European Garage Equipment Market Survey
Berlin-based research company Leo-Impact Consulting has released a comprehensive (334-page) market study, entitled European Garage Equipment 2008. The report examines the market for the following 12 product categories: Aircon Service, Battery testers and chargers, Body repair, Brake testers and testlines, Diagnostics, Dynamometers, Exhaust gas extraction, Gas analysers, Lifting equipment, Light adjusting equipment, Wheel and tyre and Wheel alignment. These markets are examined in seven different regions, which are Germany, France, Italy, UK, Spain, Scandinavia and Benelux.
Continue ReadingFirst Stop Network Hosts Charity F1 Event
A week before the Formula One roadshow hit Silverstone, Carson Tyre & Autocare – part of the First Stop network of tyre dealerships, hosted the event at department store Leekes, in Melksham, where they showcased a stunning replica F1 car and simulator to help raise money for charity. Visitors to the Saturday, 13 June event had the chance to have their picture taken by the F1 car and test their driving skills on the simulator - both for a small charity donation. Bridgestone has declared the event “a huge success”, raising £200 for the British Heart Foundation. All visitors were presented with Bridgestone merchandise and given the chance to enter a prize draw to win an exclusive F1 factory tour of the Williams facility in Grove, Oxfordshire. First Stop representatives and Carson Tyre & Autocare staff, who were on hand during the day, also used the event to give out safety and product advice.
Continue ReadingWin MotoGP Tickets and Prizes with National
Motorcycle Grand Prix fans take note – National Tyres and Autocare is giving visitors to its national.co.uk website the opportunity to win. Up for grabs are tickets to the paddock at Donnington on July 25 and 26 plus limited edition autographed prints of some of the biggest names in MotoGP. National is running the free prize draw in conjunction with Bridgestone who donated the motorcycle prizes. For a chance to win tickets, visit the website before July 6, 2009. The autographed print draw will be separately held on August 28. No purchase is necessary in order to enter, assures National.
Continue ReadingConti Delays Pay to Meet Loan Terms
Continental AG has reportedly opted to put payroll payments on hold for “a few days” in June to so it can honour its loan commitments. According to a report published by Bloomberg, all of Continental’s 45,000 workers in Germany as well as some in France and the US will be affected. Bloomberg quoted Continental’s headquarters as saying that Employees will receive their wages by July 3 at the latest. However, Continental Tyre Group representatives confirmed the news won’t affect UK employees.
Continue ReadingUK Production Figures Show Benefit of Scrappage Schemes
Car production in the UK dropped 43.0 per cent to 67,754 units during May, the smallest year on year decline during 2009 so far. And while the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders comments that the outlook remains difficult, the trade association believes positive signs are evident as manufacturers restart production following the implementation of scrappage schemes. Commercial vehicle production, on the other hand, plummeted 73.5 per cent to 4,692 units – the largest monthly drop this year. “Prompt action by manufacturers to realign supply with demand has been painful, but was necessary,” stated SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt. “There is now a direct link between demand in the marketplace and production volumes,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive. “The scrappage schemes in place across Europe are now beginning to have a positive impact, although the full benefits will take a little longer to flow down to companies at all levels in the supply chain.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Art Contest Receives Record Entries
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Using this yardstick, Bridgestone has no less than fifty five and a half million safety and environment related words on its hands: the company reports that at least 55,676 European primary school children participated in its “dreams at heArt” children’s drawing contest during 2009, more than 35 per cent more than last year. Children from twenty-five countries – including for the first time the Baltic States, Slovakia and Romania – sent in drawings of their thoughts and aspirations on the theme “Safe Travel in a Greener World”.
Continue ReadingTyres & Accessories’ Julie Wilshaw Completes Charity Midnight Walk
Circulations and Admin manager at Tyres & Accessories’ Stoke-on-Trent base Julie Wilshaw completed the annual Midnight to Sunrise Walk in the city on Friday 19 June to raise funds for the Douglas Macmillan Hospice in North Staffordshire. The hospice provides palliative care – care of patients whose disease no longer responds to curative treatment, and for whom the aim must be the best quality of life for them and their families according to the World Health Organisation – to those with cancer and other life-limiting diseases. She says that she wanted to complete the walk in memory of her mother and father and that the effects of cancer on friends had inspired her interest in the evening’s charity. Many others agreed, with the walk being completed by 1,500 area women. At present, Wilshaw says she has raised £144, and while this represents a good initial figure, she has targeted £500 as a final amount. Anyone wishing to donate to the cause can do so at http://www.justgiving.com/juliewilshaw. Tyres & Accessories congratulates Julie for her achievements and wishes her the best of luck for her future charitable endeavours.
Continue ReadingApollo Tyres Appoints New Creative Partner
Capital Advertising is to replace M&C Saatchi as Apollo Tyres’ passenger vehicle business creative partner, a role that will see it handle media related duties for the Indian manufacturer’s entire passenger car tyre range. Speaking to televisionpoint.com, Capital Advertising director Sunil Sachdeva director said Apollo Tyres has recently become a global player and has “very ambitious plans for the road ahead, it is the right time for us to partner them in this preposition. The advertising agency previously represented Apollo Tyres through its involvement in the launch of the manufacturer’s two wheeler tyre range almost a decade ago.
Continue ReadingATC Claims Name Change
American Tire Corporation is no more. In a statement placed on its now defunct website, the importer said it was changing its name to Colorado Tire Corp. In March, ATC lost its federal appeal of a trademark infringement case brought by American Tire Distributors. The mega-distributor claimed ATC’s name and logo “constitutes use in commerce that is likely to cause confusion and mistake and to deceive consumers as to the source or origin of defendants’ products or defendants’ business.” The lower court’s order to ATC to vacate its name and logo was issued in August 2008. In its statement, the former ATC said: “In order to consolidate our corporate identity behind our companys most recognizable and valuable asset, i.e., the Colorado brand OTR tires, which have been extensively approved and recognized by various users in different countries, the Board of Directors of American Tire Corporation has determined to change our corporate name to Colorado Tire Corporation. “Any existing and ongoing contracts/agreements/authorizations between any company and American Tire Corporation shall be reentered with Colorado Tire Corporation by the end of June 30, 2009, or otherwise will be deemed invalid.” Other than posting the statement, the company disabled its website at www.americantire.us, and said a new site “will be announced separately.” (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingGoodyear Reducing Production at Tennessee Consumer Tyre Plant
As of July 6, production at Goodyear’s consumer tyre facility in Union City, Tennessee will move from a continuous operating schedule to a five-day, three-shift operation. The manufacturer describes this cutback as “another important step” in its efforts to align production in North America with current weaker industry demand.
Continue ReadingNext Generation Goodyear RunOnFlat Launched as Merc E-Class OE
Goodyear has launched the new generation of its RunOnFlat tyre with an original equipment fitting on the new Mercedes E-Class, which left factories recently. Goodyear states that the latest generation tyre offers numerous benefits to car makers, consumers and the environment, including improved comfort, reduced mass and rolling resistance, improved fuel consumption and consequently reduced CO2 emission levels. The tyre-maker suggests that the tyre is comparable to regular tyres in terms of comfort. Car manufacturers do not need to modify the suspension or chassis of their cars to use them, Goodyear claims. Mercedes-Benz recently awarded the ultra high performance summer Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric RunOnFlat tyre with its ‘Mercedes Original Extended’ (MOExtended) seal of quality, with the term Extended signifying the tyre’s safety capabilities.
Continue ReadingMichelin to Open India Factory Within 3 Years, says Rollier
India’s commercial vehicle radial market has long been a sleeping giant, and Michelin is determined to be around when it wakes up. Comments made by group managing partner Michel Rollier point to the company’s eagerness to set up its new factory there within a short timeframe. We hope the factory will open within three years, Rollier told Europe 1 radio. Production at the new facility will focus upon truck and heavy engineering tyres, a sector where the Indian market is promising and we are virtually absent. Rollier added we dont want to miss the take-off of the Indian market.
Continue ReadingSue’s Tyres Fined for Missing Waste Transfer Notices
Cannock-based Sue’s Tyres Limited has been fined £540 for failing to provide the appropriate waste transfer notices. Stafford Magistrates also fined the firm £90 as costs of £491 and a victim surcharge of £15 – a total of £1,136. The total could have been significantly higher, but the company was given a 10 per cent discount for changing its plea from not guilty to guilty. According to an Express and Star report, the council has no reason to believe the company was fly-tipping but says it was acting as a waste broker without the required documentation. The maximum fine for flytipping is £50,000 and/or five years in prison. The maximum fine for giving waste to someone who then fly-tips it is £5,000.
Continue ReadingAnticipation for 2010 Pirelli Cal Grows with Online Pic Leaks
Various online celebrity news sources are helping to build on the hype for the 2010 Pirelli Calendar, which has reportedly begun shooting in Brazil. Interest is particularly high in the tyre manufacturer’s homeland Italy, where the national edition of Vanity Fair has featured the 2010 models on its front cover, and Australia, the country in which the most high-profile model, Miranda Kerr, was born. The Cal 2010 will feature the photographic work of renowned eroticist Terry Richardson from the USA, with modelling by Kerr’s fellow Australians Abbey Lee Kershaw and Catherine McNeil. Kerr has appeared nude in various media several times already this year, addressing the plight of koala bears and the plight of spotty teenagers in Rolling Stone magazine. Reports suggest that the 2010 Cal will feature one photograph in which the model wears only a hat, while McNeil will pour milk over her own naked body. The censored pictures are available at the end of a simple Google picture search.
Continue ReadingUnipart Promotes Garage Equipment Offers
Unipart Automotive has teamed up some of the leading garage equipment manufacturers for its latest edition of Megawisebuys. Highlights include a free air conditioning introductory pack, a set of four high lift pads on the Cascos 3.2 tonne 2-post lift and a free Karcher domestic pressure washer with certain offers. In addition the company is offering wheel balancer accessory kits for balancing centreless, light commercial vehicle and 4x4 wheels correctly.
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