Autosport Show 2010
Tyres played a significant part at this year’s Autosport Interntional/Aftermarket Show. Yes some of the biggest players (Michelin, Bridgestone and Continental) were noticeable by their absence, but the shows still managed to attract some 92,000 people of whom 25,000 were registered trade and international visitors. Importantly, a number of these visitors will have found themselves ‘crossing over’ to the other side, from consumer to trade or vice versa.
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Fulda is hailing its participation at the recent Autosport Show as a success, saying it has kick-started 2005 with the launch of its Exelero high performance tyre. In addition to showcasing its latest release, the company highlighted the activities of the UK Fulda Challenge team and its support of the show’s live action arena.
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The Government Motorsport Unit (GMU) is teaming up with various motorsport bodies to fund a unique stand at next week’s Autosport International. ‘Women in Motorsport’ will exhibit with a combination of resources from: Formula Woman, British Women Racing Drivers’ Club (BWRDC), Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) and the Motor Sports Association (MSA). The aim is to actively promote female involvement in motorsport and to assist women working within the industry.
Jenson Button and the BAR-Honda Formula 1 team will show will launch the team’s new vehicle, the BAR-Honda 007, by satellite link. The new car will be unveiled at the Barcelona circuit in Spain at 11am (UK time) on Sunday 16 January and for the first time, visitors to Autosport International will be able to watch all the action as it takes place.
Jenson is just one of three current Formula One drivers who are participating in Autosport International, Europe’s largest motorsport show. Red Bull Racing’s David Coulthard will be coming along to meet his fans on Saturday 15 January and Williams-BMW’s Mark Webber will be there to sign autographs on Sunday 16 January. Other British racing stars attending the show include Eddie Irvine, Allan McNish, Jason Plato and Andy Priaulx.
The Aftermarket Show will open its doors to tyre industry visitors at the NEC from 13 to 16 January next year. Organiser, Haymarket Exhibitions, believes that the show will be both relevant and appealing to all sectors of the industry.
“The tyre section of the show is sponsored by the TIC, and the NTDA is again taking a stand; this is an exhibition that the tyre and fast fit market is keen and willing to support,” says Haymarket’s group sales manager Giles Brown.
Exhibitors such as Vredestein, Nordisk, Rage, Eurosport, Autopart and equipment suppliers like Supertracker, Tecalamit and Mace Industries will all be returning for a second successive year.
The last show was the first to combine all elements of an aftermarket industry, elements that had previously been exhibited as separate entities within Autosport International. The move is also an attempt to emphasise the combination of business and pleasure, and the automotive exhibition takes place over a full weekend for the first time. More than 90,000 people, including almost 25,000 from the automotive trades, attended the NEC for the two shows in 2004.
Although the focus is on the consumer, brands such as Dunlop, Pirelli, Uniroyal, Yokohama, Kumho and Silverstone will all be displaying their latest motorsport and high performance ranges to visitors. Fulda will also be present and is sponsoring the Live Action Arena at Autosport International as part of its campaign to launch its ultra-high performance car tyres in the UK.
The new “Exelero” will be launched on the Fulda stand at Autosport International 2005 at the NEC in Birmingham. According to the tyre manufacturer which is also title sponsor of the live action of the show scheduled for 13-16 January 2005 this new ultra-high-performance tyre features shorter breaking distances on wet roads, safe handling and low noise. The tyre has also been tested and certified by TÜV, Germany’s independent test institute. As well as the Exelero launch, there will be additional activity on the stand including the Fulda 4X4 range and Fulda’s passenger car tyre showcase. There will also be on display the Fulda Challenge RAV4. On 29 January our UK representatives, Richard Jackson and Emmie Gribble, will fly to the Yukon Territory in Canada to compete in the Fulda Challenge – the ultimate endurance event. Both will be on the Fulda stand on Thursday 13 January.
Fulda will be launching its new UHP tyre at Autosport International early next year. The company has already announced that it is to be the title sponsor of the live action arena at the show during the 13-16 January 2005, and will be using the opportunity to promote its new tyre.
The Motorsport Industry Association has confirmed that its annual Industry Awards dinner will be held at Autosport International in January next year. The show and its organisers will also sponsor the Export Achievement Award.
The dinner will be held in the grounds of the NEC on the first evening of the show, Thursday 13th January 2005. Awards will be presented across seven categories; business of the year, teamwork, small business of the year, export achievement, rally business of the year, technology and innovation, and service to the industry.
Over 600 executives from the motorsport and high performance engineering sector are expected to attend the event, which will also include an address from speaker Stuart Turner.
After three months of searching and 7000 applicants, Dunlop has finally found a Race Academy winner following the final stage at Silverstone on Tuesday.
Derby-based Andrew Walker won the title after the final three contestants took part in the track ‘shoot-out’ at Silverstone which included a media assessment, drives in the Porsche and Ginetta race car as well as the ARDS assessment and exam that was required to get the race license to compete at Brands Hatch.
The national search was launched at the Autosport Show in January with the intention of discovering a budding Jenson Button or Damon Hill and seven regional finalists were chosen to attend the Dunlop Race Academy.
After completing a fitness test, and a panel interview, featuring representatives from Dunlop, Ginetta and one of Britain’s top GT drivers, Calum Lockie, the drivers had to undergo a driving assessment.
Mr Walker will now take part in the Dunlop Drivers cup at Brands Hatch on 2-3 October.
James Bailey, Dunlop said: “We developed the Race Academy because Dunlop has been part of motorsport for over 100 years in the UK and felt that it was a good opportunity to put something back. We had a great response. 60,000 people looked at the application with around 7,000 entering the on-line test of motorsport and driving knowledge, so it’s proved a popular formula and we hope to repeat it next year.”
The National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) has confirmed its support of the 2005 Aftermarket show.
Director Richard Edy commented: “We are constantly searching for high profile opportunities to meet with members, as well as those businesses and organisations that play a major part in our industry. Our first experience of the Aftermarket Show proved it was an event that was capable of meeting our needs. With the show planning an even greater focus on the issues and opportunities that matter to the tyre industry, we’ll return next January confident of building on that success.”
Next year’s show will concentrate on core business issues, such as mobile fitting and service, tyres and the environment, developments in tyre technology and the delivery stream of wholesale supply to the UK market.
The Aftermarket show will be held at the NEC from 13-16 January, 2005, and will once again be staged alongside the Autosport International show.
The Aftermarket Show returns to the NEC from 13-16 January 2005. Organiser Haymarket Exhibitions says the event will give a high profile to suppliers from the tyre, wheel, accessory, consumables, parts, electrics and garage equipment sectors.
Last January’s inaugural show attracted more than 24,500 dedicated trade visitors, part of a combined total of 91,000 business and motorsport enthusiasts who visited the show and sister attraction Autosport International.
The Tyre Industry Council (TIC) will again sponsor the tyre sector of the show, which will aim to attract interest from a broad cross section of manufacturers, wholesalers, equipment and services suppliers. Dutch manufacturer Vredestein has already confirmed its return in 2005.
TIC secretary Peter Taylor said: “We are working with Haymarket to develop a number of innovative concepts that will appeal to specific sectors of the industry. The response to the first show in January was very encouraging, which makes 2005 a real opportunity to create an exhibition that delivers something new, exciting and valuable to the trade.”
The Aftermarket Show – Exhibitor Contacts: Tel: +44 (0)207 267 8300 www.theaftermarketshow.com
Bert Stellinga has now been installed at Vredestein’s Wellingborough UK headquarters for two years. In that time Vredestein have launched new high performance tyres and taken steps to develop the brand awareness in the enthusiasts market in the UK, whilst at the same time developing their share of the agricultural tyre market. It has very much been steady as she goes for the Dutch tyre manufacturer.
Bert Stellinga told T&A that the UK is a major market for Vredestein and that progress was being made in both the UK and the Irish markets. However, to get a better picture of the company it was important to understand the wider position of Vredestein as an organisation.
2003 saw Vredestein’s year on year sales on the increase and the company managed to record a profit, very close to that earned in 2002. During the year there was also a stock reduction exercise which released funds and made the whole business more profitable. “The fact that Vredestein is making a profit,” says Stellinga, “enables the company to invest in people and product, to develop new services. For instance, in some markets in the European Union we have our new Internet Ordering facility in place. This allows customers to access stock records, place orders and arrange delivery on line, at their convenience. The strength of being in profit also allows us to develop our marketing with advertising and of course attendance at events such as the Autosport International Exhibition.
“One of the biggest developments for the company last year was the return to private ownership. Having removed the obligation to the shareholders that put the company in a position where it could increase its flexibility and invest in research and development. At present we are in a transitional period but the move will have positive consequences in the future. This will be seen in the investment in new lines this year with a new winter tyre arriving later in 2004.”
One question that arises about Vredestein is its ability to stand alone. Other smaller manufacturers are working together with off-take agreements to fill capacity, or enable ranges to be extended. There is a deal of technology exchange and shared product development. As an independent, manufacturer can Vredestein continue to develop its own products as a stand alone business?
“Vredestein is very much a self contained operation and I don’t think that we would envisage such close co-operation with competitors. Our own R&D facility swallows a considerable element of the finance budget but we need to develop products that the market appreciates and wants. We produce niche products that appeal to specialised markets – Sportrac and Ultrac are the only designer tyres in the world and our cooperation with Giugiaro Design is proving to be very successful, for instance. We do not need vast volumes because we are selling premium quality products where we can maintain good prices for everyone in the chain. We do not deal with OE in passenger car tyres, so we can survive on our limited capacity. Our OE market is strictly agricultural and again, we offer a premium brand tyre to a specialised market,” says Bert Stellinga. “We are determined to go it alone and I can’t see any reason why we shouldn’t.”
The Annual Autosport International show is without question one of the UK’s most successful motor shows. What began as an off-season showcase for the motorsports industries has developed into a glittering exhibition that few involved in motorsport can afford to ignore; though both Michelin and Bridgestone did just that this year.
Here we found Dunlop, Goodyear, Pirelli, Yokohama, Avon, Hoosier, Kumho, and Silverstone represented by Sport and Service. Each taking a very focussed approach to motorsport tyres and the motorsport sector. There were some odd men out, Vredestein and Technic both had stands and from a promotional point of view one had to wonder what the relationship between their display and motorsport was. Having said that Vredestein went home happy, reporting that they had gone to the show to contact independent dealers and made plenty of contacts. The company also took home the award for Best Stand in The Aftermarket Show. The company was also first to confirm its intention to return next year for the 2005 event. “We hoped to meet independent dealers and they were there in large numbers. It’s been a great show,” said Bert Stellinga. A similar statement came from Ian Smith at Technic, “It’s been a very successful return to exhibitions for Technic. We have seen independent tyre dealers, previous customers who have recognised the brand name and come on to the stand to re-establish contact, plus we are going away with some very promising leads.”
Technic took the opportunity of the show to display some clever blue retread tyres on a Smart car. The ‘blue tyre concept’ featured tyre casings with a blue pigment silica rally-type compound, rather than the traditional carbon black. “It was a move that has raised a great deal of interest and we are now considering adding coloured tyres to our range” said operations director Ian Smith.
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Perhaps the most successful consumer auto show in the UK has bolted on a tyre industry section. T&A will be visiting the show to find out how the trade has responded to being bolted onto a successful consumer show.
Vredestein UK has signed up to exhibit at Tyre ASI, the UK exhibition being held at the NEC this January. It is an integral part of the Aftermarket Show and runs alongside Autosport International. The visitor profile was a major factor in Vredestein’s decision and the company’s stand will feature the Giugiaro Design Aston Martin 2020.
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