422 Steer, FD622 Drive and FT522 Trailer tires. Also, Marangoni is presenting special video screenings of their RingTread system and hot retreading for trucks.
GT Radial (pictured) is focused on the European debut of its GSR225 Combi Road Multi Usage pattern, which includes a special tread and base compound for improved mileage. Nexen has three new tires taking centre-stage on their booth: the N'blue HD Plus, Winguard Snow G and Winguard Snow WT1.
The final day tomorrow will, as always, be a quiet day as the event winds down, so this report concludes my daily bulletins "live" from the show. However, next week I will be presenting a final general overview of the four-day show.
To read Stone's previous reports on Reifen 2014, check out these links:
"Exhibitors get serious at Reifen 2014."
"Reifen 2014: innovation from Yokohama and Pirelli."
"New products, corporate image at Reifen Show."
"Reifen 2014 countdown, plus a point S preview."
