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Cars With Bald Tyres Crushed

The DVLA and Police have seized 270 vehicles with potential deadly hazards, such as bald tyres, in South Yorkshire. Part of the local Police force’s campaign to crack down on vehicle crime, Operation Impact on Crime has resulted in 170 being crushed. Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Paul Broadbent, told reporters: “There are cars with bumpers hanging off and bald tyres – any one of them could have been involved in an accident and killed or seriously hurt someone. Some are good quality cars, but which have no tax or insurance. It shows that we do not care how old or how new a car is, if there’s no tax or insurance it’s going to get towed away.”

The crackdown has also targeted dodgy scrapdealers who handle stolen goods. South Yorkshire Police’s Scrapwatch scheme will focus on Rotherham – where 44 per cent of metal thefts are carried out.

11th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Court Decides CTNA Must Pay Health Benefits

Following a US court ruling Continental Tire North America has been given the responsibility of compensating the healthcare expenses of a number of retired employees from plants in Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina and California. The US district court in Toledo, Ohio decided that the company improperly reduced the health benefits of 3,000 former CTNA employees and their spouses.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs claimed that the CTNA decision to reduce the former employees’ health benefits resulted in couples not old enough to qualify for subsidised ‘Medicare’ health care (the minimum age for eligibility is 65) paying as much as US$1,000 a month for insurance. Many former employees were reportedly unable to afford these costs and thus were compelled to drop their healthcare cover.

6th August 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kwik-Fit Insurance Gains Industry Accreditation

Kwik-Fit Insurance was recently rewarded for its continued focus on training employees to deliver the highest levels of customer service. The company’s 12-week induction training has now been accredited by the Chartered Institute of Insurance, recognising the professional training delivered to new insurance advisors upon joining the company.

Head of HR and Training for Kwik-Fit Insurance Lynne Miller, commented: “Our people are trained to a very high standard not only to ensure that they have a clear understanding of the job in hand but to instil confidence that their knowledge and skills are extensive enough to accommodate almost any customer enquiry.

“Our people are some of the best trained in the industry and it’s great that this been recognised by the CII.”

5th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

BFNAT Reaches Agreement With Bloomington Workers

(Akron/Tire Review) The United Steelworkers Local 787 union in Bloomington, Ill., has approved a new three-year contract with Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire (BFNAT).

Seventy-six percent of the union workers at the OTR plant voted in favor of paying more for medical insurance. In return, workers gained an extra holiday and seniority rights. Wage scales remain the same, but workers will receive cost-of-living pay increases.

Earlier this month, BFNAT reached a tentative deal with the United Steelworkers covering tyre plants in Akron, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; and LaVergne, Tenn.

Local 787 has worked under an expired contract since July. The new agreement will expire in July 2009.

26th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

BFNAT, USW Talks Progressing

(Akron/Tire Review) Reports from the United Steelworkers indicate that master contract negotiations with Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire are progressing. Earlier this week, the two sides held meetings at USW’s headquarters in Pittsburgh that were termed “generally positive” by the union.

26th February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

ATS Euromaster Renews Driving School Contract

The nationwide driving school BSM, part of the RAC, has signed a new one-year contract with ATS Euromaster for the provision of new tyres and tyre services. The contract covers BSM’s fleet of over 3,500 dual control vehicles – the largest of its type in the UK.

26th February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Gets to Grips With Advanced Driving

Innovative tyre developer Goodyear has joined forces with the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) to offer drivers a course that transport research laboratory research suggests can reduce the risk of accidents by 70 per cent. The Goodyear Advanced Driving Course offers motorists of all ages, the opportunity to develop their driving skills, with the most advanced tyre technology on the road and the best trainers in the country.

17th January 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kwik-Fit Appoints Phil Preece To Head Insurance-Related Business

Kwik-Fit Fleet has appointed Phil Preece to take charge of its relationships with vehicle insurance companies and bodyshops following the end-of-year retirement of Peter Melville. As business development manager for the insurance/bodyshop sector Mr Preece, who has been Kwik-Fit Fleet’s area sales manager for the Midlands for the past nine years, will be responsible for establishing new and developing already existing business relationships with all major motor insurers.

11th January 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Spend a Lifetime with Marangoni

Italy’s Marangoni has launched a campaign to enlighten UK drivers on the benefits of thinking Marangoni when selecting new tyres. Following on from its successful “Intelligent Professionals” series, the new campaign links Marangoni’s position as a premium brand with the company’s Lifetime Tyre Warranty, a strong selling point.

Derek Carruthers, Global Sales & Marketing Director for Marangoni’s car tyre division, said “Communicating the Marangoni message to potential customers before they have made a decision on replacement tyres is fundamental.” He added that the company was attempting not only to build brand awareness but to also demonstrate that buying Marangoni tyres is a win/win situation for the customer in that they will receive both European quality and the peace of mind afforded by their Lifetime Tyre Warranty.

21st December 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Herman Trend Alert: Manufacturers Being Squeezed

(Akron/Tire Review) In the United States and elsewhere, structural (non-wage) costs for manufacturers, as a percentage of the total costs, are continuing to rise. According to a study released in September by the U.S. National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), The Manufacturing Institute and the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, structural costs increased from 22.4% to 31.7% of the total costs, compared to similar costs for similar companies in nine trading partner countries in 2003. “(This) sharp rise in these non-wage costs represents a significant and long-term problem for our nation’s manufacturers and America’s economy,” said John Engler, president of the NAM.

1st December 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Union Counters, Goodyear and USW Remain Far Apart

(Akron/Tire Review) As promised, the United Steelworkers offered its counter to a master contract proposal laid out by Goodyear last week. The counterproposal was issued late on 15 September, and industry observers note that they were considerably different than the tyremaker’s offer, leading to concern that the two sides remain far, far apart. The union’s plan calls for protected status for all Goodyear plants, wage and benefit increases, and protection of retiree benefits, while Goodyear offered protected status to all but two of its plants, cuts overall employment by 10 per cent, and seeks cuts in wages, benefits and retiree benefits.

20th September 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

US Regulators Push For Mandatory ESC Fitment

(Akron/Tire Review) Federal regulators have announced plans to require electronic stability control in all vehicles, a move that advocates call the single greatest vehicle safety improvement since the seat belt. Once all vehicles are equipped with the stability systems, likely by 2012, they could save more than 10,000 lives, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and eliminate more than 500,000 crashes annually, while saving billions of dollars in medical, repair and insurance costs.

15th September 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

London to Mongolia Charity Drive

Driving 8,000km through desert and bandit country in a 998cc 1989 Nissan Micra might not appeal to everyone, but two students from Buckinghamshire – with the support of Marangoni Tyre, Broadway Tyres and M&M Autos – are doing just that, all in the name of charity. Billed as ‘The Greatest Adventure in the World’, the Mongol Rally is a real test of courage and initiative, as there is no entourage of support vehicles or carefully marked courses. The 2005 rally was a massive success, despite only 14 entrants completing the trek. Competitors will travel across deserts and on roads that range from bad to non-existent to reach their final destination, and will prove to be an exceptional test for the Marangoni 155/70 T13 Trio tyres.

7th September 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Mobile Lift for Cars and LCVs

Power-Tec Ltd has introduced the 1,500kg capacity Mobi-Lift mobile vehicle lift for use with cars, 4x4s and light commercial vehicles. It is a single-post lift, offering 1,000mm lift height within 35 seconds and operates from a standard 230V 13 amp power supply.

5th September 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

John Edwards Pleads CTNA Workers’ Case in Letter to Alan Hippe

John Edwards, former US Senator from North Carolina and vice presidential candidate, has written a letter to Alan Hippe, CEO and president of Continental Tire’s North American (CTNA) expressing his concern over the German company’s alleged violations of US labour laws at the Charlotte, North Carolina plant.

16th August 2006/by Tyrepress Editors