It is a sad fact that many motorists automatically distrust the garage trade and there are frequent stories in the press of rip-offs and shoddy service. The fact that the vast majority of garages do a good and efficient job time after time is frequently overlooked. But no longer, as Motor Codes is working in association with the Daily Telegraph and honestjohn.co.uk to seek out Britain's Golden Garage.
Kumho has successfully completed preseason tests on its tyre selections for the Australian Rally Championship. The R900, designed for compacted gravel, the R800 for loose gravel and the wet-weather and muddy conditions R700 all impressed drivers with their high levels of grip, longevity and predictability having used them in the scorching temperatures of a Melbourne heat wave.
Gateshead based tuner Revolution Motorstore has taken Car and Accessory Trader magazine’s ‘Retailer of the Year’ Award for 2010. CAT, a magazine for aftermarket professionals, holds the awards ceremony each year. Each award category is voted for solely by members of the general public, with an online voting system permitting patrons of the nominated businesses to register one vote for their preferred winner – as well as being able to leave a comment on the quality of service they have received.
EW Swiers and Grainger, the York-based tyre recycler has invested £62,845 in recycling equipment including a pre-shredder. The company made the investment last October after it was awarded £25,000 of funding from Resource Efficiency Yorkshire (REY), which is now known as CO2 Sense Yorkshire and European Regional Development fund (ERDF).
Tyrepress.com has today published the joint media information pack between the tyre trade’s number one website and its most popular magazine: Tyres & Accessories. The pack includes advertising rates, subscription information, a full features list for 2010 and full contact details for the company. The eBrochure is published electronically and can be accessed in full screen by clicking the front cover at www.tyrepress.com/media.html. Tyres & Accessories has been published electronically since August 2009 on the new tyrepress.com website. It is available to all subscribers, up to the January 2010 issue.
When Tyres & Accessories was invited to attend TIF’s Electronic Data Interchange Wheel (EDIWheel for short) seminar in December, the magazine was pleased to attend and report on the discussions that took place for the benefit of the wider tyre industry. Following our report in the January issue of the magazine, it appears that our coverage has been something of a catalyst to the discussion of this issue within the various parts of the industry.
Now available to subscribers online, January 2010's magazine includes features on agricultural tyres and motorcycles tyres. For more details and to view the virtual magazine, click more.
In 2009 Maxxis significantly increased its online presence, adding to and improving the content on its corporate website and launching the Maxxis Babes website. Maxxis also saw the benefits from advertising on other websites, with links on Liverpool FC’s and Max Power’s websites drawing in traffic (amongst others). Managing director Derek McMartin has been impressed with an increase in traffic, commenting: “We are delighted that more and more people are actively seeking out the Maxxis brand online, whether they are consumers who want to know more about our products and where to buy them, or tyre retailers who are considering stocking Maxxis tyres.”
German motoring magazine Auto Motor und Sport has published coverage of the planned savings in Formula 1, which includes suggestions that Korean tyre manufacturers are interested in supplying the series. At the same time, the magazine reports that while Bridgestone has officially announced it will step back from F1 at the end of the 2010 series, the FIA could be seeking to tempt the tyre maker back with plans to keep costs down by limiting the number of tyres per race weekend to 10 from its current level of fourteen.
While no names are mentioned in the report, speculation that two Korean tyre manufacturers are interested in supplying F1 is likely to refer to Hankook and Korea. Nevertheless, in opinion of the magazine, a 2011 start for one of the Korean tyremakers would be "technically too early”, hence the Bridgestone option.
Maxxis and Grouptyre, its exclusive UK distributor, recently supplied MA-Z1 tyres for Total BMW Magazine’s long-term test of the German auto manufacturer’s BMW 318ti Compact. The magazine features regular updates on upgrades and improvements it has made to the car and has reported (in the Running Reports section of the December 2009 issue of Total BMW Magazine) taking the 318ti to the Croft Circuit for a BMW Car Club Track Day, where journalist Andrew Everett switched from Pirellis to the MA-Z1 high performance tyre in size 225/50×16. Maxxis received excellent feedback following the switch, reports UK MD Derek McMartin.
Belgium’s Bekaert reports with pride that its CEO, Bert De Graeve, has been voted the country’s Manager of the Year by a jury panel made up of industry and academic specialists. Commenting on the jury’s report, the steel cord manufacturer notes that De Graeve is “praised for his strong leadership skills with which he guided Bekaert through a crisis year and his pro-active management and entrepreneurship which added to the company’s resilience.” Other qualities specifically singled out, Bekaert adds, were De Graeve’s “future-oriented approach focusing on innovation and internationalisation, the sustainability demonstrated in his work and the societal role he takes up in his function as CEO.”
Coming up to the centenary of its entrance into motorcycle tyre production, Avon Motorcycle Tyres has reported a “successful year in 2009”, despite the UK suffering at the hands of a world-wide recession. The brand believes the breadth of its motorcycle tyre range, offering both performance and “value for money” oriented ranges, has helped it weather the storm. Speaking of storms, the brand closed the year by releasing a successor to its popular Storm ST family of sports-touring tyres at the International Motorcycle and Scooter show at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre, in November. The new Storm 2 Ultra builds on the performance of the Storm ST and, says Avon, improves upon it in a number of areas. Developed from the award-winning Storm ST tyre, the company says the new Storm 2 Ultra offers more mileage and improved grip in all weathers and road conditions. The company also signalled its intentions for the coming year with the announcement in December that it would Avon Tyres has announced that it will be utilising what it terms “eco-friendly” or “clean oil” in its tyres from 2010. According to the manufacturer, the new tyres will be “eco-friendly with no effect on grip and indeed, in the case of some high-performance range tyres, will actually have increased levels of grip.”
Defence Logistics magazine honoured Michelin North America’s aircraft tyre group in its Defense Logistics Award competition. Michelin Aircraft Tire Co. won the category “Performance-Based Logistics Implementation of the Year” for its supply of military tyres to all branches of the US military.
Although Apollo Tyres, as CFO Sunam Sarkar told Indian publication Outlook Business in December, decided to pass up on the acquisition of Mexico’s Tornel, it is by no means ready to stop its global growth. The magazine reports that plans for a presence in Eastern Europe are still on the agenda.
The team at Tyre Industry Publications, the publisher of Tyres & Accessories magazine and tyrepress.com, would like to thank you for making 2009 a successful year and wish you, your colleagues and your family a happy festive season. The office will be closed from 17 December to 4 January, 2010. We look forward to providing you with all the latest tyre business news in 2010.
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