Andrew is an editor for WhatTyre, Tyrepress, and Tyres & Accessories magazine. He has more than a decade of experience in editing, writing, and journalism.
Maxam Tire Latin America (LATAM) will acquire and control the full equity interest in the LATAM Joint Venture (JV) on 31 October 2021. The 2015 JV was previously in place with Gustavo Lima and Marco Zigni and structured to expand the Maxam brand in the region via strategic partnership.
Monday’s tyre test at France’s Paul Ricard circuit heralded the conclusion of Pirelli’s initial development programme for 18-inch Formula 1 tyres. Alpine’s Daniil Kvyat was in the seat for the wet test, finishing a programme disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The flagship global motorsport series will switch to the new low-profile tyres in 2022, shifting away from the 13-inch tyres currently used. Pirelli calls this move a technical revolution and has devoted an intense period of research and development to the change, with indoor and outdoor testing. The manufacturer will now tweak the tyre based on 2022-specification car testing.
Engine management and ignition specialist SMP Europe has appointed Martin Turner as its new marketing director. He will oversee all commercial and product marketing activities with suppliers, buying groups and distributors, and be involved in research and analysis activities to define and establish SMP Europe’s strategies. Turner was previously internet sales manager at the company.
Two British Truck Racing Championship podium finishes and a fastest lap at Pembrey mean Giti Tire’s Martin Gibson will enter the final race weekend at Brands Hatch just five points behind the leader. His partner at Giti Tire Motorsport, Stuart Oliver overcame no less than three in-race collisions and still managed to secure both a first and second place finish across the five races.
Cooper Tire Europe has presented a unique Rally Sprint event at the 78th Goodwood Members’ Meeting in a new partnership. Delayed since March 2020, the eagerly awaited Members’ Meeting took place on 16-17 October. The Goodwood Rally Sprint Presented by Cooper Tires showcased Cooper’s rallying heritage with a spectacular selection of World Rally Championship (WRC) machinery. It is currently a supplier to the North American Rally Championship and the Mobil Rally Chile, as well as being the sole tyre supplier to the FIA World Rallycross Championship and the sister FIA European Rallycross Championship.
Terratoura A/T ambassador Edd Cobley has won the British Cross Country Championship’s Modified Production class. The off-road rally legend added the title to his collection with a brave performance at Walters Arena in Neath, South Wales. Cobley ran his self-built custom Land Rover Defender 110 – nicknamed Skippy 2.0 – on the Terratoura A/T throughout the championship, competing against competitors on Kevlar-reinforced specialist rally tyres.
NFDA Northern Ireland has responded to Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure’s consultation on proposals to carry out MOT tests every two years. Sue Robinson, NFDA NI chief executive said that moving to biennial testing “is not the correct solution to the issues currently facing the NI Testing Scheme.” She said that the solution to current capacity issues should not come “at the expense of road safety.” The proposals were put forward earlier this year with the region’s MOT testing capacity struggling to keep pace with demand.
Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association, has warned that record pump prices are almost certain to be eclipsed before the end of October. The current record prices of 142ppl for petrol and 148ppl for diesel were set in April 2012. Experian Catalist UK averages for 19 October were 141.35ppl and 144.84ppl respectively.
Zhongce Rubber Group (ZC Rubber) is planning to use 5G technology to create a Smart Factory platform for the tyre industry. China’s largest tyre manufacturer says the replicable 5G Smart Factory platform will “promote data network platform innovation and data-driven production process reengineering.” It also says the initiative will enhance “core competitiveness and corporate value through network collaboration, flexible production, and service extension.” The project is currently “in progress and has not yet been officially implemented,” but ZC Rubber plans to implement the concept in its pilot “Future Factory” which is currently under construction. It ultimately wants to extend the technological approach by applying it to more of its factories. ZC Rubber’s headline forecasts indicating the Smart Factory’s predicted benefits include a 15 per cent increase in production efficiency and a need for 70 per cent fewer staff versus existing tyre factory models.
TyreSafe has calculated that UK motorists waste more than £600 million worth of fuel due to tyre underinflation. Using data from Michelin’s Fill Up With Air survey showing that 57 per cent of vehicles are driven on underinflated tyres, as well as information sourced from the Department for Transport and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, TyreSafe is tying the economic argument for ensuring tyres are correctly inflated alongside safety concerns for this year’s Tyre Safety Month. Referring both to the general awareness of tyres as a vital safety component and rhetorically to question why drivers would not check their tyres at least once a month, his year’s October campaign asks Britain’s motorists directly: “What’s Stopping You?”
Agricultural tyre specialist BKT has supported the 2021 edition of the Tractor of the Year Awards, presented at the EIMA trade fair in Bologna. It is the second time the manufacturer has sponsored the awards, which recognise the most innovative and cutting-edge tractors on the market.
Stapleton’s is relaunching Continental group brand Matador onto the market. The UK’s largest tyre wholesaler said it is bringing in a new Matador Customer Key Dealer Programme “designed with forward-thinking initiatives and has retailers at the centre of its strategy.” In the current trading environment, the brand has several advantages, one being the proximity of its production to the UK; all the brand’s car, van and 4×4 tyres are manufactured in Europe. Combined with Conti’s strong European supply chain infrastructure, Stapleton’s makes the point that Matador “has excellent availability with fast shipping into the UK from European factories.”
The complexity of the UK tyre wholesale sector has certainly ramped up considerably thanks to what may be termed an almost perfect storm of external factors relating both to the Covid pandemic and Brexit. With retail margins on consumer tyres already very fine, the wholesale sector has been key in keeping price increases under control, especially considering the spiralling cost of shipping. But as those in the sector know, the value wholesalers add within the distribution chain is a considerably wider subject than purely price. Arguably, the service dimension has never been more important than in the last 18 months, as retail businesses adapted to a market transformed by externalities. Tyres & Accessories asked Graham Mitchell, Micheldever Tyre Services wholesale director, about how the business is faring in 2021, starting with its performance this year.
For tyre distributors in import-heavy markets such as the UK, the sharp and sustained rise in the cost of shipping product from key sources such as China and South-East Asia is a major headache with potential market-reshaping consequences. While there have been varying levels of success in managing this headwind according to some in the market with whom Tyres & Accessories has spoken, strategically placed orders and bumper levels of stockholding can only ameliorate prices on such products for so long. Wholesalers have faced a difficult trading environment this year, which to this point has shown little sign of abating.
Michelin’s successful entry for the Tyre Industry Environment and Sustainable Solution Award 2021 “stood head and shoulders above the rest in terms of corporate ambition, vision and practical commercial initiatives across the whole field of tyre recycling, materials reuse and wider environmental campaigns,” according to the judging panel, NTDA chief executive Stefan Hay commented. The tyre manufacturer’s entry for the award highlighted its aim to create greater value at all stages within the circular economy.
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