Stamford Tyres Distributors India Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stamford Tyres Corporation Limited (Stamford Tyres), today launched the new Falken ZIEX ZE912 radial across its distribution network in India. Working in partnership with Sumitomo Rubber Industries – the Japanese designer and manufacturer of Falken and Dunlop tyres – Stamford Tyres will market the ZE912 tyre to owners of passenger cars, wagons and mini-vans.

Mr. Wee Kok Wah, President of Stamford Tyres said, “the ZE912 will become the core product of the Falken range that we sell. It sits in the middle (of the Falken range) between its top Ultra-High Performance tyres and its entry-level line. The ZE912 is a high-performance tyre with broad market appeal with sizes that can fit at least 80% of the mid to upper segment passenger cars and MPVs now used on Indian roads. This means if a driver pulls up at one of our dealer outlets, we will have a ZE912 tyre that will be just right for his car.”

Continuing Mr. Wee added, “though the ZE912 comes in a huge range of sizes – 66 in all -- it actually replaces two earlier Falken ranges. So the ZE912 is more efficient for Stamford Tyres’ logistics system to handle – we can now serve our customers with one range of tyres instead of two. I see the ZE912 helping to boost our Falken sales across the country.”

The Falken ZE912 offers drivers both excellent dry and wet road handling thanks to its asymmetric tread pattern and second-generation silica-based tread compound. The tyre also features low vibration and noise characteristics. The ZE912 comes in 66 sizes from 12” to 18” wheel diameters and are designed to be suitable for at least 80 per cent of all mid to upper segment passenger cars presently on Indian roads.

The Falken ZE912 is designed in Japan and manufactured both in Japan and in Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ newest manufacturing facility in Rayong, Thailand. The plant in Thailand is Sumitomo’s newest and most advanced tyre plant in the world and uses the Sun manufacturing system which produces tyres with high uniformity in carcass and tread. The 584,000 m2 factory has an output in excess of 9,000 tyres/day and started production in December 2006. The facility was set up at an investment cost of US$150 million.

More on the Falken ZE912

A new asymmetric tyre, the ZE912 offers high speed response and ride comfort for passenger cars, wagons and mini-vans. The ZE912 is positioned between Falken’s entry-level models such as the Falken FK 07U and its flagship Ultra-High Performance FalkenFK452.

The ZE912 has a unique tread pattern which gives drivers a balanced performance -- 53% of the tread is optimized for dry grip and cornering, while 47% of tread is designed for handling in wet conditions. The tread pattern has a combination of grooves, sipes and tiebars along with a new high-wear silica compound that improves wet weather handling.

The ZE912 also features a “Special Eye” to indicate when tyre rotation is required to help lengthen the tyre’s lifespan and maintain its performance.

Falken’s engineers have also introduced a “self-maintenance” system for the ZE912. The tread compound has an “anti-ageing” additive that is constantly refreshing the tyre tread compound to counteract the hardening and reduction in performance that is caused by UV light, ozone and oxidation.

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About Stamford Tyres Distributors India Pvt Ltd and Stamford Tyres Corporation Limited

Stamford Tyres Distributors India Pvt Ltd (STDIPL) was established in 2006 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Stamford Tyres Corporation Limited (Stamford Tyres). STDIPL has its main office in Mumbai with sales and distribution network across India.

Established in Singapore in the 1930s, Stamford Tyres is today a global tyre and light alloy wheel specialist offering integrated value-added services including global distribution, retail operations as well as fleet and mining management services. Stamford Tyres also manufactures alloy wheels and carries out tyre outsource contract manufacturing.

About Falken

Falken is a high performance tyre brand owned by Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. based in Japan. Falken brand tyres, produced with the advanced Japanese technology, are superior in quality and also fitted as Original Equipment to many small size cars such as Suzuki Wagon-R and Alto in the Japanese market.