Thermal management specialist Zircotec has announced that it will present production versions of first ever ‘structural’ ZircoFlex FORM heatshield at January’s Autosport International show.
Award winning car parts distributor, Fast Parts Wales, has opened up a new branch in Tredegar, South Wales. The 8,800 sq ft branch in Crown Business Park will be the third branch within the Fast Parts network and see the appointment of a further 14 new staff, including van drivers, warehouse staff and sales representatives. […]
UK automotive parts distributor The Parts Alliance has announced a new partnership agreement with online servicing and repairs aggregator WhoCanFixMyCar.com. The group says the deal will help to provide motorists nationwide with quality parts and value in their vehicle repairs and servicing through their local independent garage. Within the trade, The Parts Alliance says the partnership will result in increased enquiries for its customer garages, while the ease of quoting and auto parts purchasing processes will be increased.
GKN has developed the world’s first Disconnect All-Wheel Drive System for A-, B- and C-segment vehicle platforms, which improves fuel economy during steady state cruising by up to 4 per cent. The innovative Disconnect function enables vehicles to combine the enhanced traction, dynamics and stability of all-wheel drive with improved on-highway fuel efficiency.
Valeo Service UK has unveiled a new lighting & signalling catalogue featuring more than 302 new part numbers. New additions include: 76 Halogen head lamps, 64 Xenon head lamps, 4 LED head lamps, one Ballast, 23 front lamps including 13 daytime running lights (DRL), 31 fog lamps and, 74 rear lamps including 15 lamps for LED versions.
Klarius has announced an increase in its stock of exhausts required to solve a suspected design issue with Peugeot 207s manufactured during early 2008. The problem, highlighted again by a recent TecRMI report, is with the rear silencer and generally presents as excess noise from the rear of the car, particularly with the 1.4 models.
The Parts Alliance has made its eighth acquisition, buying out associate member Car Parts & Accessories (CPA). Established in 1995, CPA employs 120 people in 12 branches serving Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey. It has a delivery fleet of 60 vehicles and a turnover approaching £12 million.
MAN and Scania will be cooperating on vehicle gearboxes in the future. As part of this collaboration, from 2016 Scania’s gearbox hardware will be gradually implemented in TGS and TGX series MAN vehicles. MAN will develop the gearbox software for the optimal gear changing strategy. Testing of the first prototype vehicles has already begun. The aim is also to develop the subsequent generation of the current Scania gearbox portfolio together. The details of the cooperation are currently being drawn up.
Tracy Whiteley joined the Klarius UK sales team covering emission control products, starting on Monday 22 September. Moving jobs after 31 years at competitor Bosal, Tracy expressed how she was looking forward to talking to customers with a positive message about product quality and availability and a forward thinking supportive team behind her.
A new “heavyweight” in the automotive components sector has been created today with the acquisition of TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. by ZF Friedrichshafen AG. TRW announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with ZF Friedrichshafen, which will see all outstanding TRW shares acquired for US$105.60 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $13.5 billion. The announcement that TRW is changing hands followed a separate statement from ZF Friedrichshafen announcing the sale of its 50 per cent share in the ZF Lenksysteme GmbH joint venture to partner Robert Bosch GmbH for an undisclosed sum; this transaction is said to have been made to satisfy antitrust requirements prior to the acquisition of TRW.
In the wake of Unipart Automotive’s demise, Unipart Group sought to differentiate itself from the business that had been sold to H2 Equity Partners in 2011. The Unipart Group has now confirmed its commitment to another automotive business carrying the Unipart name. Unipart will develop the Unipart Car Care Centre proposition in order to make it more robust and compelling for both garages and motorists.
A second former Unipart Automotive director has been recruited by The Parts Alliance. Joining south west regional director Paul Dineen, James Geldart will be responsible for the Eastern Alliance’s 21 branches, serving independent garages in London and the South East of England. Geldart was previously a divisional director with Unipart Automotive (UA), and was appointed with effect from Monday, 1 September.
Randstad, the automotive parts and consumables specialist, has added the ‘Start Booster’ heavy-duty jump pack to its product range. The 12-volt, Swiss-engineered tool is a sturdy and reliable solution when used to jump-start a vehicle, as a memory saver or an inverter.
The Parts Alliance has acquired three more former Unipart Automotive (UA) branches. Located in the south west of England, the Chard, Frome and Plymouth sites are expected to re-open around the end of September, according to The Parts Alliance. They bring the number of former Unipart Automotive branches acquired by the HgCapital-owned business group to 15 including the 12 acquired in July after UA went into administration. 24 more jobs have been saved as a result, while Paul Dineen, formerly regional director with UA and head of the Unipart Car Care Centres (UCCC) programme, has been recruited to oversee the eight ex-UA sites in Barnstaple, Penryn, Taunton, Tiverton and Exeter.
Groupauto’s latest AutoCare promotion, the “Fantastic Summer Giveaway”, generated “more than £321,000 of work for the garages in the network that participated,” according to AutoCare network manager, Maria McCullough. Almost 2,200 motorists entered the prize draw in the eight weeks of the competition, with the top prize of a Citroën C1 awarded to John Cooley, who booked his car into Earby Autos in Earby, Lancashire. Earby Autos is supplied its parts by Groupauto member Raynor Motor Factors.
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