Soopa Toobs says that it has had a busy year, characterised by stiff competition and a difficult marketplace. Despite this, the company has, over the past 18 months, taken on more warehouse and distribution staff and has now fully opened its new warehouse, which increases warehousing capacity by 300 per cent.
Kwik-Fit Fleet will have a new man at the wheel from 4 December 2006 when Mike Wise returns to the company to replace Nigel Davies, who is to become chief executive of London-based Pirtek Europe, the number one provider of hydraulic solutions. Mr Davies, who has spent almost 14 years with Britain’s largest independent fast-fit company, said he was sad to be leaving the company but the new job was an “opportunity I could not refuse.”
With the completion of expansion work at the Zeebrugge warehouse, Bridgestone has opened its new 87,500 square metre European Logistics Centre (ELC North). The 9 November inauguration was conducted by Mr Takashi Urano, chairman, CEO and president of Bridgestone Europe, Mr Yves Kerstens, vice president logistics and supply chain management, Bridgestone Europe and Mr Joachim Coens, chairman – managing director, Zeebrugge Port Authority.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., has announced that Yokohama Tyre Vietnam Inc., held the groundbreaking ceremony for its new industrial and mini-spare tyre plant at the planned construction site in the Vietnam/Singapore Industrial Park in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam, on 31 October 2006. A total of 90 people including those from Vietnam government offices, Japan-based manufacturers, banks and The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. participated in the ceremony. In his remarks, Tooru Kobayashi, director and corporate officer of The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., said:
Tyre wholesaler B.I.T.S. has signalled its expansion intentions by signing up industry specialist Terry Cuttell as Group Business Development Manager (Motor Dealer Division). Working alongside Darren Duguid – B.I.T.S. UK Sales Manager (Motor Dealer Division) – he will be based at a new office in Burton-on-Trent, which is totally dedicated to dealership relations. B.I.T.S. already has a substantial presence within dealer groups and the appointment of Terry Cuttell, with his strong links to manufacturers and wholesale tyre service providers, will further accelerate this, says the company.
Goodyear Dunlop plans to “blow the lid off the fast-fit industry” by expanding its Hi-Q operation, mainly through franchised outlets. At present, the manufacturer owns all but 22 of its 150 retail sites. Peter Tye, Goodyear Dunlop franchise development manager, says: “Our aim is to revolutionize the industry and to become a challenging force within UK fast fit.
“We intend to grow our network to 250, and the planned split is 100 owned by us and the rest by franchise holders. We expect all our current franchisees to continue with us, and we’re going through a consultation exercise with them looking at the benefits,” Tye added.
Independent Tyre Distributors Network Limited (ITDN) has unveiled its new 4,000 sq ft purpose built offices at the Exeter Road Business Park in Okehampton. ITDN is a company limited by guarantee which now has over 400 independent garage operations in membership providing a nationwide truck breakdown service which will now be co-ordinated from the new Okehampton offices.
ExxonMobil Chemical Company and Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. (YRC) have developed DVA (dynamically vulcanised alloy) advanced tyre inner liner technology based on proprietary Exxpro polymers as well as alloys and application technology developed by YRC. The DVA advanced inner liner technology used in the film liner materials combines the flexibility and elasticity of a rubber with the low-air permeability of a plastic.
The UK subsidiary of the international Mahle group has completed the re-organisation of warehousing and administration functions, gearing up for further expansion in the aftermarket. The first phase took place late last year with a new, £2.5 million warehouse opening at Salisbury, doubling storage capacity to 40,000 square feet. Now, Mahle Filter Systems UK has relocated its administration to new offices at Oldbury in the West Midlands, in a 2,700 square feet building centrally located close to junction 2 of the M5.
Up till now the Qingdao Yellow Sea Tyre Factory hasn’t sold its radial passenger car tyres on the European market. The company was founded in 1986 and currently produces about 1.5 million tyres, 600,000 of which are radial PC tyres. These tyres are imported, says sales and operation manager Tao Rung Wu. But because the company has not yet received an E-mark for its products, it has been impossible to export these products into Europe. This will change in the near future, Mr Tao asserts. In this context Yellow Sea Tyre is announcing the expansion of its production capacity from 600,000 radial PC tyres to about 1.5 million units from next March when they will also get their products E-marked. Right now the company has “very limited capacity”. It is not yet clear yet how this capacity increase might interfere with the limited number of radial PC tread patters (four) and dimensions between 13 and 16 inches.
Cam Systems has appointed the former IT and marketing manager of Broadway Tyres as part of an ongoing drive to build its account management team. PJ Aass worked closely with Cam during the two and a half years he managed the IT side of Broadway Tyres’ business. After leaving the wholesaler to complete an eight-month contract in Norway, PJ returned to the UK and the tyre industry after accepting an offer to join Cam Systems.
Toyo and its exclusive Qatar distributor, AlMuftah Trading, have revealed an ambitious expansion programme, aimed at meeting the requirements of the state’s rapidly growing automotive market. Toyo already has a “good share” of the local tyre market and AlMuftah Trading is expanding its distribution network in Qatar by opening two more sales outlets – at Wakrah and Al Khor – next year to boost business. AlMuftah Trading has been Toyo’s exclusive Qatar distributor since 1968. It has four outlets in Doha now dealing with Toyo tyres.
A Canadian union leader has said that expansion plans for a Michelin plant on Canada’s east coast expose “the company’s long-term strategy to rid itself of unionised plants.” Michelin is to expand its non-unionised factory in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, with a provincial contribution of between $3 million and $8 million, a government source told the Canadian press. Dozens of jobs will be created according to reports.
Weld Wheel Industries, a Kansas City maker of high-performance automotive wheels, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A Kansas City Star report said the 21-year-old family-owned business lost $1.1 million in the first six months of this year on net sales of $21.8 million. The bankruptcy petition said the company has total assets of $31.6 million. Weld Wheels has signed an asset-sale agreement with American Racing Equipment Inc. in southern California. American Racing will pay $17 million and assume various debt and lease obligations, according to local news sources.
Fleets can now get their company cars and light commercial vehicles serviced and MoT’d at Kwik-Fit centres. Around 230 of Kwik-Fit’s nationwide network of 670 centres are now equipped to undertake interim and full services on all-makes of vehicles and 250 centres will also be capable of undertaking MoTs by the end of 2006. Following the completion of a long-time retail pilot, Kwik-Fit is now extending its servicing and MoT capability to all fleets.
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