Alloy rim manufacturer Borbet is presenting new designs at this week’s Essen Motor Show 2021. Amongst other products on display at its 100 square metre exhibition stand are the Borbet N and DB8GT2 as well as a new colour option for the LX18.
While almost every automotive business has been affected by current world events, for wheel manufacturers, a ‘perfect storm’ of global trading conditions has created a challenging trading period. Tyres & Accessories recently heard from Dave McMillan, sales director for Wheelwright, one of Britain’s longest standing manufacturer and retail names, who gave us an insight into how the company is coping with a new raft of logistical and financial travails.
Borbet has a new rim for light commercial vehicles and caravans. The Borbet CWZ design is a five double-spoke design suitable for vehicles with wheel loads of up to 1,250 kilogrammes such as the VW Crafter, Amarok, T5 and T6, Mercedes V-Class and the new EQV all-electric people carrier as well as the Citroën Jumper, Fiat Ducato, Peugeot Boxer and MAN TGE.
Wheelwright Limited’s management team recently acquired the company from previous managing director Kevin Greer through a management buyout process. According to the company, “this means that Wheelwright Limited is now owned and operated by the same team of experienced enthusiasts that helped the Kent-based company achieve its existing position as the country’s leading supplier of aftermarket wheels and chassis-related products.”
Ronal Group is now offering its Ronal R64 rim in an additional finish, Jetblack. This complements the Silver and Jetblack-matt-front diamond cut finishes that have been available since the rim’s launch in 2018. All three finishes are now also available in a new 16-inch version in addition to the existing 17-inch size.
The Ronal Group is launching the R68 multi-spoke wheel to complement its aftermarket range. The new wheel features “20 opposing yet interrelated spokes” which “merge into a single technical and visual unit”. The R68 is available with two different surface finishes – jet-black as well “hyper grey”, which is a new Ronal colour.
Wheel manufacturer BBS intends to gradually withdraw from the original equipment segment and concentrate on aftermarket business. This decision was announced by Stefan Prutscher, regional secretary of the IG Metall trade union. According to the union, BBS will cut 160 jobs at its Schiltach and Herbolzheim sites in Germany. The wheel manufacturer, which filed for bankruptcy for the third time in summer 2020, will retain 280 jobs.
KW automotive GmbH intends to acquire wheel manufacturer BBS, and signed a contract to this end late last year. The deal is still subject to a number of contractual conditions that should be met in the near future. The company anticipates taking over the BBS brand in June 2021 together with a minority shareholder, entrepreneur Mathias R. Albert. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
Following on from the Ronal R62, which can be customized with coloured design elements, Ronal Group is launching another product with two different coloured applications: the Ronal R67.
At the start of this year the Borbet Group became a member of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI). The alloy wheel manufacturer shares that its decision to join the ASI as of 1 January 2021 reflects an intention to actively address ecological challenges in the field of sustainable wheel production.
The world’s first carbon neutral wheel comes to market at the end of this month. This is the Ronal R70-blue, and the Ronal Group says it manufactures this passenger car rim using 100 per cent renewable energy and primarily from reused aluminium, a material that’s 100 per cent recyclable.
The rise of diamond turned alloy wheels, which have overtaken traditional painted alloys as the most common product on the market, presents an opportunity for garages and fast-fit operations to diversify, Portsmouth-based innovator, Diamond Cut Refinishing (DCR) says. The refurbishment of these wheels is often reallocated, with significant lead times. However, DCR’s latest machinery for the automotive aftermarket enables depots to offer the restoration service themselves. It says the technology “saves hours of time in repair work” and “opens up a significant new revenue stream worth hundreds of pounds per day.”
Zalloys International Limited, manufacturer of WHEELUV Alloy Protection, has launched to the aftermarket a “patented, OEM quality and impact-resistant” wheel protection system that “offers technicians and installers a unique profit opportunity.” Built to withstand the elements, WHEELUV Alloy Protection has undergone rigorous testing and is industry approved, used by vehicle manufacturers and tested by HORIBA MIRA and Intertek to offer total quality assurance. Intertek has subjected WHEELUV to up to five year accelerated ageing tests.
Wheel manufacturer BBS applied for bankruptcy protection at the district court in Rottweil, Germany on Monday 13 July 2020. It is the third time in the past 15 years BBS has done so. There were also bankruptcies in 2007 and 2011, our German group publication Neue ReifenZeitung (reifenpresse.de) reported.
While production has now resumed at BBS’s Schiltach and Herbolzheim wheel plants, the crisis and the wheel manufacturer’s adapted 50th-anniversary celebrations have given Markus Wartosch a tricky start as the newly appointed global head of sales and marketing at BBS. He is supported in this role by Erwin Eigel, who continues as Head of the IAM division at BBS.
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