The Infleet network is unfurling a new business development plan, and on board to spearhead its progress is recently appointment UK sales manager David Tattler. The tyre industry veteran will tackle his new role with the support of a state of the art management information technology system being introduced by Infleet at its new Cannock, West Midlands office.
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe has joined the European Road Safety Charter, a pan-European initiative with the aim to increase road safety across Europe. The signing ceremony took place in Gothenburg, Sweden on October 26, 2009, in the presence of the Swedish minister for enterprise, energy and communications, Åsa Torstensson, representatives from the European Commission and the ERSC Secretariat.
Following a year-long trial using Michelin’s X One MaxiTrailer tyres, pan-European haulage company Alcaline has decided to adopt an all-Michelin policy for the fleet and will specify the tyre as original equipment on all new trailers it purchases. The first units to be so equipped and delivered to Alcaline are the 15 Schmitz Cargobull tri-axle trailers that will enter service before the end of 2009.
Motor Cycle News readers voted the Avon Storm ST third in their choice of tyre in the popular sports touring sector. The tyre also scored the third highest average number of miles before replacement and showed a big saving on the tyres in first and second place. The votes were from MCN readers – with more than 12,000 taking part and making it Britain’s biggest biking survey and the most comprehensive review of kit and accessories in the UK.
Meanwhile, in RiDE’s annual 2009 RiDER Power Survey issue, the Avon Storm ST came third, above the likes of Michelin’s Pilot Power 2CT, Dunlop’s RoadSmart and Bridgestone fitments: BT-021, 016, 020 and 014. Also, in the category for longevity for front tyres the Storm ST came in third place, ably backed up by the Azaro ST in fifth place and the Avon Viper Sport in sixth. For rear tyres the Azaro ST took fourth place with the Storm ST in fifth, making it another successful RiDER Power for Avon Tyres.
Paragon Group has appointed former HiQ retail director, Neil Burrows as business development director. Burrows left HiQ in September 2008 after a failed management buyout attempt.
Burrow’s new role will reportedly include taking overall responsibility for all account management and client relations. According to the company, its creation reflects Paragon’s ongoing commitment to continuous improvement of the service offered to all clients across its three businesses – Paragon Automotive, Paragon Fleet Solutions and Paragon Remarketing. Neil Burrows will also take responsibility for delivering a coordinated marketing, new business and corporate communications strategy for the group.
Top Gear is taking its live show around the world, with events planned in Birmingham, London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Sydney, Auckland and Hong Kong. And when Clarkson, May, Hammond and Stig hit the road, they will be taking Dunlop with them: The tyre maker has announced its selection as official tyre partner for the Top Gear Live World Tour.
SRI Tire Trading Ltd. has announced that prices for its Dunlop, Falken, Sumitomo and Ohtsu brand tyres are increasing in numerous markets. The price increases take effect in November, however Sumitomo Rubber comments that the exact date will vary from country to country. The planned price increases apply to the passenger car, light commercial vehicle, truck and motorcycle tyre segments and will take place in Europe, North, Central and South America, Asia, the Pacific, Africa and the Near and Middle East.
On 18 October Bintang Ramai Sdn. Bhd., in partnership with Continental Sime Tyre Sdn. Bhd. (CST) opened the first BestDrive passenger car and Light Truck (PLT) centre in East Malaysia. The new branch is the 16th BestDrive in Malaysia, but the first in Eastern Malaysia. According to Benoit Henry, CEO of CST, the BestDrive PLT centre empowers the company’s partners with the opportunity to use its brand to position themselves as uniform, specialised tyre dealers catering for the premium customer segment. CST aims to offer expertise and advice for the setup of a premium BestDrive shop concept, shop layout and customer-friendly tyre-changing and car-service environment.
75 per cent of tyre referrals now come through the DriveRight system, according to the tyre and wheel data specialists. Company data shows DriveRight assists in facilitating over $4,500 worth of wheel and tyre business every second in the US alone. In the UK, 95 per cent of alloy wheels and 75 per cent of tyre referrals are said to be sourced using DriveRight data.
With consumers more commercially aware and web-savvy than ever, some tyre shoppers are wooed by user-friendly interfaces proving step-by-step guides to selecting a range of tyre options. Yet those inside the industry realise that while a GUI presentation is important, the integrity of the data at the back end is critical to business.
The International Tyre, Rubber & Plastics Federation (ITRPF) has confirmed Alan Davis nomination as general secretary of the association. Alan Davis was originally nominated during a board meeting held at the Sheraton Conference Center at Frankfurt Airport on Monday 6 July 2009. Alan Davis has spent 36 years working in the tyre industry within various departments such as manufacturing, technical, tyre research, and purchasing. His last position was UK purchasing manager for Goodyear Dunlop. The federation is currently renewing its website and reportedly intends to intensify its activities and involvement in environmental concerns, technical and technological support, and industrial trends and development of tyre and rubber waste. The ITRPF is holding its next Annual General Meeting (AGM) on the 11 November at the InterCity Hotel in Celle near Hannover, Germany in conjunction with the AgriTechnica Show that will be held on 10 to 14 November 2009.
While the economic events of late-2008, carrying on to the present day saw the UK, along with most of the world, assume the default attitude of Dad’s Army’s Private Fraser (NB exclaiming, with wide, fatalistic eyes, “we’re all doomed!”), RH Claydon says that it has seen “healthy advances” in some segments, including agricultural products and tyres required for the Open Space Management Sector, sports complexes, golf courses, parks departments and local authority needs. The company has also announced that it is the sole UK supplier of Matador light and heavy truck tyres.
The development of a fourth generation run-flat tyre has been announced by Sumitomo Rubber Industries. The Japanese firm reports its proprietary ‘Thermal Control Technology’ has been utilised to produce the new run-flat, and it says this technology provides excellent ride comfort equivalent to or better than a standard tyre while maintaining its run-flat performance. Sumitomo reports that following a loss of tyre pressure, motorists using this fourth generation run-flat are able to travel 2.3 times further than with the previous generation tyre.
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Following the importation of 500 million naira (£2.1 million) worth of raw materials, Dunlop Nigeria looks set to re-open its Ikeja facility, which ceased production in April. A report in Nigeria’s Business Day newspaper indicates that the paperwork needed to clear the imported materials through customers is currently being dealt with by the country’s minister of state for commerce and industry, Humphrey Enemakwu Abah, who is apparently enthusiastic about the prospects of local manufacture recommencing.
Goodyear Dunlop’s first apprentices in 15 years celebrated the end of their first year with the company and the successful progression onto their B-Tec and NVQ III qualifications with a visit to the HiQ British Touring Car Championship at Rockingham. The electrical and mechanical apprentices and their mentors got to see first hand the work of Dunlop Motorsport, following the steep learning curve of 12 months at the business’ Wolverhampton and Birmingham manufacturing sites. The company says that the scheme is developing highly skilled engineers of the future.
US based publication Consumer Reports has rated four Michelin tyres the top spots in North American market all-season (S and T speed ratings) and performance all-season tyres (H and V speed ratings), and winter categories in the magazine's November issue. Each of the four Michelin models received an "Excellent" rating. The Michelin tyres bested tests of 69 models – the largest group ever tested by Consumer Reports. That includes all-season and winter passenger car and SUV tyres.
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