Michelin Primary 4: Safe When New, Safe When Worn

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Michelin, the world’s leading tire company, is revolutionizing the Philippines’ local tire market with the recent launch of its latest generation tire in the Primacy range: MICHELIN Primacy 4. As the concept ‘Safe When New, Safe When Worn’ suggests, the tire provides lasting safety and excellent performance in both new and worn states, throughout its entire life cycle. Moreover, it also serves as a reference of silent tires that provide the ultimate driving comfort and experience.

Michael Nunag, Chief Representative of Michelin Philippines revealed: “A tire’s grip and braking performance – especially on wet roads – is critical to road safety in our country. Filipino consumers today choose their tires based on their characteristics when they are new. But what happens to grip and braking performance after 50,000 kilometers, or after a few years of use? In the tire industry performance tests are typically conducted on new products. Michelin is a step ahead. We want to demonstrate that our performance is maintained with mileage and time”, Nunag added.

Michelin commissioned TÜV Rheinland Thailand Limited to test new and worn MICHELIN Primacy 4 tires on wet roads, as well as new and worn tires of other premium brands. The findings were very impressive: on wet roads, Michelin Primacy 4 tires brake 2.5 meters shorter when new, and 5.1 meters shorter when worn, versus the other premium brands. Even more surprisingly, it was found that worn Primacy 4 tires brake 1.8 meters shorter than brand new tires of some other premium brands.

The new MICHELIN Primacy 4 comes with two innovative technologies that took 3 years to design. Firstly, the EverGrip™ Technology, consisting of two features: A new sculpture that provides increased water evacuation space by 50% for wet grip as the tire wears with usage, which allows the tire to still safely grip wet roads even when worn. A new-generation rubber compound, which – by bonding rubber and silica more strongly and evenly together – provides uniform energy dissipation upon contact with the road, resulting in better grip on wet roads, even when worn.

Secondly, the 2^nd-Generation Silent Rib Technology featuring inter-locking bands to minimize the deformation of tread blocks as the tire is rolling. This reduces air pumping sound effects for a more silent ride, and provides better shock absorption in response to road obstacles for a more comfortable ride.

“The new MICHELIN Primacy 4 addresses two major pain points of consumers in our country: safety journey after journey, due to unfavorable road conditions and rain-related accidents; and on comfort, due to challenging road and traffic conditions,” Nunag said. “Sustainability of our products is Michelin’s key corporate strategy. Instead of producing tires that are easily depleted, we strive to provide tires that provide safety and true value to consumers, while respecting the environment, throughout its full life cycle,”.

In the Philippines, the new MICHELIN Primacy 4 will be marketed from mid-August onwards; and will be available in 64 sizes, from 15- to 18-inch diameter, offering fitments for premium vehicles designed for safety and driving comfort. Michelin Primacy 4 is available at  ‘TYREPLUS’ and Michelin’s authorized dealers across the nation. For more information, please visit www.michelin.com.ph

Smart Wins Int’l Award for Youth Disaster Preparedness Program

Wazzup Pilipinas!

A program of Smart Communications that mobilizes young Filipinos to advocate a culture of disaster preparedness won at the prestigious Golden World Awards (GWA), which recognizes public relations practices that meet international standards of excellence.

The TNT Tropang Ready (Team Ready) Disaster Preparedness Caravan emerged as winner in the Community Engagement category of the GWA, and will be formally awarded on October 19 in Barcelona, Spain. Established in 1990, the GWA is organized annually by the International Public Relations Association.

The TNT Tropang Ready program involves tours of schools all over the country to empower the youth to become disaster preparedness ambassadors in their own communities. Students are taught what to do before, during, and after disasters like earthquakes, floods, and fire. It targets millennials because their digital savviness makes them the perfect disseminators of preparedness information among family and friends.

Entertainment is injected into the program to keep its young audience attentive and engaged. For example, students are encouraged to express their creativity in the paracord-making segment of the program. Paracords are sturdy rope bracelets they can wear every day, which can be untangled and used during emergencies.

Experts are also present to share survival tips, discuss local hazards, and introduce students to mobile apps and phone features that could help them in the face of disasters.

Partner schools are encouraged to cascade what they have learned to their adopted communities through their extension programs or the National Service Training Program (NSTP).

In less than a year, the TNT Tropang Ready Caravan engaged thousands of students and faculty from universities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. NSTP students of Batangas State University went on to conduct their own mini-Tropang Ready, which was attended by parents of government scholars in their community. 

The TNT Tropang Ready Caravan is part of Smart’s #SafePH program, which promotes preparedness through mobile solutions and activities that help communities mitigate disaster risks. #SafePH includes on-ground events and solutions such as the Emergency Cell Broadcast System (ECBS), a platform for sending location- and hazard-specific emergency alerts; and the Batingaw emergency app, which can be used to report incidents and features safety tools such as a flashlight, siren, and radio.

For more information about Smart’s corporate social responsibility programs, please visit the Smart Communities page on Facebook.

Hybridization and Genset Optimization to save NAPOCOR up to P2.25 Billion

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Hybridization, in combination with properly maintained generator sets (gensets), will enable the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) to save around P2.25 billion annually.

This was one of the major findings of a study conducted by experts of the European Union (EU)-funded - Access to Sustainable Energy Programme (ASEP).

ASEP is a joint undertaking of the European Union and the Philippine Department of Energy (DOE). Through ASEP, the EU has allocated a grant of over PhP 3 billion to assist the Philippine Government in meeting its rural electrification targets through renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency.

“Our study shows that there will be an estimated P1/kWh cost reduction if NAPOCOR adopts a solar hybridization of its large-scale power plants, which will result in at least P500M savings," said ASEP Strategic Advisor Dr. Christoph Menke as he addressed energy stakeholders in Powertrends 2018.

He added that another study shows that adopting hybridization in NAPOCOR'S mini-grids and ensuring diesel gensets are running at optimal levels will result in a cost reduction of around P4.5/kWh, which is almost P2.25 billion of annual savings.

According to Dr. Menke, the cost reduction will help bring down the electricity bills of consumers.

A hybrid mini-grid combines at least two different kinds of technologies for power generation and distributes the electricity to several consumers through an independent grid. The mini-grid is supplied by a mix of RE sources and a backup genset which is powered by diesel fuel.

In his presentation, Dr. Menke said the study shows that the huge savings will be realized if the RE share in power generation is at least 23% of the energy mix. On top of this, hybridization will result in better reliability and improved service hours of power plants.

“A hybrid mini-grid will increase the resilience and efficiency of our power generation assets, reduce fuel consumptions and dependence on diesel, which in turn reduce emissions that are harmful to the environment," Dr. Menke stressed.

Furthermore, the study also found that the hybridization of the fuel source of power plants would result in the reduction of DOE’s Universal Charge on Missionary Electrification (UCME) subsidies and attract the private sector to invest in hybridized power generation.