Kwik Fit seeking town properties as part of expansion plan
Kwik Fit has commissioned property consultancy Rapleys to find “new centres across the country”, in a move that reveals the market-leading fast-fit’s expansion plans.
Continue Reading
Hankook supports 4-time British Rally champion Cronin’s 2021 return
Hankook is supporting four-time British Rally champion Keith Cronin, who has returned to the series this year. The West Cork driver will contest the four gravel rounds of the 2021 British Rally Championship (BRC), beginning with the Nicky Grist Stages this weekend, plus the season-closing Today’s Ulster Rally on tarmac in November. The recent non-championship M-Sport Rally in Cumbria provided the first opportunity to test the latest Hankook competition tyres in advance of the BRC campaign, bringing a successful result of third overall and second in the Rally 2 class.
Continue Reading
Torque from the Top: David Smith, managing director, Continental Tyre Group Ltd
Continental Tyre Group Ltd was established in the UK in 1935 as part of Continental AG, a leading global automotive supplier, celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. Continental Tyre Group Ltd manage the sales, marketing and distribution of car, 4x4, van, truck and bus, materials handling, agricultural and earthmover tyres in the UK and Irish markets. The company also runs the successful Conti360° fleet tyre management services with a range of digital solutions to also support commercial fleets. The multi-brand tyre offering in the UK and Ireland incorporates premium brand Continental as well as several well-known, mid-range and exclusive brands such as Uniroyal, Semperit and Best Drive as well as truck retread brands ContiRe and Bandvulc. Continental has made important investments in the UK in recent years through the acquisition of Bandvulc Group Ltd and Tyre Maintenance in 2016 as well as R&J Strang in 2019. Torque from the Top is a regularly feature in the print edition of Tyres & Accessories magazine. Not a subscriber? No problem, click here to become one.
Continue Reading
Prometeon appoints Mitchell as South East Business Development Manager
Prometeon Tyre Group UK has appointed Ricky Mitchell as Business Development Manager for the South East. He is responsible for new business and account management in the South East for Prometeon’s customer base of truck, bus and coach operators and tyre dealers.
Continue Reading
Micheldever doubles BFGoodrich sales
Micheldever Tyre Services has almost doubled its sales of BFGoodrich tyres since becoming the brand’s official 4x4 wholesaler in the UK at the start of 2020. The agreement sees the Winchester-based business – which has established a wholesale distribution network of 15 sites around the country, supplying more than 6,000 retailers nationwide – stock a large selection of BFGoodrich’s All Terrain T/A KO2 and Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 ranges, helping to ensure excellent product availability throughout the year.
Continue Reading
ETB reports accident and fleet cost savings with Webfleet system
Bridgestone-owned retailer ETB (Exhausts, Tyres and Batteries), has reported a 40 per cent reduction in accidents and is set for insurance savings of up to £30,000 following the introduction of the Webfleet fleet management platform. The Software-as-a-Service) SaaS system from Bridgestone-owned Webfleet Solutions, which has been integrated with forward and reverse Mantis Live cameras, has been rolled out across ETB’s 100-strong tyre delivery fleet, comprising both HGVs and vans.
Continue Reading
New van market growth stemmed only by supply issues – SMMT
The buoyancy of the British van market post-lockdown is demonstrated by the swift rise in new van registrations in 2021. While certain goods and service industries have supported business continuity for van fleets during the pandemic – such as home delivery and mobile vehicle servicing – the rise in new van purchases demonstrates both confidence in the market and demand for newer, more efficient van technologies. This is good news for UK van tyre suppliers, with original equipment sales supported well in the short-term, and continuity of demand for the latest tyre models to suit new van technologies in the replacement stream, notably including electric vans.
Continue Reading
Allstar ServicePoint offers fleet tyres with Colewood Automotive
The Allstar ServicePoint online service maintenance and repair (SMR) portal through is offering fleet tyres in conjunction with Colewood Automotive, which builds and operates a number of tyre retail websites in the UK, partnering with well-known brands such as ASDA, RAC and etyres.
Continue Reading
Kwik Fit: Pandemic has prompted car purchasing
Data released by the UK car industry throughout the pandemic has shown the negative impact of Covid-19 on sales of new and used vehicles, but new research shows the figures could have been worse. A study for Kwik Fit indicates that as 3.8 million drivers said Covid-19 caused them to put off a planned car purchase. However, this was partially offset by the fact that 3.2 million drivers were prompted by the impact of the pandemic to buy a new or used car.
Continue Reading
e-jobsheet helps 4,000 UK fleet vehicles a day
Some 4,000 fleet vehicles are being assisted back on the road every weekday in the UK via commercial tyre service providers using CAM International’s e-jobsheet tablet app.
Continue Reading
Toyo Tires renews partnership with AIG Women’s Open
For the third consecutive year, Japanese tyre manufacturer Toyo Tires is partnering with the AIG Womens Open golf championship as an exclusive patron. This years championship will take place at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland from 19 to 22 August.
Continue Reading
Banner launches new Running Bull AGM battery
Banner is introducing a new 50 Ah Running Bull AGM part number this summer as the starter battery compatible across a raft of models, such as the Suzuki Swift/Splash, Vauxhall Adam, Hyundai Kona and Kia Stonic. In what stands to be European aftermarket first for Banner, the Running Bull AGM 55001 part number is currently installed in the BWM i8 as a back-up battery, however – according to the company – that also makes it suitable as an upgrade for conventional back-up batteries in electric vehicles.
Continue Reading
Tyre industry, government partner on van tyre management best practice guide
The tyre industry and UK government have produced a best practice guide for van operators and drivers. The guide, available on the British Tyre Manufacturers Association website, has been produced to help improve roadworthiness and reduce the risk of tyre-related incident. It is in part a response to the latest data from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which shows defective tyres remain consistently the primary reason for roadside prohibitions. They account for between 15 and 22 per cent of these potentially instantaneous bans of the vehicle’s use. Other categories of prohibitions, such as Lamps and Reflectors account on average no more than 7 per cent or 8 per cent, with the majority averaging 4 per cent.
Continue Reading
Big Atom recycles 1 millionth tyre
Big Atom, which operates from Ellesmere Port in the northwest of England, is celebrating the successful processing of its one millionth tyre in three years. Not only is one million a significant sized number, according to the company it represents the first step towards a fully sustainable operation. Company founder Alexander Guslisty views Big Atom’s milestone as the tip of the iceberg, with the site licenced to process 2,500,000 tyres a year after new machinery was invested to enable higher production levels. At the same time, Big Atom’s workforce has increased to 33 and a recent investment in upgraded machinery has allowed the company to produce rubber crumb in three size variants; 0-2mm, 2-6mm and 20mm.
Continue Reading
SMMT: New car market recovery squeezed by supply issues
Registrations of new cars in June grew 28.0 per cent year-on-year to 186,128, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT)’s latest figures. The monthly performance was again artificially lifted through comparison with June 2020, when the UK began to emerge from the first pandemic lockdown and showrooms in England opened up at the beginning of the month.
Continue Reading
