ATS Euromaster winter tyre orders up 60% in 2012/13

Reporting on the past winter, ATS Euromaster group sales director Peter Fairlie says the fast-fit network ordered significantly more winter tyres than a year earlier.

“For winter 2012/2013 we ordered in excess of £10 million worth of cold weather tyres – 60 per cent more than the previous year, and we have seen the demand for these tyres continue to increase, as more fleets put them to the test and realise the benefits,” he comments.

Many orders came from ‘blue light’ customers, and ATS Euromaster says that during the six months from 1 October 2012, it supplied and fitted more than 10,000 cold weather tyres to vehicles run by 20 NHS and private ambulance operators around the country. Demand for the high-grip fitments peaked in November 2012, with 2,847 new winter tyres being fitted to ambulances and rapid response paramedic cars. ATS Euromaster also re-fitted thousands of cold weather tyres that had been housed in its tyre hotels since last spring.

North East Ambulance Service is one of ATS Euromaster’s ‘blue light’ customers. “Fitting cold weather tyres has worked very well,” shares assistant operational support manager George Price. “We can respond to 999 calls with the peace of mind that our crews are able to reach patients safely in adverse weather conditions, meaning we can continue to provide the necessary care without compromise.

“As people begin to truly understand the benefits of cold weather tyres, there is a bigger demand for them, but ATS Euromaster has been fantastic at keeping us stocked up and reacting quickly to our fitment needs,” Price continues. “They have made the whole process of fitting cold weather tyres easy to manage.”

“Ambulances are some of the most important vehicles on the roads, and by providing cold weather tyres ATS Euromaster is ensuring these fleets are as safe as possible when tackling winter roads under demanding blue light conditions,” Fairlie adds.

ATS Euromaster launched its dedicated cold weather tyre service for fleets in early 2010 and claims to be the first UK fast-fit provider to do so. Parent company the Euromaster Group typically fits more than 1.5 million cold weather tyres every year throughout Europe.