The Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) has announced that Wendy Williamson will become the new chief executive, taking over from Brian Spratt in July this year. Williamson held several positions in the Unipart Group of companies including that of director & general manager at Truck & Trailer Components (TTC), a Unipart subsidiary. More recently, she has been running the aftermarket section of the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT).
The apparent UK tyre market is estimated to have grown by 3 per cent in 2013 at the behest of growing automotive market, according to Tyre Industry, a new market Report from market intelligence provider Key Note. Read a little further and there are suggestions that the 2014 – 2018 period could be some of the UK tyre market’s best years yet.
Autogem is offering a TPMS training courses in order to help specialist get the most out of their equipment investments. With garage supplier Autogem reporting the widespread take up of its i-sensor solution (launched almost one year ago), there are now said to be hundreds of TPMS installations across the country. According to the company, i-sensors are being fitted at single owner operator sites, regional multi sites and also at some of the national chains. Some sites are said to be having “tremendous success” in selling i-sensors with a couple of sites crossing the 25 replacement sensors a month mark.
Commit to Birmingham or lose 125 years of history, MP warns Goodyear Dunlop
Pending a final decision on where it will relocate when its current Fort Dunlop lease expires, Dunlop Motorsport’s continued presence in Birmingham remains uncertain. MP for Erdington Jack Dromey has urged Goodyear Dunlop to make a decision soon, and to consider the long history the Dunlop name shares with the city and the UK when it does.
North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service has spent the past day dealing with a fire at Newgen Recycling’s Sherburn-in-Elmet site in Leeds, and estimates that up to 15,000 tonnes of tyres may be involved. It initially estimated the presence of 1,000 tonnes of tyres.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries global tyre brand Falken has been awarded 2013 MTS Supplier of the Year by UK tyre wholesaler and retailer Micheldever Tyre Services. The distributor said that Falken Tyre Europe out-performed all other manufacturers throughout 2013 in terms of on-time deliveries and the percentage of orders fulfilled, averaging in excess of 94 per cent availability across the year by Micheldever’s own internal measurements.
There are now more than seven million drivers over the age of 65 on the UKs roads, according to road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM). The number of drivers over 65 reached 7,191,192 in November 2013.
While forecasters are predicting that temperatures will drop, British Car Auctions (BCA) has released its latest data on 4x4 used sales. The average value for 4x4s sold at BCA during the fourth quarter of 2013 rose by over £1,100 compared to the third quarter. December recorded the highest values in the second half of the year as 4x4s averaged over £15,000, a rise of £388 compared to December 2013.
The RAC has opted to roll out a universal spare wheel designed to speed up the fix time and minimise inconvenience for members who experience a puncture without having a spare, following a successful trial of the product which began last Autumn. By early February all RAC patrols across the UK will be equipped with the Dynomec-produced wheel, which provides a solution to the increasingly common problem brought about by manufacturers not including a spare wheel in their cars as standard.
ARI Fleet UK signs Michelin, ATS Euromaster agreements
A leading UK fleet management company has signed agreements to make ATS Euromaster its tyre service provider, and Michelin its first choice tyre brand. Chippenham-based ARI Fleet UK’s agreements cover its fleet of cars, vans and trucks, which are supplied to customers such as the RSPCA and Autoglass, on a mixture of leasing, contract hire […]
Littlewood takes on Maxxis brand manager role at Stapleton’s
At its recent annual conference, Maxxis International and UK distribution partner Stapleton’s (Tyre Services) Ltd announced the appointment of Alan Littlewood to the position of Maxxis brand manager. Maxxis International says Littlewood has taken on the role to help strengthen the Maxxis brand throughout the UK and to further develop the partnership between Maxxis, Stapleton’s and the Maxxis Key Dealer network.
Euro Car Parts opens third national distribution centre
Euro Car Parts has opened a new 258,000 square foot warehouse facility on Bonehill Road in Tamworth, Staffordshire. Located close to the 600,000 square foot National Distribution Centre (NDC), which opened in 2010, and 15 miles from the collision repair parts facility at Swadlincote, which opened in 2012, ‘Bonehill’ is designed to “future-proof” the business as it drives towards its 165 plus UK branch target by end 2014.
Valeo Service UK joins GROUPAUTO Distribution Centre
Valeo Service UK has reached an agreement with GROUPAUTO to have a strong product presence in the group’s national distribution centre (NDC), used to supply the membership of motor factors nationwide. Initially, Valeo’s top 250 clutch references will go into GROUPAUTO’s NDC, based in Bradford.
Drivers Lobby Group the Alliance of British Drivers have expressed concern that losing the hard shoulder on the proposed M1 Managed Motorway scheme could jeopardise motorists safety.
The group are concerned that the modern trend for car manufacturers to substitute a can of foam for a proper full size spare wheel will put lives at risk where there is no longer a motorway hard shoulder.
DriveRight, the wheel and tyre data supplier, is partnering with Lockside Software to help customers manage data across multiple channels from one central place. Together they provide integrated solutions to turn raw data into appealing product presentations, in the most cost and time efficient way: Geni-Sys is Lockside’s solution to effectively manage and control multiple sales channels from just one back-end. It also works in conjunction with Lockside’s software Catalog’nTime, which is an efficient tool to produce catalogues or advertising material, such as flyers or brochures.
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