German logistics development company Honold is currently building Continental a new tyre warehouse in Aachen, direct on Germany’s border with Belgium and The Netherlands. When complete early next year the warehouse will have storage room for some 800,000 tyres and be able to handle the shipping of up to 35,000 tyres a day.
Europe, beware – winter is coming, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. The first snow has already fallen in the mountains of Switzerland, and that means the start of a new winter tyre season. Van den Ban (VDB), however, reports itself winter ready and says its expanded assortment of winter tyres is even more extensive compared with prior years.
According to Continental, the habour tyre range it unveiled at the TOC Container Supply Chain Europe exhibition in Rotterdam in July has struck a chord with port operators. The company claims that more than half the respondents to a recent survey plan to purchase or recommend the newly-released range.
Oliver Morley has been appointed as the new chief executive of the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Morley will take up the post in November. The current interim chief executive, Malcolm Dawson, will continue as planned in his role until then. Department for Transport permanent secretary Philip Rutnam said: "I am very pleased to welcome Oliver Morley to the Department. He brings a wealth of experience to this crucial role.
The 1,000 or so employees at Lanxess’ global headquarters have completed the shift from the German town of Leverkusen to Cologne. The headquarters team now resides at the ‘Lanxess Tower’ at Kennedyplatz number 1 in the city’s Deutz district. For the first time, all of the company’s central management functions are united under the one roof.
Continental AG has placed a 750 million euro Eurobond with institutional and retail investors. According to the company, the aim of the move is to reduce the firm’s interest costs. The bond issued by Continental under its Debt Issuance Program established in May has a term of seven years and an interest rate of 3.125 per cent per annum. Interest will be payable annually in arrears. The issue price is 99.228 per cent.
Continental says its tyre management procedures are helping one Northern Ireland transport and logistics business to achieve significant savings. Surefreight, one of the leading logistics companies operating between Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe, turned to Continental for support last year, resulting in its annual spend on tyres falling by £59,000 when compared with 2011.
South Wales company Hicks Logistics settled on Hankook tyres as its preferred choice over ten years ago, using the Korean manufacturer’s AH22+ and DH05 tyres on its Scania, Volvo and Mercedes tractor units and the TH22 wide singles, and TH10 for the low loaders, on its trailers. Hankook's new Alphatread retread tyres are set to be tested on the fleet and Hankook expects to be able to deliver increased value for money as a result. Hankook’s service has also been key to the continued association with Hicks; the company has its own dedicated tyre fitter at the head office, and is able to manage its own tyres in the local area. However, when working throughout the UK Hankook Truck Masters are relied on to service the fleet.
On 1 July, the EU family grew with the addition of more than four million Croatians. Starco has welcomed its colleagues in Croatia into the European Union and says that time has proven the wisdom its decision to invest in the country.
Simon Tattersall has been promoted to a new position leading the company’s growing portfolio of national fleet business, encompassing its largest car, van and truck customers. Previously head of national truck, Tattersall is now titled head of national accounts. He will be responsible for a team of 10 national account managers currently managing more than £120 million worth of fleet business annually. ATS-E’s key national accounts range from major leasing, rental and utilities fleets to some of the country’s most recognised logistics operators, including Eddie Stobart, TNT and Hoyer Group.
In June, Kumho Tire announced a global first – it will place radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags on all tyre products it manufactures. Kumho’s RFID programme is being rolled out as part of the ‘u-IT New Technology Verification Project’ supported by Korea’s National IT Industry Promotion Agency and a key aim of fitting RFID tags is to increase workflow efficiency; furthermore, with the expansion of its RFID-embedded tyres to all product lines, Kumho Tires expects to cut KRW10.4 billion (£5.9 million) in annual logistics, production and quality control costs.
The 2013 Cutting Carbon, Cutting Costs Conference, an interactive event designed to provide specialised carbon reduction advice for freight operators, is scheduled to be held on Wednesday 22 May at the Heritage Motor Museum, Gaydon, Warwickshire. At the Logistics Carbon Reduction Scheme (LCRS) conference there will be a range of workshops to suit freight operators' own individual fleet and business.
Brake, the road safety charity, is applauding a report out today by the All-Party Parliamentary Cycling Group, ‘Get Britain Cycling', calling for action to achieve 10% of journeys in Britain being by bike by 2025. Currently just 2% of journeys are by bike. The report urged government to work towards 20mph being the norm in urban areas, lower speeds on rural roads and more segregated cycle paths to encourage more people to take more journeys by bike. They recommended a cross-departmental Cycling Action Plan and leadership from the top of government to achieve ambitious targets to get more people out of their cars and onto their bikes.
Stewart Oades has handed over the presidency of the Freight Transport Association to Ian Veitch, managing director of Yusen Logistics UK, following FTA's National Council meeting in London on 23 April. Stewart Oades steps down after completing a four year term as FTA President.
Volkswagen has been enjoying, if you will forgive the pun, some good Kama in Russia of late. Earlier this month, tyre maker Nizhnekamskshina delivered the millionth Kama Euro tyre to the Volkswagen plant in Kaluga, where it produces a saloon variant of the Polo. The Kama tyres are supplied in sizes 175/70 R14, 185/60 R15 and 195/55 R15; both the Euro-129 asymmetric tread summer tyre and the all-season Euro-236 are fitted on the Polo.
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