Goodyear Dunlop and Continental Opt for Christian Salvesen

Logistics specialist Christian Salvesen has agreed warehousing and distribution deals with two of the UK’s leading tyre companies.

Firstly, Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK has announced that it is to extend its logistics partnership with the company. This will mean that Christian Salvesen will take over the operation of the National Distribution Centre (NDC) at TyreFort in Erdington, Birmingham, in addition to its current responsibilities for the transportation and distribution of tyres, which began in 2002.

Martin Donald, logistics director for Goodyear Dunlop UK, stated: “This signals the next step in our pledge to provide the best service for our customers in the tyre industry. Christian Salvesen is a highly successful global organisation with the expertise to ensure that the NDC at TyreFort will flourish, by bringing its reputation for logistics excellence to the operation and management of the NDC.”

The NDC at TyreFort opened in 2002 with more than 500,000 square feet of warehousing space, providing the capacity to store one million tyres. Operating 24 hours a day, the NDC incorporates 47 loading bays and has become established as the UK’s leading tyre distribution centre.

In addition, from July 2006, Christian Salvesen will manage the tyre storage, handling and distribution of the brands of the Continental Tyre Group. The contract was put out to tender last year, with nine companies pitching, including the incumbent distributor TNT. Christian Salvesen, which boasts 13,000 employees and 200 logistics sites in Europe, was successful in securing the five-year contract.

Continental’s warehouse facilities are located in Rugby and, under the new arrangement, storage of the group’s brands will move to TyreFort. Stewart Jackson, Continental’s supply chain director, said: “Continental manages demand for over 4,500 articles. To satisfy demand this year we will have to deliver five million tyres to over 7,000 delivery points in the UK. 95 per cent of those tyres come from 12 different factories across Europe. We are confident that Christian Salvesen will provide first class warehousing and distribution and are looking forward to working with them in this critical area of our business.”