ATS Euromaster is embarking on a consultation exercise “reviewing” as many as 80 of its UK centres. According to a company spokesperson, the tyre retail chain currently runs 456 centres, but is looking into the viability of continuing to run some in their present format. Therefore mergers, redundancies and some degree of reorganisation are all being discussed. However the company is apparently not currently looking into the sale of branches.
DHL Automotive, the logistics expert which has many clients within the tyre industry, has become a joint sponsor for the forthcoming NTDA Annual Dinner and TAFF Awards which is being held in Manchester next month.
On 13th August 2009, Motor Vehicles Regulations came into effect, making it illegal to fit a non type-approved catalytic converter to a vehicle registered on or after 1st March 2001. This means that a "Y" registered or newer vehicle requires a type-approved "cat". The new law also requires that replacement Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs) are also type approved. The following information, supplied by the NTDA, outlines the reasons behind the law’s introduction and the importance of compliance.
S-mark legislation limiting the sound levels emitted by tyres won’t not take effect until March 2010. According to an NTDA e-zine published this afternoon, the revised deadline comes after the Department of Transport reported that there has been “a delay in putting into place the statutory instrument which is required for the new s-marking regulations to become law.” In short, there won’t be any means of enforcing the new law in the UK until March 2010.
Musculoskeletal disorders, which often arise from poor manual handling practice, are the most common cause of occupational ill health in Britain and currently affect a million people a year – and they are said to cost the nation some £5.7 billion. The need to increase awareness of such risks amongst tyre industry employees has prompted the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to team up with the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) and the British Tyre Manufacturers Association (BTMA). It is hoped this three-way cooperation can inform workers of potential dangers and reduce the number of injuries caused each year.
If you are not sure whether your stock is s-marked or not, you need to read this. With just a couple of months left before s-marking comes into force, there could be as many as 2.5 million non-compliant tyres left in the supply chain.
2009 has seen the tyre business rush to interpret and apply tyre various different legislation affecting manufacturers, wholesalers, importers and distributors alike. Arguably this year has seen more new focus on this subject than in any of the five years preceding it put together. However, conflicting opinions in the market place, announcements of formal “first readings” and the general legal complexity of the texts have led to more than a little confusion in the marketplace.
ECI International, the organiser of leading UK tyre trade exhibition Brityrex 2010, has welcomed the decision by the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) to sponsor next year’s show. At the same time Tyres & Accessories will continue in its role as media sponsor, informing the market of all the latest product, exhibitor and show developments across its print magazine, e-Newsletter and online www.tyrepress.com portfolio of products.
“The NTDA is a high profile and important partner in helping to spread the Brityrex message throughout the UK industry so it’s great news that the Council has given its full backing to next year’s exhibition,” said ECI managing director Paul Farrant.
Brityrex 2010 has been endorsed by leading industry names as the UK’s only dedicated tyre, workshop equipment and accessories exhibition as the trade show’s organisers gear up to return to Manchester on 5, 6 and 7 October 2010.
Kings Road Tyres, Beissbarth, Apaseal, Hofmann Megaplan and Techking Tires are just some of the companies who have already committed themselves to the show, following news of its postponement for 2009. “It’s very encouraging that the vast majority of businesses who were due to exhibit this year have already said ‘yes’ to 2010,” said Paul Farrant, managing director of exhibition organiser ECI International.
As many as 3.6 million UK motorists could be driving on illegal tyres, according to the latest research. Figures from the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) show that of nearly 60,000 cars checked in January 2009 by retail members, 7,000 were being driven on at least one illegal tyre. Extrapolated across the population, this could amount to 3.6 million cars in the UK whose owners are at risk of causing serious road accidents. The disturbing findings are reflected by another recent survey conducted by TyreSafe, revealing that nearly one in ten motorists expects to spend less on tyres in 2009 compared with last year.
“When you consider that there are over 30 million cars on the UK’s roads, learning that one in ten motorists admits they plan to spend less on tyres shows an alarming lack of awareness among drivers towards their own road safety and the safety of the others,” TyreSafe chairman Rob Beddis commented. “Many tyre dealers have indeed reported that more drivers are letting their tyres run below the legal tread depth before they replace them as they feel the financial pinch. This is a worrying trend which sadly may result in more accidents and road deaths as a result of the loss of grip and longer stopping distances associated with illegal tyres.”
The TyreSafe research reveals that motorists in London are most likely to decrease their spending on tyres in 2009 with one in ten drivers expecting to spend less, while drivers in the East Midlands have the most responsible attitude towards replacing tyres, with less than 3 per cent expecting to spend less on tyres over the coming year.
The National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) has expressed its disappointment at the cancellation of April’s CV Show in a statement that also encouraged support for September’s Brityrex exhibition.
Association director Richard Edy said that members would be directly affected by this week’s decision: “The CV Show is always of great interest to many of our members involved in supplying and servicing commercial vehicle tyres. Of course it’s disappointing that a major opportunity to do business has been lost but we appreciate that these unprecedented economic times have hit the vehicle manufacturing sector extremely hard. We look forward to the show returning next year,” he said.
When the NTDA’s increasingly Influential Tyre Wholesalers’ Group (TWG) met for its annual lunch in November, the event brought with it news of import quality checks, an update on the current market situation and a polite request for not manufacturers to take advantage of the UK’s detached geographical position when it comes to pricing.
However, in his role as chairman, Ashley Croft began by giving the audience representing the majority of leading manufacturers and wholesalers an overview of how the economic climate is affecting tyre wholesale markets:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), working with the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) and the British Tyre Manufacturers Association (BTMA), is running a series of workshops designed to draw attention to the dangers of handling tyres. The nationwide series of workshops are being held at venues across the country from January and March 2009.
NTDA director Richard Edy said: “NTDA research shows that back injuries caused by lifting tyres incorrectly are responsible for a huge number of lost man-hours in our sector and we are delighted to be working with the HSE to highlight the dangers to the trade.”
Reifen China 2008 opened its doors in Shanghai today, with over 3000 visitors entering the city’s New International Expo Center for the show. The show’s organisers – Messe Essen, China United Rubber (Group) Company and concept partner Bundesverband Reifenhandel und Vulkanisieur-Handwerk (the German equivalent of the NTDA) – were all reportedly pleased with the 25 per cent increase in visitor numbers compared with the 2007 show. Over 110 companies from 16 countries are exhibiting their products and services at Reifen China covering 3500 square metres of floor space (31 per cent more than the 2007 show).
The NTDA (National Tyre Distributors Association) has published the results of a members survey, which shows that UK tyre retailers are battening down the hatches to avoid the pain of the looming recession. “Even though it’s the early days of the recession, the answers to our survey indicate that tyre retailers are battening down the hatches and are expecting a tough time ahead,” association director, Richard Edy commented.
Two thirds (66%) of those questioned said that they have reduced their capital expenditure, while 62 per cent have postponed the purchase of equipment. When it comes to the workforce, just over half of the businesses (55 per cent) have reduced staffing levels and 50 per cent have awarded pay rises below the level of inflation. 45 per cent reported that they had reduced staff hours or cut overtime.
Increasing numbers of virtually untraceable foreign registered cars on British roads are causing a tyre safety ‘black hole,’ according to the NTDA. The NTDA (National Tyre Distributors Association) says there are 140,000 foreign-registered vehicles using Britain’s roads at any one time and the estimated 3 million that enter the country each year, fall outside of the UK’s registration and MOT systems which regulate vehicle safety standards.
“Our concern is that foreign-registered cars often come from countries which have less stringent testing and maintenance standards than the UK. Once they’re in the country they can drive around with little risk of detection and without having to take an MOT test or even re-register with the DVLA,” said NTDA chairman Peter Gaster.
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