According to Kevin McPherson, tyre contracts manager at Bandvulc Tyres, “it is easy to forget that in our business it is the point of sale conversations with dealers and suppliers, which if developed, can lead to extra sales.” Bearing this focus in mind and in order to provide a better level of customer service, Bandvulc Tyres recently made changes to the structure of its Telephone Sales department.
Hofmann, a brand within Snap-on Equipment, says that its geolite 3D wheel alignment machine makes the process “accessible to more workshops”, with a price tag of £7,995 (excluding VAT). The company says the geolite has the facility to take accurate alignment readings to OEM specification in under three-minutes from vehicle set-up, with global passenger car data for vehicles up to 25-years old.
Cam Systems has said that it wants to increase training and personal development in the tyre and fast fit industry. The IT applications provider, whose Cameo suite is used by over 2,000 tyre business employees is responding to a report by Profit From Training, an organisation set up in 1996 to provide training to the tyre and fast fit industry, which has observed a decrease in industry training over the past two years – at approximately 12 per cent in year one and a further 16 per cent in year two. In previous years, training had gone up on average by 6-8 per cent each year.
Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone director of Motorsport Tyre Development, was satisfied that the company’s Formula One Potenza tyres were meeting the required standard after the second practice session was dominated by quick times from Mercedes GP and McLaren drivers, most notably Nico Rosberg. The expected searing heat of Bahrain presented a significant challenge to the tyre supplier, being “the first time that teams have run in hot weather with the 2010 Bridgestone Potenza tyres,” according to Hamashima. Rosberg’s achievement was particularly startling, given that his fastest lap approached half a second faster than former champions Lewis Hamilton and teammate Michael Schumacher, who also showed impressive speed. Defending champion Jenson Button was fourth fastest.
Early indications from BrandIndex, YouGov’s daily brand perception tracker, suggest that Toyota's brand health in the UK may recover faster than originally feared from the damage inflicted by the recall of several million vehicles across the world. Immediately following the announcement and subsequent negative press coverage, Toyota's brand perception scores in the UK dropped dramatically from being one of the highest ranked automotive brands tracked in BrandIndex to one of the worst. Toyota's overall ranking (combining all the BrandIndex measures excluding 'Buzz') fell from 7th out of 50 car brands at the beginning of December to 40th at the end of February.
Improved fleet driver communication and enhanced data information for contract hire and leasing company customers are the two key advantages Kwik-Fit Fleet says will be gained from its new web-enabled Service 24 initiative. The recently installed Service24 software handles and co-ordinates driver bookings for vehicle servicing, maintenance and repair to be carried out either through Kwik-Fit Fleet’s own network or motor manufacturers’ franchises; glass replacement; breakdown assistance and vehicle recovery and vehicle hire for all Kwik-Fit Fleet’s leasing customers.
Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development manager Tohru Ubukata has declared himself “very confident” in the new MotoGP rear medium compound tyre supplied by the series’ tyre provider for testing at Sepang, Malaysia. The manufacturer also tried out a developmental specification hard front slick over the two day testing period – the results of which will go towards determining the future direction of Bridgestone’s tyre technology, according to the company.
Following the announced retirement of Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM) chairman, CEO and president Mark Emkes, company vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and secretary Gary Garfield stepped up to the plate to take on the positions of CEO and president. Filling Garfield’s shoes in his former roles is Chris Nicastro, who is currently general counsel, Bridgestone Americas Latin American Operations, and corporate compliance officer, BSAM. Nicastro’s appointment in this new portfolio of positions takes effect March 1, 2010, and will involve him taking over responsibility for overseeing the company’s legal and compliance functions.
In its motorsport debut, Hankook Competition Australia has claimed a wholly respectable outright fifth place and third place in its class at the Bathurst 12 Hour production car race, held at the Mount Panorama circuit in New South Wales. The Hankook team competed in a newly built Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X fitted with its Ventus TD (Z221) tyres – a road legal R-Spec tyre – and the tyre maker said it used the event as an extended test to better understand the new tyre and how it would perform on one of the world’s most unique and demanding race circuits.
Don Baldwin, business segment manager for Michelin Americas Truck Tires, has ascended to the board of directors for the North American Council for Freight Efficiency, reports Tire Review. Baldwin, one of 19 original founders of NACFE, is the only tyre manufacturer representative on the board, Michelin said.
Snap-on Equipment is urging tyre shops to consider the commercial opportunity of adding wheel alignment to their existing undercar service business. Field research by the garage equipment manufacturer has shown that by carrying out just four alignment procedures per day can generate additional net income of £32,910 per annum, based on a five and a half day week, direct costs of £15 per hour and a charge of £50 for each alignment procedure. Accurate wheel alignment also diagnoses chassis problems due to kerbing and pothole damage that can often require replacement suspension and steering components, resulting in further revenue generation.
Bridgestone began testing for the 2010 MotoGP on 4-5 February, making three compounds (hard and extra hard at the front, medium and hard at the rear) available to riders at Sepang, Malaysia. The manufacturer reported its satisfaction with the way the tyres handled the sort of conditions it expected in South-East Asia; scorching track temperatures and rain. New bikes, new teams and new riders made for an interesting day, compounded by the fact that the top four riders on each day recorded laptimes quicker than the existing circuit lap record. Whilst the bikes were new, the available Bridgestone tyres were exactly the same specifications as used during the Malaysian Grand Prix last year. Bridgestone believes this fact assisted teams with their setup work, since the tyres provided “a known entity”.
Smithers Scientific Services Inc. has entered into an agreement with Akron Test Measurement Systems Integrators Pvt. Ltd. (ATMSI) to provide sales and marketing services through its office in Chennai. “We are expanding our sales efforts in India and Sri Lanka to meet the growing needs in the rubber and tyre markets.” said Jim Dowey, president of Smithers ScientificServices. “This move facilitates the company’s ability to provide customer support and sales services throughout the region.” he added.
When Tyres & Accessories was invited to attend TIF’s Electronic Data Interchange Wheel (EDIWheel for short) seminar in December, the magazine was pleased to attend and report on the discussions that took place for the benefit of the wider tyre industry. Following our report in the January issue of the magazine, it appears that our coverage has been something of a catalyst to the discussion of this issue within the various parts of the industry.
A year after the Obama administration issued a Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government (21 January 2009), the White House has begun publishing complete datasets from a range of government departments including its Uniform Tire Quality Grading System (UTQGS) database.
According to the data.gov website, “NHTSA has rated more than 4,200 lines of tyres, including most used on passenger cars, minivans, SUVs and light pickup trucks…UTQGS allows consumers to compare tyre tread wear, traction performance and temperature resistance.”
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