Garage equipment specialists the Trade Group has launched a new range of Trademaster scissor lifts. These have been specially selected to provide a wide range of choices for Class IV, VII and V light MOT installations as well as general service work. They permit the most effective use of garage workshop floor area by allowing the minimum permissible overall bay width to be used.
Belshina has announced that plans are afoot to open a trading house in the Brazilian city of Vitoria to “develop the company’s goods distribution network” in one of the world’s fastest growing economies and across South America. The Belarusian company has exported agricultural, truck and bus tyres to the country for the last eight years.
Doncaster-based McGregor Logistics, a member of the Pall-Ex network, has appointed ATS Euromaster to supply, fit and service the tyres across its busy fleet of 18 tractor units, 36 curtain side trailers and 6 temperature controlled fridge units. The deal replaces a previous arrangement with a local independent tyre dealer.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems is relocating its North American Headquarters and distribution centre, reports Tire Review. The move from Hartville, Ohio, to Fairlawn, Ohio, allows space for further expansion, greater warehouse capacity and more efficient logistics, the company said. “This was a difficult decision after 80 years in our Hartville location,” said Ydo Doornbos, managing director of Trelleborg Wheel Systems Americas Inc.
Transense Technologies plc has formed a joint venture company with SenGenuity, the sensors division of Vectron International Inc. The joint venture company, Bulldog Innovations Limited is a 50/50 partnership between Transense and SenGenuity that is designed to enable “closer cooperation in order to accelerate the development of specific applications based on the companies' existing [battery-less sensor] technologies.”
After opening new distribution centers in Ohio and Indiana – new markets for its vast operations – American Tire Distributors is now eying expansion into New York, New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and the entire New England area, reports Tire Review.
At this year’s CITExpo, Best Choice International Trade didn’t just present a large portion of its existing range – visitors were also shown a new brand. By the end of the year this new line-up, produced under the “Mazzini Tyres” name, should be available in 13 sizes between 15 and 18-inches. As export manager Stephen Wu explained, the Mazzini brand will be separately positioned in the market to the company’s existing “Sunew” own brand. “We wanted a new brand for new customers,” elucidated Wu, stressing that the necessity to supply various distribution channels with a variety of brands. In light of this the company is looking around the world, particularly in Western Europe, North America, Australia and Japan, for new distributors.
At the Intermot exhibition, held in the German city of Cologne, Nankang Rubber Tire has shown off its first-ever motorcycle tyre. Aimed at the growing sport touring segment, the radial Roadiac WF-1 is said to be the product of three years’ intensive joint development work between Nankang and Delticom/Pnebo.
One of the most distinctive trends observed by leading tyre wholesalers during the course of the last year is the increasing size of the mid-range and budget segments. The predictions that a recessionary economy would support a so-called “de-segmentisation” process appear to have been right, with some of the largest distributors reporting that their retail customers are increasingly opting for budget and mid-range tyre purchases having decided to trade-down from the more expensive premium and OE products they may have had before.
Nowadays a serious tyre distribution business simply has to have an effective e-commerce system. Many do and many software companies offer perpetually improving versions of their respective systems. Something about Tyreman that caught Tyres & Acessories’ attention was its recent efforts to – excuse the pun – interface with real people as well as all the necessary computer systems and future legislatory requirements.
At the start of 2010 Tyreman announced that development of its Tyreman B2B system had reached the point that an innovative B2B SMS module had been added. This allows a text message to be sent to the mobile phone of a customer who placed an order, confirming that the order has been received and will be dealt with. Not rocket science by today’s standards, but adding in the ability to keep customers up-to-date is valuable because it could be the difference between keeping continuing business or not.
Canada-based Camoplast Inc. has acquired Solideal Group, which serves the tyre, wheel and rubber track needs of the world’s material handling and construction industries. The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is slated to take place in October, Camoplast said.
The integrated company will operate under the name of Camoplast Solideal Inc. with a significant participation of the current shareholders of Solideal in the ownership of the company. Solideal and Camoplast brands will continue to be managed independently.
Bridgestone/Bandag in Brazil has purchased RFID tyre badges and UHF RFID readers from Advanced ID Corporation. According to a company statement announcing the news, this first order has been shipped, delivered and paid for. Advanced ID expects to receive larger additional orders from Bridgestone for tyre badges and readers as the program is rolled out. This initial deal is said to be the result of a year of Advanced ID and Bridgestone working together to ensure that “the Bridgestone RFID tyre management system is ready for full commercial introduction.”
The 70 series is the second largest segment in the European agricultural radial tyre market and demand has grown steadily over the last decade. Firestone Europe has catered to this increasing demand with a new addition to its Performer line-up, the Performer 70 radial for medium to high-horsepower tractors in general farming applications. Compared to the R6000 and R8000 tyres it replaces, Firestone says the Performer 70 provides vehicles with more traction, longer tread life and a higher road-speed capability. The launch follows Firestone’s introduction of the standard series Performer 85 in 2009.
In his keynote speech at the Tire Society annual conference yesterday in Akron, Hankook Tire Co. president and CEO Seung Hwa Suh called on the global tyre industry to pull together to improve consumer tyre education, reports Tire Review. And Suh warned that tyre-makers needed to be more mindful of their impact on the environment. Suh’s comments came on the first day of the 29th annual Tire Society Annual Meeting and Conference on Tire Science and Technology.
General Tire has announced the European market launch of its latest 4×4 tyre, the Grabber AT. According to the manufacturer, the new tyre has been specifically designed to be rugged and offer high grip and good handling in both on- and off-road applications – all whilst ensuring comfortable driving characteristics. “The aim was to further improve the already very good off-road driving characteristics of the AT2 model, which is highly popular among 4×4 fans, and at the same time meet increased expectations in on-road use" said Pascal Resetta, General Tire’s product manager for 4×4 tyres. In terms of handling on dry roads, the new tyre is said to perform around three per cent better than its predecessor, whilst driving characteristics in the wet have been improved by up to ten per cent.
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