Small but Meaningful

R H Claydon marketing manager Dick Anderson has been in the business for a good many a year, and although semi-retried these days he has seen a lot of changes in the tyre industry, including the growth of the ATV market from next to nothing into the important and still growing sector it is today. Recently he spoke to Tyres & Accessories about the current UK ATV market in 2007 and R H Claydon’s role in it.

“I see the ATV market as being divided into three sectors,” he stated. The first of these, and by far the largest, is the utility/working market. This covers everything from farm and forestry applications right through to police. Near our head office in Suffolk some of the police are equipped with ATVs, complete with blue light on top!” The thin blue line reportedly find these vehicles invaluable for accessing remote places such as national parks and beaches.

However the UK farm, where the ATV first saw light of day in this country, remains the biggest market. “The farming ATV market is still growing, very much so,” said Mr. Anderson. “They’re becoming pretty much universally recognised as a utility tool that is very cheap to run. There’s no licence costs, fuel costs are low, and farmers are saving a lot of money by using them where a couple of years ago they would have taken a large tractor.” And he adds that the ATV’s usefulness around the farm is not limited to that of a cheap and convenient runabout. “In the agricultural industry they’re also used for spraying. A number of contractors and ATV dealers sell and hire out ATVs fitted with spray equipment. These units see use everywhere from spraying pesticides on farms through to maintaining gold course greens.”

For agricultural ATV use RH Claydon recommend the Kenda Bear Claw, a 6 ply rated tyre with strong puncture resistance and built in rim guard. The Bear Claw’s chunky angled shoulder tread provides the rider with a high level of traction. Also recommended is the BKT 207, formerly known as the Wing. Also carrying a 6 ply rating, the BKT 207 has a self-cleaning v-shaped tread that provides bite in muddy and rutted conditions.

The second of the three ATV sectors, according to Dick Anderson, and also the smallest, is that dedicated to ATV racing. “While it still can’t compared to what’s going on in the US, the racing scene is growing dramatically here,” he comments. “Major manufacturers are adding their support to the UK racing scene, including Honda, who sponsor both endurance and motocross (MMX) racing.” He believes there to be about 30 professional or semi-professional riders in the UK. R H Claydon sponsors one of these riders, Birmingham based Paul Winrow. Now in his second year with R H Claydon, Winrow finished the 2006 year ranked number two in Britain.

“The racing market is a growing market and the club scene is booming,” said Anderson. “The Quad Racing Association UK coordinates a lot of racing here, there are events held just about every weekend. The adrenalin buzz involved must be absolutely incredible. Riders have to be fit, as I’m told ATV racing doesn’t half sap your strength.” The tyre R H Claydon supplied to Winrow in 2006 was the BKT X-Driv. This product has recently been renamed, and will now be known as the AT-111. Suitable for use on both loose and hard packed terrains, the AT-111 is also available as the AT-111 HD, a 6 ply rated tyre highly suitable for endurance racing. In near future a road legal e-marked version of the AT-111 will also be released.

The third ATV sector is the leisure market, and Dick Anderson believes that this sector has enormous potential. “The pastime of ‘green laning’ – driving partially on the road but primarily on unmade lanes – is becoming hugely popular. And for this sort of activity it is essential to have e-marked tyres. A lot of ATV tracks have been laid out, especially in southern England. These have appeared in response to objections from landowners about the use of ATVs, and riders can buy time on the trail and even receive coaching.”

What about the media coverage given to accidents involving recreational ATV riders? Mr. Anderson believes the media are guilty of sensationalising incidents such as Ozzy Osbourne’s crash in late 2003 and Rik Mayall’s earlier experience of an upturned ATV. “The media always places its emphasis on the ATV itself without closely looking at the way in which they were being ridden. They are powerful machines but people need to treat them correctly and wear the right gear. The law currently does not even require ATV riders to wear helmets, which I think is ridiculous.” He added: “Most dealers these days send people purchasing an ATV on a short course where they are taught the fundamental dos and don’ts. Understanding how to correctly operate these vehicles greatly improves their safety.”

For R H Claydon, ATV tyres are what Mr. Anderson describes as a “small but meaningful percentage” of sales. “Our main ATV tyre brands are BKT, for which we are the UK and Northern Ireland agents, and also Kenda and Enduro. We supply tyres for all aspects of ATV use, from agriculture to competition racing. “ The company also supplies ATV tyres to other UK tyre wholesalers, a market as important as its own retail sales and one of the reasons that R H Claydon calls itself the ‘specialist’s specialist.’

As to the UK ATV tyre market as a whole, Dick Anderson concedes that a dearth of accurate statistics makes estimating the market’s total size next to impossible. “The large numbers of parallel imports and container loads of tyres coming in from China mean that any existing figures are wildly inaccurate. I recently read an article that quoted a figure of 15,000 ATV tyres sold in the UK last year, but this number is way too low. Perhaps three times that were sold, but there is no way of knowing for sure.”