Watts Tyre Group Launches Interfit European Service Business

Watts Tyre Group has announced the launch of Interfit, the industrial tyre business' international service operation. From 5 January Watts Tyre Group service operations throughout Europe will begin the process of rebranding with goal of completing this by June 2010. According to the company, the launch of Interfit serves as a repositioning in the industrial tyre service market by formally creating a dedicated, specialist service division. Interfit will service the forklift truck market through its depot and mobile press operation acting as a service partner to the OEM dealer networks. Customers will be managed through regional offices in UK, France and Germany where administrative functions and local service desks are based.

Chief Executive Jean-Paul Mindermann commented: “We are very excited by this move. Whilst we are best known in the industry as a leading tyre manufacturer and distributor, service has always been an important part of our offering. We have well established high quality service businesses around the world and feel that it is right for us to emphasise that strength. We believe that it is crucial to focus our service operations on customer requirements, key to which is being able to offer a wider range of quality tyre brands.

“We will be able to offer customers a wealth of information relating to crucial factors including tyre life & performance and end user costs across whole fleets along with a range of Key Performance Indicators and managed Service Level Agreements. Equally this will allow customers to measure our own performance as a service partner.

“We are investing heavily in state of the art IT systems which will allow Interfit to deliver a level of service new to the industry. We have also created the most comprehensive knowledge base of tyre use, wear and replacement based on thousands of customer transactions on thousands of different trucks over the past 15 years. This means that Interfit is uniquely placed to offer customers advice on the right tyre for them based on their actual needs.”

Strategic Development Director Paul Morey added: “The focus for Interfit is as a service business; to complement our range of service options we will be offering our customers a wider choice of leading tyre brands. Customers will benefit from our expertise and ability to select the right tyre for their particular application and needs.”

The latest news follows a year of expansion for Watts Tyre Group. 2009 saw the company sold in a management buyout at the end of October and the integration of Trelleborg’s French industrial tyre operations into its business in December. In March 2009 German subsidiary Watts Industrie Reifen bought Profix GmbH and integrated its management into its structure.

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