(Not) the end of an era…

Tyre Industry Publications’ head office at Stoke-on-Trent’s Federation House will now handle all editorial, administrative and advertising functions exclusively (Photo: Rept0n1x, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license)

At the end of July a significant chapter in the history of Tyres & Accessories came to an end, with the closure of the company’s offices in Clacton-on-Sea. The closure has been hastened by the effects arising from the coronavirus pandemic, and means that all editorial, administrative and advertising functions are now handled exclusively by the company’s head office in Stoke-on-Trent.

This meant that T&A’s two longest-serving employees could enjoy a well-deserved retirement. Advertising manager Alan Day joined the magazine early in 1990, while company secretary Pat Aldous was employed for six weeks’ maternity cover in 1977. It proved to be a long six weeks, as she never left! Alan and Pat’s friends and colleagues – both in the UK and in Germany and Italy – wish them all the best for a long and happy retirement.

Tyres & Accessories magazine has an illustrious history, stretching back to its foundation by Fred Carter in June 1946. Coincidentally, this was the same month that Michelin filed the first patent for a new type of tyre – the radial.

The magazine was run by Fred Carter’s daughters in Clacton-on-Sea and, in January 1971, a new name appeared as Editor; that of George Marshall, a well-known figure in the UK tyre industry. In September that year it was announced that T&A would be published by Tyre Industry Publications and that George Marshall was the new owner and Managing editor.

Sixteen years later, the company and magazine were sold to the German company, Profil Verlag; publishers of the respected tyre industry magazine Neue Reifenzeitung.

It was in November 1987 that the first editorial from the new owner and publisher Klaus Haddenbrock appeared in T&A and the following year the company moved into offices at the Magnolia Centre, Clacton-on-Sea, where it remained until July this year.

Much has changed over the lifetime of the magazine – both in publishing and in the tyre industry. In addition to the paper magazine, Tyre Industry Publications now publishes news and articles on Tyrepress.com, and sends daily and weekly email newsletters to a mailing list of nearly 13,000 tyre business subscribers. Recently the company started the tyre comparison and information website WhatTyre.com, providing product information and tyre advice to end users. Other recent innovations include co-publishing an industry report, and producing video content for its online readership of tyre industry decision-makers.

Although the closure of the Clacton office marks the end of an era, Tyres & Accessories continues to serve and inform the global tyre and associated industries and, in June next year, will celebrate its 75^th birthday, ready to embark on the latest chapter of its already long and rich history.

Tyre Industry Publications has closed its office at Clacton-on-Sea’s Magnolia Centre, which served editorial, administrative, and advertising functions since opening in 1988