Halfords 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.
Continue ReadingGrouptyre incorporates Landsail, Rapid into brand strategy
Since the dissolution of its exclusive distribution agreement with the Maxxis brand, Grouptyre has continued to evolve, both in terms of the service offered by members and its brand strategy. While the wholesaler’s managing director, Karl Naylor said that it was “no longer in our customers’ interests for us to be over-dependent on one primary push brand”, the company has been particularly active in relation to its Evergreen brand, extending the Evergreen Performance Centre programme to retailers. In addition, the company has introduced the brands Landsail and Rapid, both of which are focussed on the end of the market particularly sensitive to economic pressure. As it has built the profile and image of Evergreen, manufactured by Jinyu Tire, these brands – also made in China respectively by the Sentaida and Shengtai Groups – have allowed Grouptyre members access to newer, less established margin brands simultaneously.
Continue ReadingProfile Tyrecenter UK Ltd aims for 1000 branches in Britain
Tyrenet UK Ltd and Benelux-based Profile Tyrecenter are entering into a joint venture that will see the two companies cooperate in the execution of the ambitious goal of becoming the largest tyre retail network in the UK. The goal is 1000 branches in the UK. And what’s more the partnership of the leading independent tyre dealer network and the award winning tyre retail leader in Benelux is seeking to get a foothold in the lease and fleet services market currently dominated by other leading players, while focusing on service excellence through the deployment of its unique ICT solutions across the new chain.
Continue ReadingPirelli death no crime, says police
Criminal activity has been ruled out in the investigation into the death of Pirelli employee George Falder. Tests show that the 48-year old employee at the tyre maker’s Carlisle factory was not assaulted before he died inside one of the plant’s autoclaves.
Continue ReadingBlackcircles.com turns a profit
Black Circles, the Peebles-based online tyre retailer established by Michael Welch, turned a profit in 2011 results. 10 years after it began trading, Blackcircles reportedly made a retained profit of £2295, according to The Herald newspaper.
Continue Reading@Goodyear_UK is top social tyre brand
Another leading name may be the top brand in terms of both prominence and sentiment according to our annual online brand equity survey (see ‘Michelin top again, but is lead eroding?’ for more on this), however there is a new top social tyre brand in town. A year after we kicked off our coverage and analysis of this segment in last years’s e-Commerce feature, Goodyear has shown itself to not only be the faster riser, but also the top overall tyre brand when it comes to social media influence.
Continue ReadingPirelli fatality: worker found dead in autoclave
Further details of the lethal incident at Pirelli’s Dalton Road, Carlisle tyre production factory have emerged with various sources naming the victim as George Falder, 48 from Carlisle. According to local police Falder was found dead inside an autoclave at about 18:00 BST on Sunday 30 September. Contrary to earlier news reports, the autoclave was not used in the retreading of tyres as Pirelli exclusively produces new passenger car and 4x4 tyres at the Dalton road facility. Instead, company representatives clarified that the autoclave in question was used in the curing of beads used in the construction of new tyres.
Continue ReadingPirelli factory running again
Pirelli’s Carlisle passenger car and 4x4 tyre factory is back up and running again after managers halted production following the death of an employee. The BBC has named the deceased as George Falder, 48, from Carlisle, who was found dead at his work station on Sunday, according to the company.
Continue ReadingPirelli ‘deeply saddened’ following Carlisle fatality
Following reports of a death at Pirelli’s Carlisle passenger car and 4x4 tyre production facility, the manufacturer has issued a statement confirming that a worker had been found dead in the factory. It also communicated how the company is “deeply saddened” to announce the news of the fatality and confirms that work at the factory has been suspended to “facilitate the investigation.”
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