CES (UK) has opened a new branch in Manchester, beginning its planned expansion phase. Located in the south of the city, the new branch will serve customers across the south Manchester belt, linking in with their existing network. The area had previously been served by the company’s Northwich, Cheshire branch. Managing director Steve McCann says local garages will benefit from the company’s new area branch.
An additional US$27.3 million will be directed towards expanding Bridgestone’s OTR tyre plant in Bloomington, US. The investment, announced during a press conference at the MINExpo show in Las Vegas, will primarily go towards new machinery for the production of giant loader tyres (GLT). The Bloomington plant currently specialises in producing cross-ply GLT, and therefore Bridgestone considers it the “ideal location” to increase production of these tyres. The expansion will create approximately 47 new jobs.
Stamford Tyres brand, Firenza has an established presence in UK and European markets, with patterns across the PCR, UHP, light commercial and truck sectors. The brand expanded its purview in 2012 to include a recent range expansion into specialist cold weather products. Its growing portfolio now includes the winter tyre range, Nu Ice.
AlloyGator, designer and manufacturer of a British-made alloy wheel protection system, has announced the appointment of Auto4 as its UK distributor. The company says the agreement will help strengthen its UK distribution and support significant growth. Curt Rathbone, managing director of AlloyGator, said: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Auto4 as a key distributor. Auto4 is an organisation with a well established reputation for service and commitment to the trade which is well placed to provide support and advice to stockists and fitting centres – we look forward to a long and successful partnership.
Say Ni Hao to two of Hefei’s newest ‘honourary citizens’. At a recent ceremony in the capital of China’s Anhui Province, Mr. Burkhardt Koeller, Continental Tire division’s executive vice-president Finance and Controlling, and Dr. Tobias Kerle, general manager of the company’s Hefei tyre plant, were awarded Hefei City ‘honourary citizenship.’ This distinction, says Continental, is an official award acknowledging the Continental Tire division’s contribution and long-term commitment to Hefei city’s economic development. Mr. Wu Cunrong, secretary of the Hefei Municipal Party Committee, presented the award to Koeller and Kerle.
Euro Car Parts reports that it has invested in a second storage facility, following the opening of its National Distribution Centre in Tamworth, Staffordshire in 2010. The 141,000sqft warehouse in Swadlincote, Derbyshire will primarily store crash repair stock including Platinum Plus product lines and the company has signed a 10-year lease agreement with GE Capital Real Estate for the Tetron Point distribution unit. ECP has continued to expand its network too, with 10 new locations announced. They are anticipated to open in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Continental Tire the Americas announced a major expansion of its US headquarters in Ft. Mill, South Carolina. US industry publication Tire Review shares that the three year old headquarters building will be extended by 16,000 square feet, creating a total area of 91,000 square feet. Along with a larger floorspace, the expansion will bring 80 new jobs to the headquarters over the coming four years.
A formal opening ceremony for Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s Pulandian plant in China was held on 15 August. Around 700 guests attended the celebration, including government officials and president of Goodyear’s Asia Pacific business, Dan Smytka. During a speech, company chairman and CEO Richard Kramer declared the factory’s commissioning to be of “extraordinary significance” to Goodyear.
Mobile tyre fitting service TyresontheDrive.com, a business established last year by former Michelin manager Dominic Clark, is said to be growing at a rate of 20 per cent per month. To support its expansion plans, the company is now integrating the tyre industry dedicated Cameo, Workshop Scheduler and MIDaS technologies from Cam Systems into its existing bespoke systems; according to Cam Systems these new additions will provide a more structured and stable back office that will deliver immediate efficiencies and time-saving benefits.
India’s Govind Rubber Ltd has reported net sales of Rs 782.3 million (£8.9 million) for the three months to 30 June, a 35.6 per cent year-on-year increase. Net profit, at Rs 10.1 million (£), was up 248 per cent on the corresponding quarter of 2011. The tyre maker recently announced an Rs 8.5 billion (£115,500) expansion project at its Alwar plant in India, and the company also intends to set up a new greenfield facility in Dahej. According to company chairman and managing director Vinod Poddar, the new facility will have a daily capacity of 225 tonnes.
CES (UK) Ltd, one of the country’s leading distributors of car parts, has announced that it has accepted “significant investment” in order to accelerate plans to expand its current network and further strengthen its position in the UK automotive aftermarket. Founders Howard Warren and Charles Colton will continue to support the CES strategy for growth whilst, the existing board of directors, led by managing director Steve McCann, will continue to manage the company operations.
CES (UK) has announced new investment in order to expand more rapidly. According to the companies involved, this strategic move will “accelerate plans to increase The Parts Alliance network and further strengthen [its] position in the UK automotive aftermarket.” CES (UK) remains a key member of The Parts Alliance.
In addition to discussing strategic plans for the coming years, today’s Apollo Tyres annual general meeting saw the release of the company’s approved unaudited results for the first quarter of India’s 2012-13 financial year, the three months to 30 June 2012. During the quarter, net sales rose 12 per cent to Rs 31.65 billion (£367.5 million) and operating profit increased 48 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3.61 billion (£41.9 million). Net profit jumped 79 per cent to Rs 1.38 billion (£16.0 million); Apollo attributes this rise to “a more judicious product and customer mix.”
An analyst in India opines that JK Tyre & Industries is currently a very good investment, and he states that shares in the company may be capable of achieving gains as high as 40 per cent over the coming half year or so. Aashish Tater, head of research at Kolkata-based Fort Share Broking, told Indian business news broadcaster CNBC-TV18 that there is a “bullish call” on the tyre sector, and he named Goodyear India and JK Tyre & Industries as the broker’s “prime picks.” Tater particularly feels that the second of these offers opportunities for investors.
On the back of its second quarter results, which nearly matched those attained in the first quarter, Continental sees itself “on track for another record year.” Commenting on the German tyre and automotive supplier’s performance to 30 June, Executive Board chairman Dr. Elmar Degenhart stated “based on the successful first half of the year, we are confident that we will comfortably achieve the goals we have set for the year. Nonetheless, we must continue to keep a close eye on the uncertainties on the global sales markets, the difficult economic situation in some European Union member states and the slowdown in global economic growth.
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