Wheelmaker Ronal Group has published its revised webshop which features a number of additional functions. One of the highlights is a new 3D configurator, which allows various wheel designs, sizes, colours and finishes to be chosen and viewed on a selected vehicle.
The Environment Agency, Calderdale Council, Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue report that they recently uncovered two sites operating illegally in Calderdale and Bradford. As a result, Shakil Ahmed (42), of Halifax, Jamie Craggs (34), of Bradford, and Levi Depass (35) Shipley, appeared at Bradford Crown Court on Wednesday 12 July after earlier pleading guilty.
Pelmar Engineering Group describes itself as “a worldwide supplier of modern equipment solutions for the rubber and tyre industry”, a very specialist niche market in which the company has grown into a leadership position. But that reputation has been six decades in the making. Shortly after he celebrated his 80th birthday, as company founder and chairman Jacob Peled considers changing gear away from his hands-on role within the family business, Tyres & Accessories found out more about Pelmar’s history and ongoing legacy.
Tata Sons has confirmed that it will invest £4 billion in building a 40GW battery cell gigafactory in the UK. The plant will supply JLR and Tata Motors commencing from 2026. With the foundering of BritishVolt’s plans for something similar, as the car parc transitions to electric propulsion, the Tata investment is a welcome boost for the UK car parc and for its OE tyre suppliers.
Details of the first wave of the EffeXSport product line-up were released at the end of the first quarter and explain that the initial range is made up of 54 sizes ranging from 16 to 20 inches. Those products were already available back in March. Moving forward, a further 50 sizes will be added by the end of the year. What we now know is that the overall range will be more than half A-rated on the European tyre label. Triangle’s recent track event at the Hungaroring gave more details of how Triangle is developing its range by balancing compound and construction, as published in our July print edition. Subscribers can read all the details by clicking here.
For many, security is all about cash-management, stock-handling and making sure the premises are locked at the end of the day. In addition, tyre businesses have had to get more savvy over the years to avoid fraudulent orders. Now, with everything from phones, tills and even tyres themselves transmitting and receiving data, cyber security is the order of the day. There are lots of different sides to cyber security, so let’s start with some of the most recent most relevant examples to the tyre business.
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Kwik Fit and its other ETEL-related brands (Tyre City, Tyre Pros and Central Tyre) have dominated the UK tyre retail landscape for years. More recently, Halfords has made our annual tyre retail ranking a two-horse race. However, Michelin’s ATS Euromaster network remains a significant player and other chains such as the Micheldever- and ultimately Sumitomo-owned Protyre have grown consistently over a long period of time. But none of that tells the whole story. While big chains generate significant levels of value and volume, franchise networks like HiQ and First Stop represent another dimension. And medium-sized chains are often so good at what they do that they end up being bought by larger businesses at a premium. And yet none of that reflects the importance of the vast majority of the market – the independent tyre businesses with one or two centres. That’s why June’s Tyres & Accessories aimed to present a more panoramic view of the undeniably indispensable tyre retail business. Here, T&A presents our annual tyre retail ranking as a way of keeping you informed of the lay of the land in the ever-changing tyre retail landscape.
11th-placed Just Tyres maintained a total of 38 tyre retail locations, according to our 2023 table. However, that figure is one centre lower than it was this time last year. Nevertheless, the total remains one branch greater than five years ago.
With the automotive sector facing a 20-year high in vacancies, the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) is aiming to change outdated perceptions “at the heart of the recruitment challenges”. IMI’s “Perceptions” campaign will centre on “real voices telling real stories about their positive career experiences.”
Mitas has extended its Sport Force+ EV tyre range with the addition of two new rear sizes, 180/60ZR17 and 200/55ZR17, available from August 2023. The latest additions expand the tyre range to seven sizes in total.
Autotech Training has become one of only five owners globally of an Electude Connect – Electric training vehicle to support the delivery of its IMI accredited EV training courses.
Lodge Tyres staff, valued customers, and many local residents of Fakenham in North Norfolk recently enjoyed a fun day at the centre in Hempton Road in the town. The event, which was supported by Lodge key supply partners, Bridgestone UK and Micheldever Tyres, saw the usually busy garage turned into a mini theme park for the day.
Rich Allen has become commercial director at International Tyres & Trading Ltd. Allen brings with him 12 years of experience within the commercial tyre trade, specifically with Goodyear (truck) and Yokohama TWS (speciality).
After more than 30 years as a Bandag franchisee, G&S Tyres has joined the Marangoni Ringtread Network. The company has also joined the NTDA as both a retreader and a tyre distributor – the latter in relation to its on-site car tyre fitting business. Tyres & Accessories recently visited the company’s Barking, London headquarters in order to find out more.
Coreform’s tyre tread computer simulation processes bid aimed at accelerating the use of simulation in the tyre industry has won a United States Department of Energy (DOE) exploratory grant.
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