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Michelin grows tyre contract with Huntapac Produce
Michelin has renewed a five-year tyre contract with one of the largest vegetable and salad producers in the UK. Preston-based Huntapac Produce signed the Effitires agreement following a competitive tender which pitched the manufacturer against rival brands. Michelin will continue to fit X Multi regional tyres across the firm’s fleet of more than 190 commercial vehicle assets, which includes 64 trucks, 62 refrigerated trailers, 55 bulk tipping trailers, three curtainsiders and two low loaders.
Continue Reading![MotorEasy acquires Motokiki tyre price comparison site](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/motokiki-results.png)
MotorEasy acquires Motokiki tyre price comparison site
Motoring services website, MotorEasy has acquired tyre price comparison site Motokiki. The acquisition represents the latest addition to MotorEasy’s portfolio of motoring products, which includes insurances, fixed-price repairs, MOTs and servicing, and car leasing. Motokiki was launched in quarter four of 2018, backed by £3 million of equity investment from Maven Capital Partners and the Development Bank of Wales. It entered administration just under a year later, following the resignation of co-founder and CEO Debra Williams. MotorEasy’s announcement claims that Motokiki is “the only independent tyre comparison website”, but a recent Tyrepress survey of the UK market found eight current tyre comparison websites with a variety of approaches, including the independent user review site TyreReviews.co.uk, and Tyrepress’s sister site WhatTyre.com, which uses professional tyre reviews and experienced editors to rank tyres with its Tyrescore system.
Continue Reading![More SKUs available: Inter-Sprint increases warehouse capacity](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Inter-Sprint-warehouse-sml.jpg)
More SKUs available: Inter-Sprint increases warehouse capacity
Tyre and wheel wholesaler Inter-Sprint Group has expanded the warehouse capacity at its main site in Moerdijk, the Netherlands. With the opening of a further 38,000 square metres of warehousing, Inter-Sprint has been able to increase the number of SKUs it stocks by at least ten per cent – more than 17,000 SKUs are now centrally stored at its distribution centre in Moerdijk.
Continue Reading![Lex Autolease selects Kwik Fit for ‘record’ supply agreement](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Kwik-Fit-technician-sml-e1585651126677.jpg)
Lex Autolease selects Kwik Fit for ‘record’ supply agreement
Kwik Fit has announced the agreement of a major deal with Lex Autolease, the UK’s biggest vehicle contract hire and leasing provider. The six-year agreement covers tyre and associated services and is the largest deal by value and forecast tyre volume that Kwik Fit has ever secured with a major contract hire and leasing company.
Continue Reading![Fintyre Group’s Reifen Krieg files for bankruptcy](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/teaser_10.jpg)
Fintyre Group’s Reifen Krieg files for bankruptcy
German tyre distributor Reifen Krieg GmbH, part of the Fintyre Group of companies (Fintyre) active in tyre distribution and retail in Germany and Italy, filed bankruptcy proceedings on the evening of 6 February in Frankfurt, with lawyer Miguel Grosser appointed trustee. Tyrepress reported on Monday that the group’s chief executive officer, Claudio Passerini – who is also the CEO of the group’s umbrella organisation in Germany, Fintyre Group GmbH – had written to Fintyre’s German employees to inform them of restructuring necessary for the short-term to ensure its sustainable continuation in the wake of missed salary payments in January.
Continue ReadingYokohama Prometeon bid nearing completion, Aeolus Tyres now involved
In September 2019, Tyrepress.com broke the news that Yokohama is set to buy the ex-Pirelli industrial tyre business Prometeon. Back then, we reported that the deal was at an advanced stage and could be completed before the end of 2019. That clearly didn’t happen, but the deal is still live and the latest news is that it is nearing completion, but now also involves Aeolus Tyres.
Continue ReadingSailun Group donates 10 million yuan to fight coronavirus
In order to support China’s anti-coronavirus epidemic actions, the Sailun Group has donated 10 million yuan to the Qingdao Red Cross for emergency assistance and to help mitigate the spread of the virus. Of the 10 million yuan donation, 4 million yuan came from the group’s management team and employees.
Continue Reading![1 million fewer cars – coronavirus’s impact on automotive production](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Wuhan_at_Night-e1580993600889.jpg)
1 million fewer cars – coronavirus’s impact on automotive production
The coronavirus clearly presents a human tragedy, but it is also affecting international economies and manufacturing in particular. Following our coverage of the impact on the tyre business, various market analysts have been assessing the impact on the automotive industry. The short story is that internal OE demand is likely to be much harder hit than external exports. According to NBC, China could suffer the loss of 1 million vehicles worth of production due to the suspension of production for at least an extra week in the so-called motor city of Wuhan, which is located at the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak and has a population of 11 million people.
Continue Reading![Michelin Development relaunched to support job growth in Dundee area](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Mike-Cole-head-of-Michelin-Development-in-the-UK-sml.jpg)
Michelin Development relaunched to support job growth in Dundee area
Production at the Michelin tyre plant in Dundee is expected to end by the middle of this year, with around 850 jobs affected. To offset this loss, the company is relaunching its Michelin Development scheme with the aim of helping to create hundreds of jobs in Dundee and the Angus area.
Continue Reading![Coronavirus’s impact on the tyre business](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Triangle-Corona.jpg)
Coronavirus’s impact on the tyre business
As of 5 February 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that there have been 24,554 confirmed cases of coronavirus across 25 countries since the outbreak began on 23 January 2020. Governments all round the world are taking steps to contain the spread of the virus as well as to develop treatment, but China is bearing the brunt of it with 24,363 cases within its borders alone. As a result, the transport systems of at least 10 cities in the People’s Republic have been shut down and public gatherings are being discouraged. As a result, home-working rates have shot through the roof and there has been an inevitable impact on the manufacturing industry. Considering China is the world’s largest manufacturer of tyres by unit volume, what impact is the coronavirus having on the tyre industry?
Continue Reading![Protyre is ‘Platinum’ with Feefo](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Protyre-Feefo.png)
Protyre is ‘Platinum’ with Feefo
Protyre shares that it has secured Platinum status within the Feefo Trusted Service Awards for 2020, a category that the review and customer insights technology company added to its annual awards structure last month.
Continue Reading![Nokian Tyres: Strong Heavy Tyres performance maintains sales in 2019](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Nokian-Heavy-Tyre-sml.jpg)
Nokian Tyres: Strong Heavy Tyres performance maintains sales in 2019
In spite of what it calls a “soft” market for car tyres in Europe last year, Nokian Tyres maintained its level of net sales throughout the period. Operating profit was lower year-on-year, and profit considerably increased. Operating profit is expected to take another tumble in 2020.
Continue ReadingBlackrock increases Titan International shareholding
According to a statement filed with the Securities and Exchanges Commission in the USA, investment management firm BlackRock Inc. has increased its shareholding in Titan International from 12.94 per cent to 14.0 per cent. The Schedule 13G form states that BlackRock now owns 8,428,280 shares in Titan International, an increase of 8.16 per cent over the shareholding it previously reported.
Continue Reading![Timetable for petrol, diesel car phase-out an unworkable fantasy, says Klarius](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Klarius282_2035_Petrol_Diesel_Ban-sml.jpg)
Timetable for petrol, diesel car phase-out an unworkable fantasy, says Klarius
Klarius Products Ltd. has slammed the government’s proposal to bring forward the ban on new petrol and diesel cars to 2035, calling the decision “an unworkable fantasy” that is more about political gain than solving a problem.
Continue ReadingBorgWarner to acquire Delphi for $3.3 billion
BorgWarner Inc. and Delphi Technologies PLC agreed that BorgWarner will acquire Delphi Technologies in an all-stock transaction that values Delphi Technologies’ enterprise value at approximately $3.3 billion on 28 January 2020.
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