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Stapletons Mourns a ‘Founding Father’

Leading UK wholesale and retail tyre supplier, Stapletons Tyre Services is mourning the loss of one of its very first employees, Stuart Masson.

Mr Masson sadly passed away peacefully on 29 October at the age of 84 – nine days short of his birthday. Born on November 7, 1920 in Eaton Bray, near Leighton Buzzard, Stuart approached Sydney Stapleton for a job at his new tyre shop on Watford High Street in 1937. At the tender age of 16, Stuart started his career at Stapletons as a clerk.

9th January 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Beru Sells Cable Plant in Mexico

Beru AG (Ludwigsburg/Germany) has sold its Mexican subsidiary Beru S.A. de C.V. to Mexican corporations General Cable Holdings Mexico, S.A. de C.V., Mexico and General Cable de Latinoamérica, S.A. de C.V., both having their principal place of business in Tetla (Tlaxcala/Mexico). At the same time, the automotive supplier and tyre pressure monitoring producer has announced that it will establish a new subsidiary to operate under the name of Beru Mexico S.A. de C.V. This new company will take over the production of spark plugs as well as OEM, OES and aftermarket sales of Beru and OMZ brand products in the NAFTA region. Beru’s main customers in the NAFTA region include General Motors and the Volkswagen Group.

4th January 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Does Form Still Follow Function, or Tyre Testers?

During the course of Continental’s annual pre-Christmas event, which has now taken place for more than 10 years, the German manufacturer asked international tyre specialists from several reputed magazines to ponder the following question: “Do driver assist systems require new winter tyre testing procedures?” To summarise the stimulated discussions that took place in Ivalo, Finland, it seems development engineers at Hanover are obliged to try and serve the two masters at the same time.

13th December 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti, Union Face Off Over Plant

(Akron/Tire Review) Tensions in Charlotte, North Carolina, are rising as the head of Continental Tire North America (CTNA) saying the company may close its HQ plant and the United Steelworkers (USW) claiming the tyremaker hasn’t provided information to allow it to “develop a plan to salvage manufacturing at the Charlotte plant.”

13th December 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

CSEasy Does it from Continental

Continental has introduced what the company describes as “a novel wheel/tyre system” which it believes could revolutionise the fitting of industrial tyres.

Called the CSEasy, the tyre can be fitted on any Lemmerz-type rim without using a mounting press and using only a special, conical-shaped adapter and a torque wrench. The advantages are obvious; no call-out delay and greatly reduced downtime as the tyre is fitted on-site straight away. “CSEasy,” says Continental, “will revolutionise Super-Elastic tyres forever.”

9th December 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone to Open West Bohemia Distribution Centre in 2006

Bridgestone is planning to open a European distribution centre in the Czech Republic in July 2006, Gert Meylemans, senior manager corporate PR at Bridgestone Europe NV/SA told Czech Business Weekly.

8th December 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental Asks for 35 per cent Pay Cut

Continental Tire North America has asked 1,000 employees at the company’s Charlotte plant to give up 35 per cent of their pay and benefits by January. If the workers’ union doesn’t agree, the company is ready to immediately cut the plant’s production by 30 percent, and hasn’t ruled out closing the plant altogether, the Charlotte Observer quoted chief executive Alan Hippe as saying. The plant’s union leaders have not yet made a decision on the request.

2nd December 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental AG Appoints Uniroyal Distributor in Australia

(Brisbane/Australian Tyre Dealer) Continental Corporation, one of the world’s leading automotive industry suppliers and the largest tyre manufacturer in Germany, has appointed Hamilton Tyre & Rubber Company Pty Ltd as the Uniroyal tyre distributor for Australia effective immediately.

29th November 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

New German Winter Tyre Regulations

The German Bundesrat is set to ratify new winter tyre regulations in Germany by the end of the year. While the legislation will not actually require winter tyre usage it goes one step further than a simple recommendation. Under the new law, German drivers not using winter tyres in adverse weather conditions could be fined between 20 and 40 euros by police if they breakdown. And of course a new regulation along these lines will give insurance companies all the ammunition they need to refuse to pay-out for winter accidents involving cars fitted with summer tyres.

18th November 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Wholesale Changes at Stapletons

For the last 18 months Stapletons has kept pretty quiet about its plans for the UK market and consequently rumours have abounded about the strength of the company’s position. Now, chief executive officer, Kenji Murai has broken silence, announcing efficiency cuts and $25 million of investment designed to set “Stapletons apart from its competitors…into 2006 and beyond.”

On the 11 October Stapletons announced that it plans to close its Dereham tyre distribution centre (TDC), cut around 50 jobs and introduce new stock distribution methods at its Bristol, Coatbridge and Warrington TDCs. Delving deeper, Tyres & Accessories learnt that the cutbacks are the first step in a programme that will see the company’s Japanese backers invest a minimum of $25 million over the next three to five years.

At first glance words like restructuring, redundancies and consultation can paint quite a negative image, but Stapletons representatives insist that the moves are growth driven. While CEO Kenji Murai concedes that cutting jobs and closing sites is a response to the “challenging trading environment that the whole industry is widely acknowledged to be facing,” he also believes it is a positive move.

Taking this into account, it is clear that the events of the last 18 months, and the number of recent top-level personnel changes that have taken place at the company, signal a tide change in the direction of the wholesaler.

Take the recent appointment of Andrew Long as head of marketing. Mr Long comes from a non-tyre background and will have been selected for his knowledge of marketing rather than his in-depth understanding of sizes and fitments. Likewise the appointments of Kenji Murai as CEO and Taro Ikeba as chief financial officer – both moving from previous roles with the Itochu Corporation – also signals how the Stapletons’ Japanese backer is stepping up its involvement in the company. The fact that Mr Murai’s previous role saw him direct formation of Pit100, Itochu’s Japanese tyre retailer, is particularly telling.

However, according to Stapletons executives, Alan Denton’s recent departure had nothing to do with the ongoing plans.

For Stapletons, it’s a question of first things first. And at the moment that means overseeing the closure of the Dereham TDC. One might think that the closure of a distribution centre might make distribution more difficult, but according to Stapletons it has actually been more a question of increasing efficiency. In the future customers that were previous served by the Dereham TDC will now be served by the company’s Letchworth hub.

Confused? You have to understand Kaizen philosophy – the principle of perpetual improvement, Mr Murai explains. For Stapletons, one example of this is reducing the number of stock keeping units (SKUs) the company holds from 3500 to 2500 in order to move with more agility in an oversupplied market. Consequently less physical space is needed. This move will be coupled with “a smarter form of distribution” at the Bristol, Coatbridge and Warrington TDCs.

According to company representatives, all of Stapletons’ retail outlets will continue to operate independently of any changes to the wholesaler operations.

4th November 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre World: Sourcing in the Far East

For Tyre World this year’s Tyrexpo Asia demonstrated just how important the “rendezvous” side of tyre exhibitions can be. Burkhard Fuhrmann, managing director of the German wholesaler, says that it was much, much easier to get into contact with potential Asian business partners at Tyrexpo compared with the Essen Reifen show.

2nd November 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Hayes Lemmerz Appoints VP Steel Wheel Operations

Hayes Lemmerz International has appointed John Stephenson as vice president of the Steel Wheel Operations for the company’s International Wheel Group, effective immediately. Mr. Stephenson will report directly to International Wheel Group President Fred Bentley. Mr Stephenson will have responsibility for the company’s International Steel Wheel businesses with operations in Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, and India.

1st November 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Don’t Slip Up En Route to the Slopes

A survey conducted by Michelin has found that one in three drivers get lost when on holiday in France. In response the company has given its advice for the safest way to drive to the slopes this year.

“Regular UK ski/drive holidaymakers have adopted the same policy as many motorists in France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria and fit their cold weather tyres when there is an R in the month. In fact London is the second largest sales area for Michelin cold weather tyres behind Scotland, indicating that ski fans are purchasing tyres especially for their journeys to the slopes. If you are planning a similar trip prepare your car with cold weather tyres, de-icer, anti-freeze screen wash, a blanket or two and some reserve refreshments,” the manufacturer explained.

1st November 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Maha UK Wins Sales Award

Maha UK Ltd has achieved the Top Sales Award at this year’s annual meeting of dealers and subsidiaries of MAHA Germany, held in Paris on 15 October. This is the third occasion that MAHA UK has won the award. Kevin Howard, sales director of MAHA UK Limited, accepted the award, which was presented to him by Manfred Ziegler, managing director of MAHA Germany.

Commenting on the award, Kevin Howard said: “With UK sales approaching £5 million for 2005, UK customers are really showing that they are prepared to pay that little extra for quality and service. We are growing stronger in the UK all the time because we remain focused on our commitment of providing top quality equipment with excellent after sales service. Truck brake testers account for 50 per cent of our sales; this is a great testimonial for this product. We are now making great progress with the complete outfitting of new workshops, particularly with main car dealerships. We were also the first manufacturer to get approval for the new Automatic Test Lanes (ATL) for MOT which we have already begun to install. MAHA UK has a great future and we look forward to remaining the top sales outlet for the MAHA Group”.

28th October 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Romanian Graduates More Motivated than German Counterparts

Romanian university graduates are self-motivated and optimistic about the future, a survey commissioned by Continental AG has found. Although strongly attached to their home country, they are basically willing to relocate, with a career preference for Western countries and, above all, the United States. On the other hand, they would flatly reject a job offer in neighbouring East European countries like Russia or Ukraine, regardless of how attractive the position might be. Equally unpopular are offers from China or Brazil.

In general students feel they have received a good education although they are said to “greatly regret not having received much practical experience.” Continental is one of the largest investors in Romania and runs plants in Timisoara, Sibiu and Satu Mare.

24th October 2005/by Tyrepress Editors