Happy birthday, Continental. The German tyre maker and technology company is 150 years old today, making it one of the oldest companies both in Germany and within the automotive business. One and a half centuries after starting out as a maker of rubber products for horse-drawn vehicles, the firm still specialises in the latest modes of transport and is positioning itself to meet future challenges.
CAM is celebrating its 40th anniversary this month by committing to continue investment £1.5 million of investment a year in research and development design to “keep the tyre industry connected” and help “amplify its growth into the future”.
Since its inception in 1981 by founders Trevor Allen and Len Miller, CAM has expanded to be the primary tyre solutions provider for 19 of the UK’s top 25 tyre wholesalers, and 16 of the UK’s top 25 tyre retailers have chosen CAM products to manage their tyre systems.
June marks 50 years since Dublin business Auto Tyre Services was formed in 1971 by the late Kieran Maher. Kieran Maher remained managing director of the company until he passed away in 2017. Over the years, the company has retained a strong reputation for supply and service in the earthmover, implement, agricultural and industrial sector.
The 75-year milestone for Tyres & Accessories magazine is not just a moment for retrospection. Our industry is in a state of technologically inspired flux. The past 18 months of crisis and upheaval have also been a catalyst for increasing the pace of change. At Tyre Industry Publications (TIP), we have taken this opportunity to consider the role our independent tyre industry media outlets play in the rapidly changing present and future. Our value-added information continues to offer a vital service to the tyre business but presenting this information in the right way for our readers is crucial. It also presents the ideal place for the most targeted advertising to trade buyers and – with our new consumer facing site WhatTyre – in-market audiences.
Eden Tyres & Servicing turns 40 this year, and in contrast to many people who reach this milestone, the company has never been in better shape. When Tyres & Accessories first published its UK tyre retail network ranking back in 2011, Eden Tyres operated just seven outlets. This number had grown to 18 by the time we published the ‘leading 25 UK tyre retail chains 2021’ table last month. A 19th outlet is due to open its doors before the year is out, and several more are in planning.
We’ve notched up three quarters of a century in the business, and much has changed since the first, rationing-restricted issue of Tyres & Accessories appeared in June 1946. Founding editor Frederick Carter is long gone and a mere handful of players now represent the resurgent British tyre making industry he gave a voice to. But much has also remained constant throughout these tumultuous decades, and to this day Tyres & Accessories fulfils Carter’s original remit of providing a ”suitable forum for the discussion of all questions of vital interest to the industry and those engaged in it.”
This month we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the publication of the first edition of Tyres & Accessories back in June 1946. Looking back to those immediate post-war years, comparisons can be made with the emergence from lockdown 75 years later. In the post-war period, the then still pioneering automotive business played a key role in the recovery process along with the intrinsically connected tyre trade. This time round, if the adaptability and resilience of the tyre business during the last 18 months of Covid-19-related disruption is anything to go by, things will follow a similar pattern. In both cases such events evoke genuine gratitude for the contacts, customers and friends we all have in the business. So, it is in that spirit that we begin the 75th anniversary celebrations that will continue throughout the month of June here at the front of the magazine and in a special 20-page section that begins on page 32.
The importance of retreading as part of the circular economy is well-known in 2021. But when Devon-based Bandvulc started reusing rubber to make retread tyres back in 1971, sustainability was neither part of our everyday vocabulary, nor a standard manufacturing practice. 50 years on from its humble beginnings retreading just 30 tyres a week purely for local use, Bandvulc has grown to become the UK’s foremost tyre retreader, producing one premium quality retread tyre every three minutes to serve commercial vehicle customers across the country. To mark its half-century in operation, and five years on from Bandvulc’s acquisition by Continental Tyres in 2016, Tyres & Accessories looks back on the company’s history of pioneering retread technology, prolonging the lifespan of tyres, reducing waste ending up in landfill, and contributing to lower carbon emissions in tyre production, driving sustainability as it moves into its 51st year.
In 2009 we named Hawleys Tyres the oldest tyre dealer in the country. A year later the Sheffield-based tyre retailer celebrated its centenary. 11 years on, we take a look back the company’s long history and bring things up to date as well.
Since being established 40 years ago in 1981, GS Yuasa Battery Manufacturing UK Ltd has produced over 85 million batteries at their Ebbw Vale production facility, employing over 360 skilled workers from around the local area to do so. Initially established as Yuasa Battery UK Ltd, the company name changed to GS Yuasa Battery Manufacturing UK Ltd in 2017 as part of the global roll out of the parent company name from Japan. The factory is located near the Brecon Beacons, and 30 miles from the Welsh capital Cardiff. Since being established in 1981, it has become a mainstay of the Rassau Industrial Estate on which it is based.
With 150 years in the business, Continental may well just be the oldest firm in existence still making tyres today. The company has been offering solutions since the days when horsepower was indeed horsepower, but Continental’s off-highway tyres are a much more recent addition – it’s only a little under a century since the first products came to market. As its celebrates its sesquicentennial jubilee, Continental looks back over its activities in this sector from the very earliest days.
South Korean tyre maker Hankook has turned 80, and Hankook & Company Co., Ltd. is marking the occasion with the launch of a new long-term business portfolio. This portfolio, explains Hankook Tire & Technology’s holding company, will advance “new growth engines of the future.” Hankook & Company has also declared a renewed commitment to increase competitiveness and gain stronger leadership in the company’s core businesses.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems is celebrating the 70th anniversary of tractor and agricultural machinery manufacturer Valtra with its tyre personalisation service, YourTire. Among the initiatives to honour Valtra’s milestone, Trelleborg has employed YourTire to create bespoke TM1060 tyres with Valtra’s anniversary logo. These tyres will be fitted to a limited-edition version of the Valtra T Series tractor released to celebrate the occasion.
The year 2021 is the Golden Jubilee of Point S, the multi-national tyre and car maintenance group and, to mark this milestone, the company takes a look back at 50 successful years – and a look forward too. Back in 1971, the market for tyres, car accessories and repairs was very different from what it is now, with motorists’ choice of brands limited to what the local garage had in stock at the time. Things began to change when 50 French independent garage owners came together with the aim of offering new and higher standards of service, a better choice of products and competitive prices. And so, Point S was born.
Kwik Fit is marking its 50th birthday by encouraging people to don their overalls and dancing boots and do the famous ‘Kwik Fit fitter dance’, whilst helping to highlight the increased risk of prostate cancer to men aged over 50.
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Cam
Auto Tyre Service
Point S