TAFF Awards 2013 coverage – next week on Tyrepress.com

Over the next week, Tyrepress.com and the daily Tyrepress.com newsletter will present each of the five voting categories of the NTDA Tyre & Fast Fit Awards, featuring profiles of each company's bid for 2013 glory. The voting process for the TAFF Awards has already begun and ends on 27 September. The big difference this year is that voting is only via the NTDA website (www.ntda.co.uk/TAFF) and not by post, as in previous years. For the second year running, the TAFF Awards are sponsored by speciality chemicals company Lanxess.

Apart from that, the format is broadly similar to before, with NTDA members nominating suppliers in a number of categories. The five most popular in each category make up the short lists and it is on these that the tyre industry votes. Voting is open to NTDA members and non-members alike.

As well as these categories, companies can nominate one of their products or services for the “Innovation Award” – entries are whittled down to a short list and a panel of industry pundits makes the final choice.

A recent addition (now in its third year) is the Tyre Centre of the Year award, in which retailers can nominate one centre (or one centre per NTDA region for national companies) as an example of retail excellence. The winner is chosen after a programme of mystery shopping and the process is conducted by market research specialists Encircle Marketing and overseen by the NTDA’s Aftermarket Supplier’s Group.

All this comes to a head at the NTDA’s Annual Dinner on Wednesday 16 October, which this year is being held at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, at the NEC, Birmingham.

To help you make up your minds, here are brief descriptions of each of the finalists and we wish them all good luck.