Amtel-Vredestein, Russia's largest passenger car tyre producer has signed an agreement with OJSC Severstal-Avto to supply Amtel tyres for the Fiat Albea cars which will be produced in Russia.

Amtel-Vredestein N.V., a leading European tyre producer and Russia's largest passenger car tyre manufacturer, has announced that its Russian subsidiary, OJSC Amtel-Vredestein, has signed an agreement with OJSC Severstal-Avto, the sole distributor for Fiat in Russia, to supply Amtel tyres for Fiat Albea cars produced in Russia. The first supply is planned for the first quarter of 2008, with up to 10,000 tyres per month.

“We are proud to cooperate with such a dynamically developing company as Severstal-Avto. Year after year, Amtel-Vredestein has been extending its client list with international and local car manufacturers,” said Amtel-Vredestein CEO Petr Zolotarev. “This agreement is one more proof of the international quality of Amtel tyres.”

The contract to supply tyres to Severstal-Avto has been in preparation for about two years. The main supplier will be the Amtel-Povolzhye tyre complex in Kirov, the only plant in the Russian tyre industry to receive two ISO certificates: compliance with quality standards ISO/TS 16949:2002 and ecology certificate 14001:2004. Amtel tyres have passed certificate tests at the Balocco testing area, in Italy, and numerous audit tests by Severstal-Avto and Fiat specialists at the company’s plant in Kirov.

“We've chosen Amtel tyres for its exceptional performance, reliability, quality and safety,” noted Peter Tissington, Head of Centre of Localization, Severstal-avto “Our thorough examination has shown that these tyres are in full compliance with the high quality standards of Fiat cars produced at our facility.”

Fiat Albea production in Russia began in December 2006 by the Severstal-Avto at its facility in Naberezhny Chelni city. By the end of 2007, it will have produced more than 20,000 FIAT Albeas. Severstal-Avto started selling FIATs in Russia on September 1, 2006, and is the sole distributor for all Fiat models in Russia.

Amtel-Vredestein company produces a wide range of tyres for passenger cars, motorbikes, bicycle, trucks and light commercial vehicles, and is the only producer in Russia of large-diameter tyres for agricultural and industrial machinery. The company focuses on Passenger Car Tyres under Vredestein, Amtel and Maloya brands. Vredestein tyres are famous for their exceptional performance in all weather conditions and are suited to a wide variety of luxury automobiles, including Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche. Amtel is the leading value-for-money tyre brand in Russia while Maloya, the Company’s medium-priced brand, is an ever-popular choice across Europe for vans as well as passenger cars.

Amtel-Vredestein’s range of industrial tyres provides performance and value for money for industrial vehicles, for fast traffic (up to 130 km/h), for slow traffic (up to 20 km/h) or for specific grassland and horticultural machinery. The unique Traxion+ Tractor Radial and the popular Flotation Pro Implement Radial have been designed to cope with the needs of larger, state-of-the-art farms.

As customers increasingly focus on the quality of their lifestyle, the Company has developed an impressive line of Vredestein bicycle tyres that includes a range for kid’s bicycles, trekking, tour/city, mountain bikes, mopeds/scooters and racing bikes. The company’s scooter tyres, Staccata and Tornante, are the first sports and all-weather touring scooter tyres to be developed in collaboration with top Italian industrial designer Giugiaro Design.