Гумите Linglong изненадаха тест-шофьорите на Test World във Финландия

Гумите на Linglong бяха определени като „Черните коне” при тестването на гуми, след заемането им на четвърто място в изследване, направено от Финландската фирма – Test World. Гумите на фирмата според опита на тест- шофьорите оставят отлични впечатления, „особено в аспекта поведение на пътя в мокри условия”. Според новинарската част от сайта на Linglong в World Test 2011 бяха изпитани повече от 12 марки летни гуми, включващи гуми от Goodyear, Continental, Bridgestone. LingLong се представи със своите Green-max продукти в теста.

Резултатите от Световния тест показаха, че гумите Linglong се представиха „спокойно при шофиране и предлагат добра странична устойчивост и контрол при теста управление, извъртане и усукване”. По всички критерии гумите Linglong събраха 7,6 точки, поставящи ги на четвърто място измежду тестваните марки след Continental, Goodyear и Pirelli. Всичко това доведе до изказването на тест-шофьорите: „ Linglong беше изненада, биваща откровено най-добрата Китайска гума тествана от нас. Linglong победи гуми от известни и по-скъпи марки.”

Китайската автомобилна информационна мрежа написа: „Гумата Linglong не беше особено забележителна във всеки тест и нейния спирачен път на мокра настилка има нужда от подобрение, но се представи много добре на другите тестове. Linglong предложи прилична хоризонтална тяга и лесно управление при шофиране”.

Според тестовете и крайните резултати Linglong са се концентрирали върху сигурността. Работено е повече за представянето и управлението на гумата при мокър асфалт. В допълнение с другите тествани характеристики, като поведение при шофиране, устойчивост при въртене, спиране, поведение във водна среда, избягване, шум и комфорт.

Test World е независима организация, специализирана в тестването на гуми и автомобили. Осигурява професионални тестове за заводи, произвеждащи гуми и автомобили, а също така и за авторитетни списания за автомобилизъм.

Ling Long Tyres has funded automotive industry charity BEN’s Henley Regatta celebration at the Lynwood Care Home, near Ascot. The event was attended by residents of the Home, the staff, and their families and friends, who, as Ray Diggins (BEN’s Head of Marketing) said: “always like to get involved”. Harjeev Kandhari, chief executive of the Al Dobowi Group and Jorge Crespo, European general manager of Eskay Tyres, which distributes Ling Long manufactured products, also attended the event.
The event included a special “regatta-style” game of bingo, which included prizes, followed by strawberries and cream, banana boats, assorted nibbles, cakes, fruit, teas and Pimms. In addition to the afternoon to mark Henley Royal Regatta week, Ling Long provided the funding for BEN to hold a cream-tea afternoon in the near future.

Crespo stated: “We are glad to be involved in events such as this one because they do a lot of good for the local community.” Diggins said: “the party was a great success all around. We like to do a Henley afternoon every year; it ties in well with the other events that go on throughout the year. Thanks to the generous donation, the residents will be able to have not one, but two events this year.”

Following many financial reports from tyre companies suggesting that sales are up but profits have not necessarily followed suit, it seems that the high price of rubber – cited as a major profit-eating factor – is set to continue its upward momentum in the near future. The Financial Times says heavy rains in south-east Asian rubber growing regions are responsible, having disrupted tapping in the region, thus limiting supply. According to the report, this situation is unlikely to be alleviated until 2012.

Tyrepress.com has reported rising tyre prices frequently over the past year, as manufacturers react to the combination of rebounding demand for tyres and limited and expensive supplies of raw materials. The FT quotes a senior economist at the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries, Jom Jacob, who suggests that the “concerns over natural rubber supply are likely to persist until the end of 2011.”

Calling it the worst natural rubber shortage in years, industry analysts expect record shortages to continue into next year, according to reports. Heavy demand by tyre-makers around the globe coupled with a combination of drought and heavy rains in plantation areas has sharply reduced output and inventories of natural rubber, according to Bloomberg, with analysts saying natural rubber production will continue to lag for the next two years. What that means is further increases in natural rubber costs to tyre-makers, and higher finished good prices for tyre dealers and consumers.

Inventories of natural rubber are expected to fall 12 per cent to less than 70 days of demand in 2011, the lowest inventory level in more than a decade, according to some sources. Meanwhile, consumption will outstrip those inventories by nearly 130,000 metric tons, the most since 2007. Natural rubber sales are increasing at the fastest rate since 2005, according to the International Monetary Fund, thanks to growing demand from the global economic recovery.

At the same time, lengthy drought conditions coupled with heavy rains and flooding at plantations in Thailand and Indonesia sharply reduced tapping and processing, further pressuring natural rubber prices. Thailand’s production is expected to be off as much as 5 per cent from 2009, while Indonesia’s output will come in slightly lower than the year prior.

Weather and demand pressures are expected to reduce inventories by 6 per cent heading into 2011. Driven by growing OE – up 8 per cent globally – and replacement market tyre sales, global natural rubber consumption, though, is expected to rise 9.4 per cent this year, and by a like amount in 2011.

Some analysts think natural rubber futures will hit $4 a kilogram by March on the Singapore Commodity Exchange, a 14 per cent increase from current prices. Bloomberg said that prices hit a record $4.11 in April 2010 and booked $3.50 per kilogram on 20 September, still up 22 per cent year-on-year. (Tire Review)