In the midst of TyreSafe’s annual Tyre Safety month honestjohn.co.uk, is drawing attention to consumer disquiet when it comes to tyre foam kits. A survey of visitors to the Honestjohn.co.uk website suggests that an overwhelming 91 per cent of respondents said they would prefer to have a spare tyre and almost the same number (86 per cent) said that they would rather have a spare tyre than their vehicle having lower CO2 emissions.
The Retail Motor Industry (RMI) has announced the formation of an MOT Working Group, to discuss MOT policy and the future of the test. The group, chaired by RMI’s MOT chairman John Ball, will meet for the first time in November, and will include representatives from a broad cross-section of the MOT testing industry. The announcement follows significant speculation that the government has been reconsidering changing the MOT interval to two years from one at present.
Following the chancellor’s announcement of spending cuts, a row has broken out over what businesses have called a carbon stealth tax. The small print of the government announcement reveals that £1 billion a year raised from companies under the carbon reduction commitment scheme will go straight to the government instead of being fed back to businesses with good environmental performances – apparently without consultation. Considering that the many businesses paid £15,000 just to join the scheme – and significantly more in factory upgrades to compete for the funding – this likely to receive a hostile reception from those predominantly manufacturing business affected.
Brityrex 2010 attracted a group of visitors from Shandong Province’s Guangrao County, which met with Tyres & Accessories on the Tuesday evening in Manchester’s Renaissance Hotel off Deansgate. The delegation included the president of Deruibotire (also known as Shandong Deribao Tire Co Ltd) Yuan Tingshu; Guangrao Shandong vice county magistrate Li Jianjun; and Bureau of Commerce of Guangrao County director and party secretary Zhu Hanqing. The delegation gave a presentation on the strengths of Guangrao County – a location described by Li as “an economic powerhouse within Shandong Province” and one of China’s major tyre and automotive accessory producing regions, as well as the host of China (Guangrao) International Rubber Tire & Auto Accessory Exhibition (ChinaGRTAE), which is due to be staged for the second time in 2011. Along with Tyres & Accessories and other representatives of the UK tyre trade, the delegation met with the NTDA’s Richard Edy and Peter Gaster, also of UK wholesaler Kings Road Tyres.
Over the coming 12 months motorists visiting any of garages utilised by Blackcircles.com will gain the added assurance provided by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders subsidiary Motor Codes. The online tyre retailer is taking steps to ensure each of the more than a thousand garages and fast fit outlets it uses subscribe to the Motor Codes ‘Service and Repair Code’, a decision it says will ensure greater peace of mind for motorists.
ECI International, the organiser of the new Tyrexpo India planned for 5 – 7 July 2011, has announced a strategic alliance with Capexil, the Indian Government-sponsored agency responsible for the promotion of the country’s tyre and rubber exporters. According to ECI, the link means the agency – which reports to India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry – will work closely with ECI to maximise opportunities for Indian suppliers to promote themselves to potential export customers.
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.
The road safety partnership RoadSafe has stated its support for near-namesake TyreSafe’s Tyre Safety Month initiative, which runs throughout October. Adrian Walsh, RoadSafe director says: “Tyres are a vital part of your car. You cannot brake, steer or accelerate properly when they are worn or underinflated. Drivers must remember to check them regularly. It can save a life.”
The Korea Times has reported the death of a 27-year old man employed as a subcontract worker in Hankook Tire’s Daejeon factory in South Korea. According to the September 27 published article, the death is the 16th amongst workers at Hankook’s Korean facilities since May 2006 and the deaths “are suspected to be related to the working environment.” The man, who is identified by the name ‘Lee’, is said to have had no previous health concerns and was employed to examine the surface of newly manufactured tyres.
Michelin has become the 50th ‘business champion’ to join government-backed Driving for Better Business campaign. In doing so, the company has committed to help promote at-work driving safety initiatives to other public and private sector fleets. The tyre maker’s involvement with the campaign comes after reducing its road crash rate by more than 50 per cent in the last five years and adopting a target of zero incidents. Michelin says improving safety has helped reduce accident damage costs by 46%. It has also seen significant savings on indirect costs, such as vehicle hire and driver time.
On September 13 Israel based clean tech company Adama Technologies Corporation announced the signing of a Letter of Intent with entrepreneurs in Romania to establish a series of tyre recycling facilities. The company anticipates the establishment of these plants will be partially facilitated through European Union and local government funding. Expected annual revenues from this new project are in excess of 100 million euros.
India’s government may be set to rectify the disparity between duties charged on natural rubber and imported tyres. The Press Trust of India reports that commerce secretary Dr Rahul Khullar told journalists on the sidelines of a Confederation of Indian Industry event to “give me a month's time, we are trying to sort out the problem of inverted duty structure."
The Tire Industry Association is no fan of the US tariff on Chinese produced consumer tyres. The anniversary of the Obama administration’s implementation of the “punitive” tariff is at hand, and the TIA is marking the occasion by calling for an end to the tariff or the collection of accurate data regarding it. The association points out that the United States International Trade Commission is obliged under section 421 of the Trade Act of 1974 to collect accurate, objective data on the tariff's effects.
The Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) has added its to the growing number of voices questioning the need to alter MOT frequency requirements. For its part the IAAF has written what it describes as a “strongly worded letter” to Transport Minister Michael Penning expressing surprise at the government’s decision to review the MOT test.The review is scheduled for later in the year. Transport Department whip Earl Atlee told the House of Lords in July “we intend to look at the issue of MOT frequencies later this year.”
As part of what it calls a “growing commitment to the Australian market”, Kumho Tyre Australia has opened a new AU$10 million (£5.9 million) purpose built distribution centre in Western Sydney. The company states the 5,000 square metre warehouse operation, which can hold up to 100,000 tyres, will greatly enhance the company's efficiency and ability to service the growing number of Kumho retailers.
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