Fleet Business
APT Tyre Distributors Ltd of Goole in Yorkshire has become the 800th tyre service provider to enrol into the Infleet network. APT Tyres owner Alan Payling signed the service agreement after successful negotiations with the Infleet sales manager David Tattler. The news marks rapid expansion for the fleet business which announced its 500th provider just over 18 months ago.
As reported in Tyres & Accessories’ October edition (see page 14), at the start of September a further thirteen European countries were added to the 24 national markets where Continental’s mobility offer has operated since February. The product, known as Conti360° Fleet Services, is specifically aimed at fleets operating across national borders and includes five components that cover the spectrum of fleet operator needs.
A dominant player in the UK passenger car and light van sector, in which it estimates it has a market share of “75 per cent and growing”, Kwik-Fit Fleet has seen increasing opportunities for the provision of fleet maintenance since the recession – hastening the advance of policies already in play before the financial crisis. Peter Lambert, sales director at Kwik-Fit Fleet told Tyres & Accessories that the extended replacement cycles of many car and van fleets coincide naturally with “increased fleet demand for tyres and mechanical work including vehicle services and MoTs”, while also increasing pressure on fleet managers to ensure older vehicles remain on the road. “We anticipate that fleet demand for all forms of mechanical work at Kwik-Fit centres will continue to increase as all businesses look to minimise vehicle downtime,” concludes Lambert.
While the latest European Truck Customer Survey suggests that vehicle uptime has overtaken fuel efficiency as the most pressing concern on the minds of fleet operators, ATS Euromaster has continued to view both aspects of fleet service with similar importance. Peter Fairlie, group sales director with the firm, suggests that ATSE has retained a focus on helping fleet managers to “cut their running costs” across the board, through such measures as tyre husbandry, an increase in emphasis on mobile repair units and “ramping up” its service offering to accommodate fleet vehicles’ longer deployment.
Agricultural and aggregate specialist Finedon Bulk Haulage has switched to a 100 per cent Michelin policy following a 12-month trial which saw tyre longevity increase by approximately 60 per cent compared with the previous fitment, according to a Michelin statement today. The haulier’s fleet of ten tractors and ten bulk tipper trailers are required to negotiate farm tracks and rough quarry terrain on a daily basis; director Corey Donaldson had previously been sceptical about investing in a Michelin fitment: “Our tyres are subjected to a fair amount of wear and tear, but we pressed ahead with the Michelin trial and were very impressed with the durability and overall performance.”
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.
One outcome of the recession has been increased awareness of the need to maximise tyre value through related services. Several manufacturers of budget-segment brands have shared with Tyres & Accessories their view that simply producing affordable tyres holds little future; service, they realise, will increasingly be a dividing point between brands that do well and those that don’t. Established tyre majors, such as Goodyear Dunlop, enjoy a significant head start in this area, and this is helping them gain a better foothold in a market increasingly focused on whole-life savings.
Recently-recruited Bridgestone Midlands area sales manager, Darren Hill, recently won two new accounts to the company. Freelance Haulage, based in Boughton, Nottinghamshire – is a specialist haulage and transport company running 10 vehicles and 20 trailers- has changed to new Bridgestone product, via local Bridgestone Truckpoint dealer Tanvic Tyres. Chris Porter, Freelance’s managing director, gave the reason for the change as “the anticipated longevity of the Bridgestone product, coupled with excellent value for money.”
NFT, a leading provider of time critical logistics solutions for the food sector, has changed its tyre management solution to Tyre Maintenance Ltd, a part of the Bandvulc Group. The change sees NFT adopt a policy fitment of Bandvulc tyres and retains the majority of service operators as previously.
For NFT, David Seaton, Fleet Engineer commented: “Tyre Maintenance and Bandvulc have indirect links with NFT currently in servicing many of the same fleet customers as we do. It made sense both operationally and economically to utilise this synergy and to bring operations within the same group of companies.”
Goodyear has targeted US operators of the Cessna Citation CJ3 and Falcon 20/50/200 business jets with a new rebate promotion called ‘Flight Options’. The manufacturer is currently offering a $100 per tyre mail-in rebate programme, which it announced today at the National Business Aviation Association’s NBAA2010 trade show. Goodyear is distributing rebate coupons and further information at its booth (number 6670).
Nearly one in ten national car and van fleet customers visiting an ATS Euromaster centre with a tyre-related issue drive away with a repaired tyre, rather than a bill for the cost of a new fitment, according to the fast-fit chain. ATSE says the statistic highlights its commitment to driving down running costs; a puncture repair typically costs a fleet customer £8, according to the company, representing a 92 per cent saving, assuming the customer would have bought a premium brand replacement at an average price of £96.
A concerted focus on helping businesses reduce operating costs and improve efficiency has helped Kwik-Fit Fleet secure a third award for 2010, this time from industry publication Fleet Van. At the Fleet Van Awards 2010 ceremony, held in London on October 6, the fast-fit provider was confirmed as this year’s Van Service and Repair Company of the Year. The latest gong to come Kwik-Fit Fleet’s way joins accolades earned in the BusinessCar Awards and from LeasePlan UK earlier in the year.
The trucktires.com website operated by Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions (BBTS) in the US is being re-launched, and in addition to providing solutions and advice to help fleet customers increase tyre life and increase cost per mile the site also serves as a portal to the local Bridgestone, Bandag, Firestone and Dayton websites. BBTS comments that, via this portal, visitors will be able to find precisely the right tyre and retread products, locate the nearest dealer and access emergency road service.
Plans to increase the number of ATS Euromaster outlets equipped for MOT testing are “on target”, the fast-fitter reports. By the end of the year 100 centres throughout the UK will be able to offer an MOT test service, an increase of 20 per cent. ATS Euromaster says a similar increase is scheduled for 2011.
International removals firm Rose Removals has switched from a local tyre service provider to ATS Euromaster, using a mixture of Avon and Michelin tyres for its fleet of 12 vans and 12 trucks. For 20 years the 35-year-old, Devon-based company had sourced its domestic tyre requirements from Mid-Devon Tyres, but had experience of using the extensive Euromaster network in mainland Europe. ATS Euromaster’s parent company operates across 11 countries on the continent, providing a roadside rapid response service to many visiting UK fleets.
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