Goodyear Dunlop invests in West Midlands’ future
TYRE manufacturer Goodyear Dunlop is helping to support hundreds of jobs in Birmingham and Wolverhampton by use of innovative new technology – Duncan Tift reports from the Geneva Motor Show.
The company used a strategically located stand at the Geneva Motor Show, flanked by the likes of supercar brands Koenigsegg and Bugatti, to highlight some of its latest advances.
The new technology is set to become standard on many of the company’s products and will help to preserve jobs in the future.
The innovative use of such technology will help to ensure the company can maintain its recent strong performance, underlined by 2011 results which showed a 21% hike in global sales.
The technology is designed to save motorists money while offering enhanced safety and performance together with better environmental credentials.
The West Midlands has played a key part in the process and virtually all of the compounds used in the manufacturing process started out at the Wolverhampton factory.
One of the most radical steps includes Air Maintenance Technology, a self-inflating tyre system set to reduce fuel consumption by ensuring a tyre is always at the correct pressure. This has been designed to counteract the problems caused by around 40% of drivers who never check their tyre pressures.
Goodyear Dunlop is also working with electric vehicle manufacturers on a noiseless tyre for use in cities. The company’s Electric Vehicle Tire Technology has been developed for EU-project CityHush.
Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology, which is used at the firm’s motorsport factory in Birmingham, is being taken from the race track to the road to make consumer and fleet tyres more intelligent in the future.
The firm even showcased its innovative Spring Tire, which is an airless tyre originally designed in conjunction with NASA for use on the moon. The spring mesh system is now helping the company to enhance performance for road-going tyres.
One of the key changes which will be most noticeable by consumers will be the introduction of new tyre labeling.
Following introduction of new EU legislation, from November 2012 all tyres sold will carry a standardised label similar to those seen on white goods which will provide information on three key characteristics – rolling resistance, wet grip and exterior rolling noise.
Jean Pierre Jeusette, head of the Goodyear Innovation Centre, said: “Goodyear Dunlop has always been proactive in research and development and we are looking forward to displaying a range of innovations that people will never have seen before.
“These technologies have been specifically developed to meet the ever-changing requirements of modern consumers and society focused on safety, performance, sustainability, the environment and convenience.”
