Autopromotec: Changing Europe makes cooperation more important
When the doors for Autopromotec 2019 opened at the end of May, the show organisers were already reporting a 4.4 per cent increase in the number of exhibitors. More than 1,650 companies exhibited at Autopromotec 2019. 43 per cent were non-Italian companies from 53 different countries. It has undoubtedly become a large and influential international show, but how will this work in a post-Brexit environment?
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June 2019 – Retreading Special
Click on the CONTINUE READING button to view the June 2019 issue of Retreading Special
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Tyre Recovery Association Forum day welcomes record numbers
The 2019 TRA annual forum day attracted record numbers of delegates to its annual day conference held at the Ardencote Manor Hotel on Tuesday 18 June. Numerous topics were covered during the day, but the TRA’s calls for government support in pursuit of its goals; details of the association’s recent tag technology trial details; and the launch of a tyre recovery industry-specific Fire Prevention Plan stood out. More than 90 delegates were in attendance.
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June 2019
Click on the CONTINUE READING button to view the June 2019 issue of Tyres & Accessories
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Tyre aging law could take effect in 2020
The UK government is consulting on plans to ban old tyres for buses, coaches, lorries and minibuses and a new law could be introduced this year and come into force early 2020. Tyres aged 10 years and older would be banned from use on buses, coaches, lorries and minibuses under the new proposals. However, further clarity about precisely what the new rules will cover is needed.
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Digital transformation in the tyre sector
At the start of May, Zivojin Sekulic of GAJ d.o.o. gave a presentation on the digital transformation of the tyre industry at Guangrao Tyre Conference and Expo 2019. Shortly afterwards, he shared details of the presentation with Tyres & Accessories, which shows how digital data is affecting all parts of the distribution chain.
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MWheels refocuses business on wheel expertise
During the first half of 2019, Manchester-based commercial wheel services company MWheels has been implementing an evolutionary process to change its target. The company has sought to position itself differently within its markets; from a UK wheel distributor campaigning for legislative input on wheel safety, to a European provider of wheels and wheel services designed to make commercial operators more aware of the safety and business implications of fitting and maintaining the most suitable products for their fleets. “The last four months,” chief executive officer Matthew Mardle tells Tyres & Accessories, “have been a big success in following through on the strategies” implemented since the changes in leadership at the helm of the company in January – Mardle was appointed CEO, while company founder John Ellis took up a new position as chairman – and, in the longer term, since the company opened its European operation, MWheels GmbH, in Germany.
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Have the truck tyre import tariffs ‘worked’?
The size of the UK truck tyre market by sell-out unit volume fell 9.8 per cent in 2018 set against the backdrop of European import tariffs, according to GfK data presented at Autopromotec 2019. But what do the tell us about the effectiveness of the tariffs?
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Do tariffs and trade wars work?
At the time of going to press, the President of the United States of America is mid-way through a state visit to the UK. Before he even landed on British soil, President Donald Trump stirred up controversy by tweeting his disparaging thoughts about London Mayor Sadiq Kahn. Whatever view one might hold about the propriety of Trump’s visit, we all know that 31-gun salutes and tea with the queen are about more than niceties. Sure enough less than 24 hours into the state visit, presidential talk turned to trade, with Trump backing out-going Prime Minister Theresa May to complete Brexit negotiations and promising a “phenomenal” trade deal between the US and UK. But all this is set against the backdrop of all-out trade war between the US and China at the same time that Europe is involved in somewhat more Cold War-esque trade skirmishes with China as well. The questions are: do such measures work? And what do they mean for the tyre business?
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A day in the life with Bridgestone OTR major accounts manager Rob Cole
Bridgestone’s OTR major accounts manager Rob Cole is celebrating his 30th anniversary with the world’s largest tyre manufacturer. He spoke exclusively with Tyres & Accessories about his role at the company – and the changes he has encountered over the years.
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May 2019
Click on the CONTINUE READING button to view the May 2019 issue of Tyres & Accessories
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Hexpol growth driven by compounding and exports
Almost 10 years after Hexpol embarked on a prolonged growth-by-acquisition strategy, here Tyres & Accessories examines the company’s overall progress as well as the particular example of UK-based Hexpol Group member, retreading compound supply specialist Berwin Polymers.
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Vaculug promotes VMS Mobile at CV Show
With the UK commercial vehicle and fleet business congregating in Birmingham for the Commercial Vehicle Show at the start of May, Vaculug took the opportunity to demonstrate the latest addition to its bespoke fleet tyre management system called VMS - VMS Mobile. For the company, which is now the only non-new-tyre manufacture-owned retreader in the UK, fleet growth and retreading business growth go hand in hand. And that’s why having the right fleet tyre management system in place has become more important than ever.
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Can artificial intelligence reduce warranty claims?
At the start of April 2019, Bridgestone formally completed its billion-dollar acquisition of TomTom Telematics. The goal – as ever – is to capitalise on the benefits of big data, leveraging its usefulness in the cause of better tyres and greater efficiency for all stakeholders. Of course, Bridgestone is not the only tyremaker seeking to make the most of tyre data. Many have invested significantly in developing cyber tyres over the course of the last 10 to 15 years, harnessing the fact that tyres are a vehicles’ only point of contact with the road and therefore the only means of generating real-time road surface:vehicle contact data. This same approach also yields tyre condition and performance data, which can be used for everything from motorsport to commercial fleet applications. But what about in the manufacturing process itself?
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EfTD growing with the ‘right opportunities and matches’
European FinTyre Distribution (EfTD) has grown at a rate of knots since Bain Capital first acquired Italian tyre wholesaler Fintyre in the first quarter of 2017. At the time, Bain Capital Private Equity managing director Ivano Sessa stated his confidence in Fintyre’s “substantial growth potential both organically and through consolidation in a fragmented Italian and European tyre distribution market,” and later on the private equity fund put its money where its mouth was.
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