Kirkby Tyres investing in quality brands

One of the largest truck tyre wholesalers and distributors in the UK and Ireland, Kirkby Tyres has a team of specialists dedicated to the TBR segment and is investing to make further inroads with its exclusive brands. We recently spoke with commercial director Michael Rosenthal to find out about the latest products from Double Coin and Sailun as well as Kirkby’s activities in the truck business.

Double Coin produced the first all-steel truck radial tyres in China all the way back in 1964, and although its relationship with Kirkby Tyres doesn’t stretch back quite that far, the Liverpool-headquartered wholesaler has been distributing the brand for more than 30 years. Sailun has been a part of the Kirkby portfolio for over a decade. Both brands are viewed as a good fit with Kirkby’s truck strategy, as Michael Rosenthal explains.

“Kirkby Tyres continues to differentiate and invest in quality brands rather than operating at the budget end of the market, which at times is nothing more than a race to the bottom,” shares the commercial manager, adding that the wholesaler’s preferred strategy is to bring to market innovative products that offer customers (typically fitting companies and service providers) genuine long-term value and provide them with the opportunity to differentiate their own product offering to their fleet and owner-operator customer bases.

“This in turn allows our customers to offer a value-added product and have the potential to increase the profitability of their own operations,” Rosenthal continues. “In this vein, we continue our long-term exclusive partnerships with pioneering and innovative manufacturers such as Double Coin and Sailun.”

Sailun

As exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for the Sailun TBR and light commercial ranges, Kirkby Tyres offers products that benefit from the Sailun Group’s considerable investments in tyre development. Rosenthal points out that this investment exceeded 30 per cent of net profit in 2021. One advancement that Kirkby is gearing up to offer is EcoPoint3.

Launched at The Tire Cologne in May and arriving in Kirkby’s Sailun TBR range later this year or early in 2023, EcoPoint3 is the fruit of a decade’s research and development. The technology solves the longstanding ‘magic triangle’ dilemma and offers improved results in all three main constituent parts of the current European truck tyre label, namely rolling resistance (fuel efficiency), wet grip, and noise generation.

Sitting alongside this achievement is an improvement in wear resistance. Sailun’s new liquid-phase technology also significantly reduces energy consumption in the manufacturing process, resulting in a reduction in CO2 footprint. “Kirkby Tyres is excited to continue our successful partnership with Sailun and help deliver these innovative and ground-breaking products to our customers,” comments Rosenthal.

With the addition of 24 Sailun SKUs since the final quarter of 2021, the range that Kirkby Tyres offers in the UK and Ireland now covers more than 90 SKUs, including popular drive, steer and POR fitments. The distributor has added another four dimensions (11R22.5, 215/75R17.5, 225/75R17.5 and 235/75R17.5) to the TÜV-accredited SDR1 drive pattern. It also added the popular coach size 275/70R22.5 to the City Convoy range of bus and coach tyres this year, further expanding the range of tyre solutions for public transport.

Further new additions for 2022 include the new SDM1 pattern for haulage and transport operators working in off-road applications. Currently available in three sizes, 13R22.5, 315/70R22.5 and 315/80R22.5, the SDM1 is a block pattern with a deep tread for increased longevity. This range complements the established SK01 and S815 patterns, including the higher load 295/80R22.5 S815 154/149K, a collaboration between Sailun and Kirkby that the wholesaler showcased at the recent Hillhead exhibition.

In 2022, Kirkby Tyres has continued to expand its Sailun Plus+ dealership scheme, which is open to all qualifying Sailun TBR customers. Offering access to preferential truck pricing, reward schemes, and a multitude of marketing materials and peripherals, Kirkby says membership of Sailun Plus+ brings its customers the “opportunity to differentiate their own product offering within a crowded marketplace.”

The Sailun distributor has also partnered with several of the largest national breakdown and recovery networks this year in order to expand coverage of its TBR offering and ensure that any truck in the UK requiring a mobile fitting service has access to the full range of Sailun TBR product. “Sailun quality is now well-established, allowing networks to charge a premium for the brand which in turn allows fitting companies to earn higher margins,” comments Rosenthal.

Double Coin

Double Coin RLB980 (Image: Kirkby Tyres)

The considerable Double Coin TBR catalogue now covers more than 80 SKUs from 17.5-inch through to 19.5-inch and 22.5-inch. Kirkby Tyres continues to market a range of Double Coin tyres for all applications including the popular RT910 long haul trailer pattern, the RLB450 and RLB1 drive patterns and an expanding range of RT600 all-position tyres for regional applications. Since the final quarter of 2021 it has reintroduced nine further SKUs in eight familiar patterns, including 7.00R16 RR202 and 7.50R16 RT500 light truck sizes for P&D and regional applications, alongside other difficult-to-source LPT sizes such as 8.25R15 and 8.25R20.

Kirkby keenly anticipates the UK and Ireland arrival of a number of new patterns and sizes in the latter part of 2022, including the RLB980 premium all-purpose position tyre in 385/65R22.5, 425/65R22.5 and 445/65R22.5. With a deep tread and block design that offers improved traction and grip, this wide-base all-position tyre carries a high payload and is ideal for both on- and off-highway applications. Stone ejectors and an open-shoulder design to improve heat dissipation help to increase the tyre’s longevity and endurance, characteristics that Michael Rosenthal calls “hallmarks of the Double Coin brand.”

Quality non-ETRMA tyres alleviating casing shortage

Some Kirkby customers retread both brands’ truck tyres, and Sailun and Double Coin are backed up with multiple-casing life guarantees provided by their respective manufacturers. Michael Rosenthal welcomes these commitments to retreading, particularly in light of the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties introduced across Europe in 2018 as well as more recent production capacity constraints from ETRMA producers, which he is convinced can be “alleviated somewhat with the utilisation of quality casings from quality non-ETRMA producers such as Double coin and Sailun.”

Satisfying replacement & OEM demand

In addition to its exclusive distributorship of Sailun and Double Coin and its wider supply of trucks and wheels to the aftermarket, Kirkby Tyres has and experienced and dedicated original equipment division that supplies truck wheels and complete assemblies to both commercial vehicle and trailer manufacturers in both mid-range and premium brands. Michael Rosenthal shares that Sailun is one of a number of quality tyre brands to have passed homologation tests by many original equipment manufacturers and thus gained acceptance as a go-to fitment. “We are also proud to be suppliers of a range of heavy-load truck wheels, including a 5,000KG rated 11.75X22.5, to tier one tyre manufacturers in the UK,” he adds.

Summing up, the commercial manager stresses that long-term exclusive supplier partnerships are “very much” a part of Kirkby Tyres’ successful TBR strategy and invites potential partners and customers to contact Kirkby about their commercial truck tyre and wheel requirements. He emphasises that the dedicated TBR specialists within the company’s Liverpool operations team are supported by regional areas sales managers who can offer technical advice to a nationwide customer base.