TPCATS: Built to Last
Staffordshire based TPCATS specialises in the manufacture of stainless steel manifolds, front pipes and catalytic converters to OE standards. Production to an OE standard of course ensures a high level of quality, and the company comments that its stainless steel products are far more efficient and reliable than ceramic alternatives, yet they are available at comparable prices. And as TPCATS has confidence that its products will not break, rattle or fail an emissions test, it is happy to offer a three-year warranty as standard on its constantly growing range. The result, says TPCATS, is fewer returns, less failures and less hassle for customers. TPCATS boasts a valid warranty claims rate of less than 1 per cent, far below the aftermarket standard of 4 per cent.
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Virtual Margins in the online tyre business
In recent years the online tyre market has swollen in size (as observed in other retailer sectors). Whilst the proportion of the total market controlled by this sector remains limited, the fact that the number of different e-tail platforms is continually proliferating means online sales could already account for as much as 3 per cent of the European replacement market. With this in mind, knowing more about how these businesses operate is of interest to everyone in the tyre trade. The latest insight is that the average tyre offered for sale online costs consumers around £69.14, meaning the myth that ‘virtual’ margins are too thin to make business sense could be evaporating. However, the most commonly offered tyre online is characterised as a mid-range brand costing around £60. It seems making money online is all a question of business model.
Continue ReadingKarl Naylor New Grouptyre MD
Grouptyre has appointed Karl Naylor as Managing Director following the departure of Peter Harries, who has left to take up a key opportunity elsewhere within the tyre industry. During 14 months with Grouptyre, Harries has worked on processes designed to build upon the company’s leading role in the tyre wholesaling industry. In this period Grouptyre has enjoyed sales growth of over 15 per cent.
Continue ReadingGiTi Tire Europe Unveils TBR Service Network
GiTi Tire is looking to increase its market presence in the truck tyre segment by implementing a TBR service network. The company has since 2006 built up a comprehensive truck and bus tyre product portfolio incorporating two premium quality brands – GT Radial and Primewell – both of which have been QS9000, ISO9001 and TS16949 accredited and are specifically designed and manufactured to meet the ever-changing demands of today’s European commercial vehicle operators. The entire TBR range is carefully selected to ensure the correct pattern is available for each application: regional, long haul, mixed service or municipal. In fact, such is the growth of the company’s sales presence in both TBR and PCR that two strategic business units have been formed to cope with the demand.
Continue ReadingKwik-Fit Training Receives Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ Rating
The multi-million pound staff training programme operated by Kwik-Fit has been described as ‘outstanding’ following an inspection by Ofsted - the Government’s Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. At present Kwik-Fit’s annual training budget totals more than £3 million, and the glowing report the company received places it in the top five to ten per cent for corporate training provision in the UK.
Continue ReadingExclusive Brands Account for 11% UK Car Tyre Market
GfK data exclusively seen by Tyres & Accessories shows that sales of exclusive brands account for 10.4 per cent of the 2007 UK car tyre replacement market. Based on the results of GfK’s ongoing research, this means 2.62 million of these tyres were sold in the market last year. GfK defines exclusive brands from the retail perspective, meaning tyres that are only available from one clear retail network such as Kwik-Fit’s Arrowspeed brand or ATS’s Riken.
Continue ReadingKingpin and Fraser Evans Lose Responsible Recycler Status
Kingpin Tyres Limited has lost its accreditation under the Tyre Industry Federation’s Responsible Recycler Scheme. A statement issued by the Tyre Recovery Association explained that the accreditation has been rescinded effective 31 July 2008.
Continue ReadingHidden [Auto]Gem
In the last few years Autogem Motor Concepts LLP has grown rapidly from a faltering supplier to an influential player in the tyre and workshop consumable business. The turning point came in September 2005 when the Invicta group of companies took over the reins at Autogem. Initially, the new owners embarked on the project with a team of just 10. The first major move the new managing partners, brothers Prashant and Adit Chopra, made was to consolidate Invicta and Autogem’s existing four warehouses into one bespoke distribution centre in Park Royal, London. They have been in their current warehouse/offices since April 2006 and closed Autogem’s inefficient old Leeds telesales operation in July 2007, after winding down the business’s dependency on this location. Here, the staff of 50 was reduced to just two, with the rest taking redundancy. This rapid reduction in headcount could be seen as harsh, but from Autogem’s management’s perspective it just demonstrates how inefficient the company they took over had become.
Continue ReadingITWS Introducing New Solid Range, Seeking European Dealers
The primary focus for International Tyre and Wheel Solutions (ITWS) at the Reifen Essen show was to highlight the new SG Revolution Cushion solid tyre range, and in particular to introduce the products to potential UK and European dealers. The company was seeking in particular dealers in a number of European markets, amongst them Germany, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands, and when T&A spoke to Sue Williams from ITWS during the show’s first afternoon she was already able to report receiving interest from potentially suitable dealers. Following the show she confirmed that the company had, in its goal, “achieved more success that we could have wished for.”
Continue ReadingGoodyear Dunlop to Supply 100,000 Tyres to Police
Goodyear Dunlop has announced that it will work in partnership with the National Policing Improvement Agency, making it the main supplier of tyres to over 50 Police forces in the country. The announcement names Goodyear Dunlop as the exclusive tyre framework supplier and service provider and will see over 100,000 Goodyear Dunlop tyres fitted to police vehicles, including patrol cars, motorcycles and public order vans, each year for the next two years. The deal covers the country’s 52 constabularies located throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Continue ReadingKirkby Reports Sales Growth of 20%
Kirkby Tyres and Wheels is one of Europe’s oldest established tyre and wheel wholesalers and distributors, having been in the business for roughly half a century. At Reifen 2008 the company chose to use the popular exhibition as a platform for further enhancing the company’s progression in a number of market sectors, including truck, agricultural, OTR and mining and quarry tyres. And this progress is going well; Kirkby achieved a sales growth of 20 per cent during 2007.
Continue ReadingA Larger Slice of the Cake – high performance tyre market data
During the 1990s the US television series ‘The X-Files’ popularised the catchphrase “the truth is out there.” But while the programme focused on little green men and other unexplained phenomena, it could have easily referred to the high performance tyre market. The truth about this market segment is, you see, somewhere out there. Yet it is difficult to place one’s hands with confidence upon a single, authoritative source of data that tells exactly how things are and where they are headed. What can really be said about the high performance tyre market?
Continue ReadingGITI Tire Show Fleet Offering at CV Show
GITI Tire Europe staff characterised the company’s CV show presence as the UK-debut of the manufacturer’s electronic fleet management system. However, it also forms part of a wider programme of increased market visibility, culminating in investment in another show stand at the key Reifen show in Essen, Germany later this month. When, towards the end of 2007, GITI Tire booked its stand for this year’s CV show, company representatives told Tyres & Accessories that GITI Europe has invested a “significant amount” in publicising the company’s ever-increasing range of truck and bus tyres at the show. The decision to place the booth right opposite the Michelin and ATS Euromaster stands, and a short walk from the Continental and Bridgestone spaces certainly did not go unnoticed. And while every company T&A spoke to had a handful of reasons why they shouldn’t fear any new competition, it is clear that many were surprised at the range and depth of the programme the Chinese manufacturer had on offer.
Continue ReadingAge Old Question
Peter Gaster confronted the issue of tyre ageing head-on in what is likely to be his last NTDA dinner as association chairman. The headline news is that, following negotiations between NTDA director Richard Edy and the RAC Foundation, the respected motoring organisation has pledged its full support for to an industry-wide tyre age check campaign.
Continue ReadingWell Handled
Eliminating the hazards posed by manual handling and simplifying maintenance tasks to ensure compliance with regulations are two primary design aims under consideration when Penny Hydraulics introduces a new item of specialist tyre and wheel service equipment. And these are important factors to take into account when considering that, according to HSE statistics, the manual handling of heavy objects accounts for 38 per cent of all workplace injuries requiring three or more days absence from work – the greatest single cause of work-related illness.
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