This is the sixth 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 Two of the show.
On the second day of the Reifen show, the weather has improved and attendance has been very strong, with most exhibitors reporting a refreshing amount of interest being shown by visitors toward their products. Some companies are even suggesting that they have been surprised by the number of orders being confirmed this early in the show.
Today, on behalf of MTD, I have had three very successful meetings/interviews with Hunter Engineering, Triangle Tyre and point S Group, and obtained exclusive reports on the company's objectives for being at the show.
At Hunter, I spoke with Pete Liebetreu, senior product manager, who is based at the company's headquarters in St Louis and is at the show to oversee Hunter's European debut of two new products, which were originally launched at the SEMA Show in Vegas last November.
1. Hunter's New Revelation tire changer has already a lot of attention at the booth with ongoing demonstrations on its smooth and accurate operation impressing an increasing amount of visitors.
2. At the same time, the new Hunter Truck Alignment system, which incorporates a special six sensor rolling compensation facility, is going to 'break new ground' in the industry through its ability to significantly reduce alignment set-up times for trucks.
Over at the Triangle booth (pictured), I chatted with Jenner Powell, vice president of marketing, who explained that the Shanghai-based tire manufacturer is using the show to underline the company's acceleration into becoming a real global tire player, and I will be attending a special press conference this evening when more important details will be released on this project. I will be covering another update on Triangle in tomorrow's report.
Finally at point S, Fabien Bouquet, deputy managing director, explained that with Germany being the company's largest member country throughout Europe, it is essential that point S has a strong presence at the show. Also on display were the concept design for point S's new third generation tire pattern of their own house brand, which will be introduced in January 2015.
Taking everything into consideration, it has been a very interesting day at the show, and it will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings.
To read Stone's previous reports on Reifen 2014, check out these links:
"Reifen 2014: innovation from Yokohama and Pirelli."
"New products, corporate image at Reifen Show."
"Reifen 2014 countdown, plus a point S preview."
