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“A buyers market for cash rich companies”: Tyre Industry Report

According to a new report published by financial analyst Plimsoll, one in seven companies in the UK tyre, exhaust and battery industry could change hands due to economic pressures and the presence of a number of cash rich competitors. The report suggests that the market is going into an extended period of consolidation, which could pave the way for a defragmentation of the sector, currently regarded as one of the UK’s most sprawling. Plimsoll’s David Pattison, author of the new Plimsoll Industry Analysis – Tyres, Exhausts & Batteries, explains: “In our report we analysed 535 companies with a turnover of over £1 million per annum and have picked out 140 that are primed to be taken over. Buying one of these businesses represents a massive opportunity for someone to enhance their share of the market. Either way, the market is set for a wave of takeovers in the next months”.

Plimsoll says that its report will tell you which companies are set to be buying and who will be selling. Readers of Tyres and Accessories are entitled to a £50 discount of this new special edition of the Plimsoll Industry Analysis – Tyres, Exhausts & Batteries. Call 01642 626400 for further details and quote reference PR/TI75.

21st July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

ATS Euromaster Opens Galashiels Centre

ATS Euromaster opened a new “flagship fast-fit centre” in Huddersfield Street, Galashiels, following investment of more than £800,000. The new centre, which opened in May, is located 200 yards from the previous site, which is being demolished to make way for the A7 trunk road extension.

Situated directly opposite the Gala Water Retail Park, the new facility boasts five vehicle work bays, including one dedicated to commercial vehicles, and is equipped to provide a complete range of fast-fit services for motorists including tyres, brakes, batteries, shock absorbers, exhausts and oil. Open six days a week, it is manned by a team of six highly skilled technicians.

16th July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Lithium-ion Battery Development Wins Award for Conti

Continental claims the lithium-ion batteries it has developed offer significantly greater storage capacity compared with the nickel-metal hydride battery technology still currently used in hybrid vehicles. The battery’s energy density is said to be around 30 per cent and its power to size ratio some 50 percent greater, while still retaining its compact dimensions. Development work on this unit, which saw its series production debut in the latest Mercedes-Benz S 400 BlueHYBRID, took place at Continental’s Nuremberg, Germany facility, and the site now has a production capacity of 15,000 units per annum. Recently Conti’s Powertrain Division and its Hybrid & Electric Vehicles business unit were acknowledged for the battery’s development and series introduction with an award from a logistics and transports association located in the factory’s local region.

13th July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Tyres Hands Out Monsoon Driving Advice

London may have suffered enough torrential rain to close a couple of tube stations, but that nothing to the monsoon downpours experienced in countries like India. That’s why leading Indian tyre manufacturer, Apollo Tyres has kicked off a “Safe Drive” public awareness itiniative.

With heavy rains crippling normal life of Mumbai citizens, employees of Apollo Tyres drenched in rainwater, were busy at the Juhu and Andheri areas of Western Mumbai handing out the Safe Drive Handbook on Disaster Management, containing safety tips and useful numbers, to assist citizens of Mumbai in taking precautions to ensure a safe monsoon. This activity will continue till 14 July2009, at various traffic intersections and other important locations.

8th July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Low Demand For Cars In Thailand Boosts B-Quik

International News

B-Quik Co, Thailand’s leading operator of car service centres, has increased its revenue target this year to 2 billion baht (42.1 million euros) from 1.8 billion (37.9 million euros) as sluggish demand for new cars has been a windfall to the maintenance market. Eight to 10 B-Quik service centres will be added this year to the existing network of 56 sites nationwide, said chief executive Henk Kiks.

“The market has been surprisingly good for us with revenue surging over 30 per cent in the first half,” said Kiks. “We earlier projected sales of 1.8 billion baht, growth of 21 per cent from last year, but now we are aiming for over a 33 per cent rise to 2 billion by the end of the year.”

6th July 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Organiser Reports Successful Automechanika Middle East

A total of 15,431 visitors attended Automechanika Middle East during the three-day event. Of this number, notes organiser Epoc Messe Frankfurt GmbH, 46 per cent were international visitors, converging on Dubai from a total of 114 countries. According to the organiser, buyers arrived in large numbers from the GCC, Middle East, Iran, Africa, CIS and India.

Considering the tough economic climate, adds Epoc Messe Frankfurt, Automechanika Middle East registered a remarkable increase in the number of exhibitors; a total of 966 exhibitors from 46 countries were present, and exhibition space this year occupied 31,000 square metres at the Dubai Convention and Exhibition Centre.

9th June 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Marangoni Project Recreates Lunar Vehicle

Forty years have now passed since the moment when Neil Armstrong’s boots pressed the first ever footprints on the surface of the moon. Several years later the lunar surface encountered the roll of a specially manufactured moon tyre when the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) became the first vehicle to literally offer out of this world performance. Those with a hankering to get better acquainted with the LRV can now do so thanks to Marangoni, who has produced a replica of this groundbreaking vehicle.

5th May 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Manbat: Lucas Battery Business Growing Daily

Manbat, the UK’s largest battery distributor is reporting that the aftermarket response to its control of the Lucas battery brand has been “fantastic.” Manbat was awarded the distribution contract following a tender invitation in the New Year and it became the only source of supply for the Lucas brand on 1 March. The agreement includes all Lucas automotive and commercial vehicle batteries for the UK and Eire.

20th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Manbat & JCI Confirm Partnership Deal

Manbat, the UK’s leading battery distributor, and Johnson Controls Batteries Ltd (JCI) have announced a revised distribution agreement which takes effect immediately. Both companies have grown their businesses impressively in the last two decades and this formalised distribution agreement follows three years of particularly close cooperation. The contract, which was signed on 15 January 2009, is for an initial three-year term, but with the intention of maintaining the agreement on a rolling basis, reviewed annually.

From the early 2000s, JCI began the process of reducing the number of own label supply contracts it had inherited through its battery manufacturer acquisitions, to concentrate on its own brands and the supply of Original Equipment (OE) batteries for the automotive and commercial vehicle sectors. Manbat was the obvious partner through which to grow the aftermarket supply business for those two sectors for the Varta brand.

17th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

R&D Centre to Help US in Race to Build Better Battery

The race is on to develop more efficient batteries for electric vehicles, and on April 8 the US based National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture announced the establishment of a research and development centre for this very purpose. The Kentucky-Argonne Battery Manufacturing Research and Development Center in Lexington, Kentucky will house collaborative research by scientists from the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville and Argonne National Laboratory.

15th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Blue is New Green for Canadian Tire

Following the success of Canadian Tire’s 2008 “Buy a Bulb, Plant a Tree Campaign,” Canadians can again help the environment by purchasing an environmentally-friendly Blue Planet product and having a tree planted in their name. The promotion will take place from 11 April to 8 May at Canadian Tire stores across Canada, in partnership with Trees Ontario. Like the 2008 campaign, it is expected that the Blue Planet Program will result in the planting of an additional 100,000 trees.

“Together with our customers, we are part of the solution for creating a sustainable environment. Through product innovation, Canadian Tire provides customers with quality merchandise that meets their needs and supports their personal environmental goals,” says Reg McLay, senior vice president of marketing and sourcing services for Canadian Tire. “This initiative not only offers customers environmentally-preferred product solutions for their home, but also allows us to give back to the communities across Canada through the planting of trees.” The Blue Planet product line includes items such as natural household cleaning products, CFL light bulbs that use 75 per cent less energy, rechargeable batteries, energy meters and more. (Tire Review/Akron)

9th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

UK Batteries Appoints Higson as Marketing Manager

UK Batteries, the company behind the Platinium brand of aftermarket batteries, has appointed Mark Higson as marketing manager. Higson joins UK Batteries from TMD Friction where he was marketing manager for over three years and was responsible for the development of the company’s various aftermarket brands.

The 26-year-old has taken over the role of UK Batteries’ marketing manager from James O’Connor who has moved into the company’s OE and key accounts department to play a leading role in the development of new and existing accounts.

9th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Johnson Controls: Check Your Bike Battery for 2009

Johnson Controls, the manufacturer of market-leading Varta motorcycle batteries, is reminding riders that they can take advantage of a free battery check at their nearest participating stockist. In addition a new 2009 pocked-sized Varta motorcycle battery catalogue is available to help riders choose exactly the right replacement battery to match the unit supplied with the bike or scooter as original equipment. The pocket guide has been updated to include over 300 new models, including the latest BMW bikes such as the R 1200 HPZ sport, and the F 800 GS. Varta’s range provides 98 per cent coverage of the UK two-wheel market. For commuting and sports bikes, VARTA LF AGM batteries are the ideal solution. They are vibration, spill and leak proof and 100 per cent maintenance free. They offer high starting performance and longer lifespan, while a low self-discharging rate means that they can withstand longer periods out of use.

23rd March 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Plimsoll Reports Suggest Acquisition “Opportunity”

Plimsoll analysts have announced a new report suggesting that the UK tyres, exhausts and batteries industry is rife with opportunity, despite a record number of companies losing money, and overall business values plummeting to the extent that almost half are now worth less than half their value of 12 months ago. The new study suggests that the current economic downturn represents “one of the biggest opportunities in a generation, if you have the courage and the capital.”

The study rates each of the UK’s leading 1,000 tyres, exhausts and batteries companies on their acquisition attractiveness, finding 103 companies “ripe for the picking” based on a combined scoring system incorporating overall financial strength, ownership, valuation and future potential. These 103 companies are all privately owned, yet are showing a serious deterioration in the financial performance. Given the reluctance of the banks to lend more, their time, money and options are running out.

20th March 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Demand For AGM Batteries to Increase, Says Johnson Controls

Johnson Controls Batteries has urged the UK aftermarket to gear up to cope with stronger demand for AGM (absorbent glass mat) batteries to support the stop-start technology now available on an increasing range of new cars. Stop-start is the European automotive industry’s primary response to EU guidelines for the reduction of average CO2 emissions to 120 g/km by 2012. It conserves energy by shutting off the engine whenever the car stops, such as at a traffic light, thus reducing fuel consumption by up to 10 per cent and also reducing CO2 emissions.

New European models launched with automatic stop-start include the Audi A4, Fiat 500, Panda and Croma, Mercedes-Benz C, E and S Class, Volvo C30, S40 and V50 and the new Mk 6 VW Golf. Re-starting the engine requires sufficient power, but in urban driving conventional batteries often do not charge sufficiently. To resolve this, all cars using stop=start technology rely exclusively on an AGM battery to provide enough starting power to support the new system.

13th March 2009/by Tyrepress Editors