The Truck Hub Group, formerly MWheels, in liquidation, German subsidiary ‘unaffected’

The European importer of Indian manufactured xlite and xbrite aluminium forged commercial vehicle wheels, The Truck Hub Group has been placed into creditors’ voluntary liquidation following unsuccessful attempts to sell the business at the end of 2022. The company traded as The Wheel Hub, based in Sharston in south Manchester, having changed its name from MWheels in early 2021. This was one of a number of transformational changes for the company in recent years, with the establishment of a European operation, Wheel Hub GmbH in the Cologne region of Germany, which is “unaffected” by the liquidation proceedings. Further details of the company’s stock liquidation sale can be found here.

What was The Truck Hub?

Motor Wheel Service Distribution rebranded first as MWheels, then as The Wheel Hub in the UK as the company sought growth opportunities in the 2010s

Originally established in 1987 by business owner John Ellis, the firm traded as Motor Wheel Service Distribution until its 2017 name change and expansion into Germany in the wake of the Brexit referendum. The company distributed exclusively Wheels India’s Xlite and Xbrite forged aluminium wheels, as well as the Xsteel range of conventional steel wheels, in Europe. It also supplied products from all other wheel manufacturers and a comprehensive range of accessories.

The company made an impact on safety legislation through its commercial vehicle wheel safety campaigning in the early 2010s. Arguing that non-circumferential hubs, which give only partial contact between axle and wheel, were causing untested load stresses which cause cracks and half the life expectancy of a wheel, which in turn creates serious safety concerns, the company’s evidence helped see wheel safety incorporated in the May 2014 European Union Roadworthiness Package.

The new law, adopted by both the European Parliament and European Council, said that: “compatibility between parts and components, such as between wheels and wheel hubs, should be treated as a critical safety item and should be checked during roadworthiness testing.” Additional legislative text included several visual wheel inspection prerequisites, reclassifying “wheel size, technical design, compatibility or type not in accordance with the requirements [laid down by type-approval at first registration or first entry into service] and affecting road safety” as a major defect.

Later in the decade, the company moved to position itself increasingly as a full-service provider for commercial vehicle wheels, supported by the recruitment of new directors, publishing a white paper on commercial wheel safety and integrating increased levels of training into its service offer.

Chief executive officer Matthew Mardle, who joined the company as chief operating officer in April 2016 after six years as Giti Tire’s European supply chain director, left the business for a new opportunity outside the tyre and wheel sector on 31 October 2022. Attempts to find a buyer for The Truck Hub Group were officially terminated on 15 February 2023, when the company passed an extraordinary resolution to wind up.

Liquidation proceedings

David Hopkins and James Stephen of BDO LLP were appointed joint liquidators of the company on 15 February 2023. The joint liquidators appointed Wignall Brownlow, chartered surveyors based in central Manchester, to dispose of the company’s assets on their behalf. These comprise aluminium wheels for commercial vehicles, commercial vehicle & trailer tyres, tyre fitting machinery, factory equipment and office equipment.

These will be sold in an online auction to be conducted by Wignall Brownlow on auction platforms Bidspotter and i-bidder. The sale closes from 11.00am on Wednesday 8 March 2023 with a view day on Tuesday 7 March at the company’s premises, 50 Leestone Road, Sharston Industrial Area, Manchester, M22 4RF.