The Board of Directors of Singapore based Stamford Tyres Corporation has announced the appointment of Dr Wee Li Ann, daughter of company president Wee Kok Wah, as a non-executive director. The appointment took effect on December 9. Dr Wee will, adds Stamford, undertake formal training on her roles and responsibilities as director of a public listed company in Singapore in ‘due course’.
Bandvulc Tyre Contracts has recently completed establishing a network of road transport industry tyre suppliers. The company has evolved its network after what it refers to as a “rigorous selection process” involving every aspect of the suppliers’ operations. The project saw 21 key service providers supply all of the necessary pre-requisite documents and evidence of procedures in order that BTC could award levels of performance in key service areas.
Barry Shaddick Tyres is celebrating two decades of providing a tyre supply, fitting and repair service to commercial vehicle operators across the South of England and Wales. Since opening the doors on its Bristol premises in 1989 the company has developed into a network of eight depots, from which 48 service vans provide a highly responsive service, including 24/7 roadside assistance.
Bridgestone UK group companies Bulldog Remoulds (Holdings) Ltd and Kingsway Tyres Ltd recently achieved the Investor in People Standard. Both companies have been awarded the status for the first time and are said to be thrilled to gain public recognition of their achievements, after a rigorous audit of their working practices.
Cooper Tire reports that Smithers Quality Assessments lead auditor Ricker Zoller recently conducted an ISO 9001:2000 stage one audit at its Cooper Kenda Tire facility in Kunshan, China. This stage one audit, the company adds, is comparable to the pre-certification audits that North American plants underwent in spring 2008 in preparation for their actual certification audits. The certification audit at Cooper Kenda Tire is scheduled for July.
Following the four-day inspection, the auditor commented that he found “no issues that would prevent Cooper Kenda Tire from obtaining its certification.” This positive feedback comes after half a year of preparation for ISO auditing, a time in which department leaders and employees have been engaged in establishing proper procedure documents. Cooper states that employees have developed all the required systems, such as document control, internal audit, corrective and preventive action and calibration systems.
Pirelli UK Tyres Ltd has announced that Jet Wheel Tyre Benfleet has been awarded Pirelli Performance Centre (PPC) status. Jet Wheel Tyre Benfleet becomes only the 60th centre in the country to receive this prestigious award.
Jet Wheel Tyre Benfleet owner Cliff Crane believes that the recognition gained from becoming a PPC member acknowledges the commitment and hard work shown by the entire team, and went on to say: “We are delighted that Pirelli have recognised Jet Wheel Tyre Benfleet by awarding us with PPC status. Everybody in the trade knows that the Pirelli PPC audit is notoriously difficult to pass and it’s a credit to everybody here that we have managed it.”
Cooper Tire has appointed Cathy Hissong its new director of corporate communications. In this position, Hissong will be responsible for employee communications, including oversight of employee publications and intranet communications, direction of various business projects and management of Cooper’s Visual Communications Center. Having joined Cooper in 1986 as a budget analyst, Hissong’s time with the Ohio, US based manufacturer has seen her employed in the roles of capital equipment buyer, regional credit manager and audit manager before training as a Six Sigma black belt, her most recent position.
John Bean, a brand within Snap-on Equipment, announced its price reduction on the popular V3D Lite to £7,995 (excluding VAT). The reduced price is available on machines ordered before July 2009 and includes a two-year warranty.
Chris Behan, general manager of Snap-on Equipment, states that the company hopes to attract more converts to the system’s 3D alignment operation: “Reducing the price of the successful John Bean V3D Lite enables more workshops to leave their old laser aligners behind and step into the world of fast and accurate 3D wheel alignment. The current economic climate means that garages need to maximise profit opportunities and V3D Lite enables them to gain a new or improved revenue stream alongside their core business.”
ATS Euromaster’s centre in South Street, Newport, Isle of Wight, has been appointed as a Michelin Exelagri Centre through the tyre manufacturers’ national accreditation scheme for agricultural and construction specialists. In joining this select group of accredited Exelagri Centres, ATS Euromaster becomes the first tyre dealer on the Isle of Wight to be recognised by Michelin for its ability to supply a high quality service to customers in these two key business sectors.
Paul Murtha, manager of ATS Euromaster in Newport, says: “Over the last three years our sales in the agricultural and construction sectors have risen to represent nearly 40 per cent of our overall turnover, from an original base of less than 10 per cent.
Pirelli Tyres has crowned Tyres Northampton as its Pirelli Performance Centre (PPC) of the year for the second year running. The award is the culmination of a four month assessment programme which included the PPC technical audit followed by an onsite video “mystery shop”. The PPC technical audit covers a wide spectrum of areas including working practices, standard and maintenance of equipment, housekeeping and tyre/wheel removal procedures. In contrast, the video “mystery shop” focused on the consumer experience and levels of customer service.
On November 19, Tennessee, US based banking group First Horizon National Corporation named Bridgestone Americas Holding chairman and CEO Mark Emkes as one of the group’s two new board members. This appointment took effect immediately. Mr. Emkes has also been appointed to serve on the Compensation Committee and the Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors.
National Tyres and Autocare has received the ‘Retailer of the Year’ award by the Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) for “demonstrating consistent concern for the responsible recycling of end of life tyres.” Gary Pugh, group audit director for the Axle Group, which includes National Tyres and Autocare, National Fleet and Viking International, accepted the award from John Campbell, director, Vellco Limited, National’s waste management partner.
“National, working together with Vellco Limited, will achieve a zero carbon footprint during 2009, which supports our overall goal of minimising environmental impact in all the varying processes in which the company is involved,” Pugh commented.
Pneu-Logic, a UK subsidiary of Advanced ID Corporation has signed a new agreement with a leading European based aircraft tyre manufacturer. Under the terms of the deal, Pneu-Logic will supply and integrate its RFID technology and FastCheck Software with the tyre manufacturer’s business practices. Initially valued in excess of US$750,000, additional terms of the agreement are expected in a joint press release in the next two weeks.
Earlier this week Pneu-Logic entered an agreement to provide its FastCheck tyre products to Entyrety Ltd of Erdington, Birmingham, a leading provider of training and support services for the automotive and related industries. Using the FastCheck software, the new paperless system was developed by Pneu-Logic, working in collaboration with Entyrety engineers. The new paperless solution automated the old, manually compiled, paper based report, taking days and significant costs out of the fleet audit process. A major step forward for the European tyre and automotive industries, both companies anticipate the sale of over 50 of the new auditing systems within the next year.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that on August 20 a federal duty found former Hayes Lemmerz International CEO Ranko Cucuz and former CFO William D. Shovers liable for securities fraud charges against the SEC. The verdict followed a two-week jury trial in Detroit, Michigan.
Independent petrol haulage contractor Suckling Transport has signed a three-year PPK (pence per kilometre) contract with Michelin and ATS Euromaster. The deal sees all of Suckling’s 86 vehicles and 96 petroleum tanker trailers adopt a 100 per cent Michelin Group tyre policy.
West Thurrock-based Suckling Transport worked with Michelin for many years before awarding a three-year contract to another manufacturer in 2005. According to the French manufacturer, the decision to reappoint Michelin followed a national tyre audit which highlighted key areas of improvement.
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