Time is running out for CBILS HP applications
The window to attract crucial funding from the Government-supported Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) is closing rapidly, warns asset finance specialists PVS Finance. Businesses in the automotive sector have until the end of September to get grants agreed, worth up to 25 per cent of turnover. However, mistakes in the application process can hamper the progress of applications, with often incomplete or incorrect details resulting in a rejection.
Continue ReadingPeel completes Engineering Definition phase for Powerhouse DMG plant site
Powerhouse Energy Group’s first hydrogen production from waste plastic (including end of life tyres) plant has received a boost, as the first phase of engineering work on its site at Cheshire’s Protos Energy Park was completed on time, despite the Coronavirus lockdown. Peel L&P completed the Engineering Definition stage of the contractors’ work for the DMG plant on schedule. The completion of detailed site definition drawings and procument packages for equipment and components will enable delivery contractors to price their contracts for constructing the plant and the associated on-site buildings.
Continue ReadingAutomotive sector: only 25.9% of professionals expect pay rise
A new study from independent job board CV-Library shows that only a quarter (25.9 per cent) of automotive professionals expect to receive a pay rise from their employer in the next 12 months. The job board surveyed 1,100 UK professionals to understand their perceptions of where their career will head over the next year. Automotive professionals’ confidence is significantly lower than the average 41.3 per cent who believe their salary will increase during this time. Only 7.4 per cent in the sector believe they will be offered a promotion during this time compared to the national average of 18.7 per cent.
Continue ReadingMichelin Stoke production at normal level with ‘steady market growth’
After reopening its Stoke-on-Trent retreading factory following its closure for a scheduled maintenance break lengthened by the Coronavirus crisis, Tyres & Accessories spoke to Michelins UK factory manager Francois Levert about recent developments. The mileage trucks covered during the lockdown did not plummet as much as that of cars, but there have certainly been effects on demand. Levert confirmed at the end of June that the Michelin factory in Stoke-on-Trent is operational. A lot of work had previously been invested to ensure that we can work as safely and efficiently as possible. We are now at a normal production level, which is very gratifying. This article appears in full in the September edition of Tyres & Accessories Retreading Special supplement. Subscribers can read the supplement online here. Not yet a subscriber? You can change that here.
Continue ReadingHankook Tyre UK appoints David Block national accounts manager
Hankook Tyre UK has appointed David Block as national accounts manager. Block has more than 20 years’ experience in the tyre industry. He will work to develop sales of Hankook car and light truck tyres in the UK. Hankook states that Block’s extensive experience in various tyre industry positions will allow him to “provide an added value of customer service, whilst building and strengthening his customer base.”
Continue ReadingUK government announces Automated Lane Keeping System call for evidence
The UK is taking steps forward in automated technology in vehicles with the launch of a call for evidence on 18 August 2020 to help shape how innovative new systems could be used in future on GB roads. The call for evidence will look at the Automated Lane Keeping System (ALKS) – an automated system that can take over control of the vehicle at low speeds, keeping it in lane on motorways.
Continue ReadingVARTA joins the OESAA
VARTA has joined The Original Equipment Suppliers Aftermarket Association (OESAA) in the UK. Technical sales manager at VARTA, Andy Cook, has confirmed the new association with the organisation, saying: “Clarios, the Company behind the VARTA brand, is the largest battery manufacturer in the world, and that status naturally comes with longstanding and successful OE partnerships on a global basis, so joining OESSA makes perfect sense for us. Our new membership will help us support the independent garage further, especially in the area of new technology, where we have battery expertise on features like start-stop, where 8 out of 10 start-stop cars fitted with an AGM technology battery, is one of ours.”
Continue ReadingEVA wants petrol and diesel ban to be brought forward
The Electric Vehicle Association (EVA) England is urging the government to bring forward the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles to 2030. The government is in the process of analysing feedback from its consultation on the ban, which has already been brought forward from 2040 to 2035.
Continue ReadingMTS delivers robust performance to 4×4 dealer network despite COVID19 crisis
The current COVID19 crisis has posed the biggest challenge to Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS) in over 45 years of operating in the 4x4 market, the company reports, resulting in MTS increasing support to its dealer network to unprecedented levels.
Continue ReadingNTDA cancels 2020 Conference, Annual Dinner, Awards
The NTDA has cancelled the 2020 Tyre Industry Conference, Annual Dinner and Tyre Industry Awards. The event was scheduled for Thursday 5 November at the VOX Conference Centre Birmingham. It is the first time the annual dinner has been cancelled since its first edition in 1930. NTDA chief executive Stefan Hay said that the decision had not been taken lightly. It was initially hoped that the event would go ahead as per the government’s scheduled restart date for business events of 1 October, and is a reminder that the Covid-19 situation continues to overshadow UK business planning. The 2021 Tyre Industry Conference and Annual Dinner and Awards is scheduled to take place on 7 October in Birmingham.
Continue ReadingSunderland chosen as site for ‘UK’s greenest’ tyre recycling plant
Norwegian waste tyre recycling company Wastefront has chosen Port of Sunderland as the location for its first plant. Construction will begin in 2021. The company says that on completion it will be “the greenest waste tyre recycling plant in the UK.” The plant will convert locally-sourced End-of-Life Tyre (ELT) waste into useful commodities, including liquid hydrocarbons and carbon black, which can then be reutilised in processes such as alternative fuel or ground rubber manufacturing. The construction of the plant is expected to generate around 100 jobs in the region and, once fully up and running in the second half of 2022, the plant will employ up to 30 people full time. It is estimated the investment will be around £25 million.
Continue ReadingTomket Tires signs two-year Glasgow Rangers sleeve-sponsorship
Glasgow Rangers have confirmed Tomket Tires as a new sleeve partner for the next two seasons, commencing in the 2020/21 season. Through the partnership, Tomket Tires will reportedly have “a significant presence around Ibrox” including on the interview backdrops and LED boards.
Continue ReadingBus manufacturer Alexander Dennis to axe 160 jobs
Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) has announced that it is to axe 160 jobs at its Scottish facilities at Falkirk and Larbert. The news comes just one month after the company said that up to 650 jobs were at risk at its sites in the UK.
Continue ReadingTyre recycling and energy generation – why the time is now
Early in 2020 the UK government suggested a tentative plan to ban the export of all end of life tyres (ELTs). The timing was unfortunate, with the challenges of the rest of 2020 becoming increasingly apparent at the start of spring. However, with strict recycling, energy from waste, and environmental targets to meet over the next twenty years or so, many companies are pressing ahead in raising awareness and innovating within the broad recycling sector. ELTs represent a particularly important part of the new era in recycling introduced by the UK’s Environment Bill, not least because of new and incoming measures internal and external against used and end of life tyre exports, a popular, yet often damaging solution to the problem. Rory Hughes, technical director at IRR Waste 2 Energy, and a waste and recycling expert with more than 35 experience in the industry, told Tyrepress why adopting a more holistic approach to tyre recycling is the way forward.
Continue ReadingAs Brexit talks resume, time is running out for UK auto industry – GlobalData
UK-EU negotiations for a post-Brexit trade deal resume for their seventh round in Brussels today (18 August). David Leggett, automotive analyst at data and analytics company GlobalData, stresses the importance of a trade deal to the UKs automotive industry.
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