Treadsetters (part of the TIA Group) was listed in The Sunday Times 2012 Fast Track 100 Companies, which is jointly sponsored by The Sunday Times and Sir Richard Branson. Treadsetters is placed in 76th position having achieved a 60.51 per cent sales growth since the beginning of the recession in 2008 and are the only tyre company to be named in the report.
The team at Rema Tip Top Automotive say they’re just a little bit excited by the new Probalance NG (Next Generation), which the company launched in the UK at October’s Brityrex 2012 show. Pre-orders for the unit are described as “astounding”, and the team of engineers at Rema Tip Top believe this to be the most technologically advanced machine of its type.
Wheel distributor Wheelwright spoke positively about the burgeoning market for commercial vehicle alloy wheels at its stand at Brityrex 2012, since it says it opens up a whole new customer segment and the chance for tyre bays and specialists to win new customers. However, the company also raised concerns that many retailers are currently supplying customers with incorrectly-rated packages, suggesting that the current situation could be a time-bomb of potential litigation and disaster. Wheelwright managing director, Kevin Greer suggested to T&A that it is up to dealers to ensure they are not supplying end users with potentially dangerous modifications to their vans, while stressing the opportunity for increased business this market can offer.
The November edition of Tyres & Accessories is now available for online viewing via our e-paper system. The latest bumper edition contains full coverage of this year's NTDA TAFF Awards and Brityrex 2012 as well as features on Motorsport, Green Tyres and Fleet Business. Subscribers can simply click more to browse the complete edition.
In its 20th year as a freight forwarding agent, Maritime Cargo Services (MCS) became the first company of its kind to exhibit at Brityrex. Company representative, Emily Shelley said that the tyre industry “is absolutely vital to our success and we welcome the opportunity to meet with potential key customers.” Having been dealing with “some of the most prominent wholesalers in the tyre industry” over its two decade history, MCS “thought it was an exhibition we’d very much like to support.”
The Al Dobowi Group’s Eskay Tyres distributes the Westlake brand in several European markets, including the UK, and the company used the occasion of Brityrex to endorse personally the recently sealed distribution agreement with Vacu-Lug, the Lincolnshire-based retread tyre manufacturer. Surender Singh Kandhari, chairman of Al Dobowi Group and Tim Hercock, managing director of Vacu-Lug, met with their respective teams over lunch during the show. The deal is intended to expand the sales of the Westlake truck tyre brand throughout UK and Ireland (see Fleet Business for more details). At the show itself, Eskay staff introduced the latest Westlake passenger car fitments for the H and V rated RP26 and the high performance SA07.
Infinity Tyres used the occasion of Brityrex 2012 to meet with industry figures from the UK and beyond, and to discuss current business topics with many UK dealers. Its stand displayed, for the first time in the UK, the new Infinity Ecosis and Ecomax tyre ranges which will be available to purchase in the final months of 2012. The brand also made its presence felt at the entrance to the exhibition, where the Infinity-sponsored Acorn Motorsport 2013 season drift race car was on display.
Wheel supplier, Wheelwright said that its expectations had been exceeded at Brityrex, having chosen to demonstrate the features of its new website and the benefits of premium quality wheels. The company also took the show as an opportunity to communicate its current corporate logo and branding, having removed the “Alcar” portion of its name in 2011. Speaking with Tyres & Accessories, Wheelwright managing director, Kevin Greer said it was important to get out in the market to do this because of the residual “old-style marketing” still present in the UK, but mainly to emphasise Wheelwright’s “differentiation from other brands” with what he described as a “modern, clinical” CI strategy.
Uniroyal enjoyed a “very good” second day of the Brityrex 2012 according to Sales manager, Glen Birkwood. The eastern European manufactured brand was communicating the products’ cost effectiveness at Brityrex, and Birkwood explained that the brand is currently “regaining” some of the ground it lost towards the beginning of the year in the UK as the cheap budget market expanded.
Long-time supporter of the Brityrex show, Kings Road Tyres had one of the exhibition’s more imposing stands, located next to the entrance, while associated brands, Uniroyal, for which it has the UK licence, Aeolus and Antyre – Chinese brands for which the wholesale part of KRT is the exclusive distributor in the UK – were present with stands of their own. Added to the “multi-brand presence” promised by Purchasing and Marketing manager, Tim Bader on the company’s own stand, featuring “the latest from Matador, Taurus, Cooper 4×4 and Aeolus Truck Tyres,” the company represented its truck, bus, agricultural, industrial and 4×4 ranges strongly.
Shandong Linglong Tyre Co. Ltd. headlined its participation in Brityrex International 2012 with the introduction of its Green-Max product family to the UK market. According to the company, the Linglong stand was visited by prospective customers, apparently “eager to discuss new developments and opportunities.” The new Green-Max passenger tyre range was said to have been of particular interest and representatives from Linglong’s global headquarters in China were also on hand to welcome visitors and answer questions.
Netherlands based, Gaither Tool Europe BV made its debut as an exhibitor at Brityrex 2012 supporting its UK partners, Rema Tip Top UK, on its stand. While its primary objective at the event was in support of Rema Tip Top, Gaither also further promoted two specific ranges from the company's comprehensive brand portfolio, the crowd-pleasing Bead Bazooka.
Treadsetters (part of the TIA Group) says it took part in this year's Brityrex to promote the company's three leading brands – Torque, Hifly and TIA Wheels – further, having supported the event for many years. The Telford based tyre wholesaler said Brityrex 2012 joins a number of other international shows at which it has presented a high corporate profile this year, including Essen, Russia, Tyrexpo Africa and events in Tanzania and Panama. The company says the events are part of the group’s growing image “as a global player in tyres and wheels”.
One of the most striking stands at Brityrex was the black and yellow of Shandong Wanda Boto Tyre Co., Ltd. Obviously this company does not hail from these shores, but walking onto the company’s show stand, Tyres & Accessories was greeted by a familiar southern accent. As it turns out, while the stand was clearly there to promote the Boto name, the decision to exhibit follows on from the Chinese manufacturer’s decision to partner with one of this country’s largest retreaders/fleet tyre suppliers. According to representatives of both companies Bandvulc will now wholesale Boto truck and bus radial tyres in the UK as well as selling the tyres direct to its fleet customers through its Bandvulc Tyre Contracts business.
Despite the name, there is no way that Vortex Exhaust Technology Ltd is getting sucked down by the negative economic environment. On the contrary, according to the Grays, Essex-based business, things have moved quickly since the company relocated from their old premises at the end of 2011. The company can now be found in a much bigger and brighter unit on the Globe Industrial estate in Grays. Having spent the last year organise things at the new facility managing director Barry Mead reports that he is looking forward to the next chapter in the company’s business development:
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
