MWSD’s Ellis presents CV wheel safety issue to Euro Parliament
Managing director of Motor Wheel Service Distribution, John Ellis has presented expert testimony to the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) during last week’s (22 January) public hearing into the Roadworthiness Package. Acting in his capacity as director of the Northwest Automotive Alliance (NAA), Ellis presented an introduction and background to the issue, then called for five measures, most prominently the light regulation of the supply chain to enforce existing standards and improved inspection procedures across all EU member states. Ellis, who has pursued the issues confronting the safety of commercial vehicle wheels in the UK over the last few years, said his proposed changes would make for a “far safer” commercial vehicle sector without burdening CV operators with additional costs.
Continue ReadingVoith buys Thyssenkrupp Services in UK
Voith Industrial Services has strengthened its position in the UK automotive industry by acquiring ThyssenKrupp Services Ltd. According to the company, the acquisition will create a combined business with a workforce of over 2,000 employees at 35 locations. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
Continue ReadingBosal goes into administration
Bosal UK, which is best known as an exhaust manufacturer but also makes roof racks and towbards, has entered administration. Various news sources report that calling in the administrators follows the recent confirmation of a contract to supply Land Rover with the exhaust systems for its popular Evoque model. On 11 January 2013, the company issued a statement appointing Phillip Duffy and David Whitehouse of Duff & Phelps Ltd, Manchester as administrators in a move that follows “a decade of strong support for Bosal UK from its owners in the face of a mix of factors which over time increasingly impacted on its viability”.
Continue ReadingNew female friendly repairer network gets “Foxy” approval
Foxy Lady Drivers Club has opened what it says is the UK's first female friendly accident repairer network. According to the network, Women drivers can now search for a female friendly business across much of the UK for when they need their car servicing, MOT'd or repaired including all kinds of mechanical work as well as major accident damage and more minor bodywork repairs like car park dents or damaged alloys. The new Foxy Lady Approved accident repair network opened for business on Monday 7 January with an initial 90 accident repair centres featured.
Continue ReadingGfK: UK tyre market down, but improving
However depressed the market feels to suppliers and despite the legitimate complaints of tough times from the retail sector, the overall UK tyre replacement sales situation in terms of unit sales is actually getting marginally better. According to the latest passenger car tyre sell-out sales data for the first nine months of 2012, compiled by leading international market research firm GfK, things are far from rosy, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Continue ReadingStapleton’s marks 75th anniversary
75 years after the company’s foundation, Stapleton’s, its suppliers and its partners are all celebrating three quarters of a century in business. It’s hard to imagine what Sidney Stapleton would make of the company that bears his name 75 years on from the September day in 1937 when he first incorporated the firm and opened his premises at 195 High Street, Watford. By the end of the Second World War in 1945, the company had not only survived but expanded with the opening of a new depot in nearby Hitchin – a move that brought the weekly wage bill to a total of £20.
Continue ReadingTWG chairman calls for increased pressure over tyre casualties
Tyre Wholesalers Group chairman Ashley Croft has called upon the tyre industry to campaign for greater attention to be paid to poorly maintained tyres after Department for Transport figures showed an increase in the number of Killed and Seriously Injured in 2011 where “illegal, defective or under-inflated tyres” were a contributory factor. The chairman also addressed the issue du jour, EU labelling legislation, and while he expressed support for the tyre label and supported the wish to scrutinise the grades on labels, he also suggested that it was not “the number one priority of the tyre industry”.
Continue ReadingProtyre – officially female friendly
Protyre says it is the UK's first retail tyre group to subscribe to the FOXY Choice approved female friendly garage network. This means their 57 retail centres have all signed the FOXY Promise to 'never overcharge, patronise or sell women services they don't need. "This is the area where some women need reassuring most, because the tyre industry has a poor image in many female minds," said FOXY Founder Steph Savill, "this is why we're so delighted to be promoting Protyre Centres and their garage services to women drivers including members of FOXY Lady Drivers Club and their families."
Continue ReadingHalfords Autocentres and SMMT in advertising row
A row has broken out between Halfords Autocentres and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) over advertising relating to the cost of car servicing at franchised dealerships. The SMMT complained to Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about an advertisement at halfordsautocentres.com which highlighted apparent savings of up to 50 per cent on car servicing. The complaint was subsequently upheld by ASA who said the ad could not continue in the offending form.
Continue ReadingLabelling has landed
After years of planning, debating and discussing, tyre labelling is finally with us. From today every new passenger car and truck tyre must be sold with a European label of some kind (like the one opposite) and those doing the selling must tell their customers about it. Of course with only small numbers of retailers prepared before today's deadline, no clear enforcement mechanism in place and with 70 per cent of consumers unaware of the new rules it is unlikely to be plain sailing for everyone's favourite sticker.
Continue ReadingUniroyal looking to regain market share
Uniroyal enjoyed a “very good” second day of the Brityrex 2012 according to Sales manager, Glen Birkwood. The eastern European manufactured brand was communicating the products’ cost effectiveness at Brityrex, and Birkwood explained that the brand is currently “regaining” some of the ground it lost towards the beginning of the year in the UK as the cheap budget market expanded.
Continue ReadingThe value of government fleet tyre supply
In the past government-backed public sector contracts were seen as the safest business commitments around. With the economic environment being what it is, it is easy to see the attraction of securing business that you know will be paid for. However, with the finances of various European governments looking less stable than they have been for a long time, and with ministries such as the Department for Transport suffering from poor handling of rail bids such as the West Coast franchise, these types of contracts may not be the stereotypical cash cows they were once depicted as. And when you add in the fact that government contracts now have to manage the added administrative burden of labelling (which is effective from 1 November 2012), they certainly aren’t a walk in the park.
Continue ReadingBridgestone: TPMS improves fleet uptime and fuel consumption
Bridgestone’s own Tyre Pressure Management System (TPMS) is currently being rolled out across Europe with the aim of providing a more thorough pressure maintenance service to customers. The system is made up of a valve-mounted sensor, a receiver gate mounted at the fleet site and a cloud based data system. The valve sensor emits a signal every six seconds relaying up-to-date pressure and temperature data to the gate receiver which collates the information and sends it to the Bridgestone database on a regular basis.
Continue ReadingNTDA chairman Stephen Callow in focus
Lest anyone ask “who’s that giving this year’s speech”, NTDA chairman, Stephen Callow used the opportunity to give some background to how he came to hold this responsibility. In his words, he was like many in the wider tyre industry, “born with rubber in [his] veins.” He is a second generation tyre specialist thanks to the influence of his late father, Ronnie Callow. Ronnie, as Stephen explained in his inaugural chairman’s speech, was a “colourful” character – a description, he noted, that those who remember him would agree with.
Continue ReadingBandvulc’s O’Connell new TIF chairman
A new hand has taken hold of the helm at the Tyre Industry Federation. The trade association reports the election of Bandvulc Group managing director Patrick O’Connell as its new chairman, with immediate effect. O’Connell replaces Yokohama HPT Ltd managing director David Seward in the role.
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