Richbrook designers have attempted to give one of the dullest of all motoring accessories a stylish look, while simultaneously solving what it terms “one of the great perennial motoring problems”. With the firm’s new ‘Never Lose’ valve caps, it aims to prevent the persistent annoyance of the conscientious motorist each time they check their tyre pressures.
Rema Tip Top’s UK branch landed the Innovation TAFF Award this year for the Ram-rod Tire Safe safety cage. In addition to the business that product attracted, Rema Tip Top says another product has been of particular interest this year. Making the argument that today’s economic climate calls for “favourably-priced solutions”, Rema Tip Top says its Minicombi plug/patch repair system is a “great alternative” to new tyre purchases, given that most tyre injuries can be repaired. “A genuine contribution to the sustainability of the environment can also be immensely satisfying to the responsible motorist,” the company maintains. The Minicombi is available for radial and cross-ply tyres and designed to be used to repair both the inside surface and puncture-canal, efficiently and durably in one step. The system can repair tread punctures of up to 10mm in diameter.
When the European Parliament adopted a report with recommendations on how to improve European road safety between 2011 and 2020 it supported a number of measures includes a Europe-wide obligation for winter tyre fitment on all vehicles.
According to trade bodies NTDA and the Automotive Aftermarket Federation, the report reiterates the commission’s view that there needs to be a coherent approach to road safety and it calls for road safety issues to be addressed in all relevant policy areas, such as education (e.g. driver training, or information regarding the role of tyres and their proper maintenance), health (eye tests) or environmental and social policy.
Bosch Automotive Aftermarket has appointed Alex Gibson and Paul Rendell as technical service advisors in the UK. The appointments were made following the transfer of existing advisors, Steve Meloy and Kevin Lyon, to the Data Engineering team and Original Equipment division, respectively. Gibson and Rendell join the hotline team responsible for providing technical assistance to Bosch customers to support servicing, diagnostic trouble-shooting, and replacement and repair of automotive products.
DriveRight, independent global providers of wheel and tyre fitment data has established an office in Germany. DriveRight DE GmbH was formed to provide specialist B2B data and ecommerce solutions for integration within the automotive industry.
As a world market leader for balance weights, Wegmann Automotive says its Hofmann Power Weights are ready to meet the challenges of the future through a focus on a “high level of product quality boasted by the ‘Made in Germany’ mark and spreading the word to all about the subject of balancing.” Exemplifying this approach, Thorsten Thom, who took over as managing director at Wegmann Automotive at the start of the year explains the company’s special training approach to explaining the effects of imbalance, along with how to install weights correctly.
US-based company Koppers Holdings Inc. has announced the end of manufacturing at its Continental Carbon Australia plant in Kurnell, just south of Sydney. The carbon black facility is scheduled to end operations during the week of 5 December 2011 and preparations for closing the plant will be made over the coming four months. Koppers says the decision, which will affect approximately 65 employees, was taken as a result of an analysis of its manufacturing facilities; this highlighted a number of negative factors working against the Continental Carbon Australia plant, including the strong Australian dollar and raw material availability and cost.
Alignment machinery manufacturer Hunter has been recognised for its technological innovation at SEMA. The company was presented with the 2011 North American Frost & Sullivan ‘Technology Innovation Award’ for its Elite TD alignment system. The award was presented to Hunter executive vice president Nick Colarelli by Frost & Sullivan programme leader Stephen Spivey. The system is distributed in the UK by Pro-Align.
A fully automatic version of Rema Tip Top’s Aikido tyre mounting machine has been released. Called the Concert, this new unit is said to enormously simplify everyday work compared to previous models. Rema Tip Top states the Concert’s advantages include a speeding-up of the fitting process and a reduction in the physical effort required from the operator.
Bosch Aftermarket, the division of the German company responsible for supplying diagnostic garage equipment, training and the Bosch Car Service network, has appointed Dominic Moran its new country sales manager for the UK and Ireland. Moran, who begins in the position on 1 January 2012, moves to the UK from his current Aftermarket role as regional sales manager for the Bosch Group in Australia; he brings with him, notes Bosch, significant experience from previous sales roles within the consumer hardware and automotive sectors.
You need to look carefully to spot the ‘+’ sitting alongside the familiar Marathon name, yet the addition of this symbol is said to represent a sizable decrease in rolling resistance and thus reduced vehicle operating costs. Goodyear has introduced its latest generation commercial vehicle tyre range, the Marathon +, and says rolling resistance in its new LHD II+ and LHS II+ drive and steer tyres is seven per cent lower than in their predecessors.
The management of Pneumatic Components Limited, or PCL, reports that Germany’s HORN GmbH & Co.KG (Horn Tecalemit) has acquired all shares in the Sheffield-based business for an undisclosed sum. This deal took effect on 1 October 2011 and although the two companies will continue to trade independently, PCL and Horn Tecalemit say the acquisition will give both firms “access to a wider range of complementary products” and benefit customers, suppliers and company employees.
HiQ reports having hit a memorable milestone with the ATA accreditation of its 100th fast fit technician. The tech that gave HiQ its ‘ton’ was Matt Robinson from HiQ Frome; he was congratulated for passing the qualification and accepted an award marking the milestone at HiQ’s national franchise conference in Surrey.
The Unite trade union, Drivers Edge UK and Autoglass are the latest organisations to join in support of the Pro-MOTe campaign launched last month to stop proposals to reduce MOT frequency. There are now 28 organisations supporting Pro-MOTe including the AA, RAC, Brake, British Cycling, the NTDA and the RMI, as well as Kwik Fit, Halfords and Aviva. Transport Ministers have said they want to review the existing frequency of MOT testing which sees cars over three years old tested annually.
Indonesian automotive component company PT Astra Otoparts Tbk has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Pirelli to build a motorcycle tyre factory in a yet to be announced location in Indonesia. This plant, Pirelli’s first in the country, will focus on production to meet both local demand and for export to Asean and other global markets.
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