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News articles on the tyre retail business

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Amtel-Vredestein Sales Up but Debt Issues Remain

Figures released by Amtel-Vredestein for the first nine months of 2007 show increased net sales during the period, however a statement released by the company on January 29 also points to the possibility of supply disruptions resulting from difficulties in refinancing short-term debt.

For the nine months ending September 30, 2007 sales rose by 26 per cent to US$691 million, from $548 million for the same period in 2006. From this figure, sales for the company’s Russian operations (excluding the AV-TO unit) increased 18 per cent to $274.3 million, while European sales from Vredestein Banden B.V. grew 20.1 per cent to $275.4 million. Much of Amtel-Vredestein’s overall sales growth has taken place, the company reports, through increased sales at its AT-VO unit due to the acquisition of tyre and automotive parts wholesale businesses Pigma and Megashina, and the increased number of retail stores included in the consolidated results.

30th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Nigel Sowerby New Director Truck Tyres at Goodyear Dunlop UK

Goodyear Dunlop UK has appointed Nigel Sowerby as Director, Truck Tyres in their UK and Ireland business, effective 1 March 2008. Robin Sharpe, current Director, Truck Tyres will handover to Nigel Sowerby to ensure during February before Sharpe moves on to a new assignment to be announced next month. Sowerby joined Goodyear Dunlop in 2005 as Southern Area Manager for the company’s TruckForce commercial vehicle tyre servicing network, before being promoted to the position of Manager, TruckForce, UK, in 2006.

Commenting on the appointment, current Director Truck Tyres, Robin Sharpe, commented: “Nigel and his team have done an outstanding job in building the TruckForce service network as a ‘Best in Class’ provider to the road transport industry. The time is now right to consolidate the management team to deliver a truly focused tyre and service offering, and I look forward to my next challenging role within Goodyear Dunlop.”

30th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin to Double CV Show Stand Size this Year

Michelin has reported that the stand it has booked (8-340) for this year’s CV Show in April will be twice the size of last year’s. Michelin’s stand will publicise the UK launch of its new 255/60 R19.5 and 205/65 R 17.5 MaxiTrailer tyres as well as a range of other products. The firm says that all of the tyres on show will include its patented Durable Technologies, which it describes as “a series of innovations that set new performance standards for customers.” Tyres & Accessories has also seen a preview of ATS Euromaster’s, the French manufacturer’s retail equity, show stand. The ATSE stand represents another significant investment and is apparently taking on a “green” theme this year with carbon neutral invitations and recycled tyre-based flooring.

29th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone to Expand China Retail Network

Bridgestone intends to more than double its retail network in China within the next four years, reports Japan’s Nikkei News. At present the company operates 700 outlets in China, and by the end of 2012 plans to have increased this number to 1,700. Specifically, the number of specialised Bridgestone tyre stores will grow from 587 to about 1,200, while its automotive products outlet network will grow from 121 to around 500.

28th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

1,000 Conti Tyres Stolen From Truck

Over 1,000 tyres were stolen from a lorry parked in a layby on the A43 between Northampton and Towcester. According to local news sources, the tyres were taken from a plain blue articulated lorry parked in the layby on the southbound carriageway near Blisworth between 23:00 on 23 January and 8:00 the following morning. The stolen tyres are ContiPremiumContact 205/55 R Continental tyres and are estimated to represent a six-figure retail sales value in total.

25th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

BFNT’s Gamauf to Retire

The vice-president of Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire (BFNT), John K. Gamauf, will retire from the company effective as of May 1, 2008. Gamauf, who also holds the office of president, Consumer Replacement Tire Sales, will be replaced by John Baratta, who currently serves as vice president, North American Consumer Tires Sales, BFNT. Baratta’s successor has yet to be named. Gamauf will continue to serve on BFNT’s board of directors.

Mark A. Emkes, chairman and CEO of BFNT and its parent company, Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc. (BSAH) said: “I would like to thank John Gamauf on behalf of the entire Bridgestone Americas team for the great job he has done during his long, successful career with our company. Under his leadership, he and his team have developed the best consumer tyre dealer network in the country. Not only has he grown our consumer replacement tyre sales to record levels, he’s also done a tremendous job developing the individuals who make up his team. The result is the deepest and most talented bench in the industry. John’s truly ‘done it all’ when it comes to retail tyre sales.”

25th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Expands Winter Tyre Range

Nokian Tyres is adding three new products to its winter tyre line-up in the Nordic countries and Russia. The company’s latest winter tyre for passenger cars is the studless Nokian Hakkapeliitta R, and the Finnish manufacturer also intends to further the range with a version designed for 4×4 vehicles. The company’s traditional Hakkapeliitta range is also venturing into new territory: the Nokian Hakkapeliitta Truck E winter traction tyre is the first product in this range to cater for the truck and bus segment.

24th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Blackcircles.com Adds a Personal Touch with New Call Centre

Last year online tyre retailer Blackcircles.com conducted a review of internet trends, and determined that customers are interested in comparing tyre prices online but still value the option of obtaining advice from a tyre professional. In response to this, the company is launching a new call centre operation at its Peebles headquarters.

“One of the themes we have picked up from customers is that the Internet does not talk back to you and we aim to change that,” commented company managing director Mike Welch. “Our research has shown that people feel there is a general lack of access to expert advice within the tyre industry. By offering an expert call centre operation we believe we can win more business by making the experience of purchasing tyres far more interactive.

23rd January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Watts USA Appoints New GM

A new general manager has been appointed to the Watts Tyre Group’s US operations. David R. Brown, a twenty-year tyre industry veteran, will in his new role with Watts USA oversee all aspects of the company’s business operations in the US market.

Prior to his appointment David Brown was the owner and president of Southern Industrial Tire of Central Florida and Southern Industrial Tire and Wheel. Watts believes that Brown’s knowledge of the industrial tyre market, both in the retail sector and with regards to dealer networks, will be a significant asset to the company at a time when it is working towards expanding its presence and operations in the US market.

14th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF, JK Tyre OE Partners for World’s Cheapest Car

The Ninth Auto Expo in New Delhi was selected as the venue for the January 10 launch of the world’s cheapest car, India’s Tata Nano. In its most basic form the Nano will retail for Rs 100,000 plus taxes. That’s around £1,300, less than one-third of the cost of the cheapest model sold in the UK. What buyers get for their rupees is a fairly spartan vehicle – the entry level Nano features no radio, air conditioning, power steering or any related luxuries, and comes fitted with a single windscreen wiper and a driver’s side only door mirror. But despite the lack of frills, the car is a genuine four-seater, and its two cylinder 623cc engine is said to deliver 33 hp and 5 litres/100km fuel economy. Furthermore, Tata reports that the Nano exceeds current safety and environmental standards.

11th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Feedback Sought for UK Tyre Recycling Protocol

A Quality Protocol, aimed at making the reprocessing of tyres into products such as flooring, road surfacing, aggregates and footwear a more straightforward and affordable process for industry, has been released for public consultation by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) and the Environment Agency.

Since the EU Landfill Directive came into effect alternate waste management options have been sought for the more than 100,000 end of life tyres removed from UK vehicles every day – a quantity that over the course of the year accumulates to an amount that Martin Brocklehurst, head of external waste programmes at the Environment Agency, attempts to illustrate: “Placed end to end, the annual tyre waste of England and Wales would stretch from London to Cardiff more than 100 times,” he said. “With so many cars, vans and trucks discarding tyres, we have potential to access more than 40,000 tonnes of recycled rubber.”

8th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental to Relaunch ContiNetwork

Product News, UK News

When Tyres & Accessories recently attended Continental’s annual media briefing, we expected to hear details of the previous year’s market statistics and product trends. However T&A got more than we bargained for when Continental UK commercial tyre business director, Arthur Gregg, revealed that the company is relaunching its ContiNetwork commercial vehicle retail business in February and will spend the next few years completely refreshing its product line-up.

Full details will be published when the official relaunch takes place in February, but here is a rough outline: Continental are aiming to give their dealers a more equitable system, whereby each company will have increased freedom to choose how much fleet business they commit to. Executives recognise that large amounts of fleet business suits some dealers better than others. In addition, Continental will unveil a new “dealer charter” (not a contract), which aims to improve two-way communications. In a related move T&A learnt that a new fleet manager for the Northern region will join the company this month.

8th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

New Reports On UK Tyre Market Size

One thing that almost everybody agrees on in the UK tyre industry is the lack of readily available, meaningful statistics on the size and value of the tyre market. The NTDA has teamed up with research company GfK to produce the "World of Tyres" – an exclusive members' newsletter which includes a regular review of retail sales data on the passenger car, 4X4 and light commercial tyre market.

7th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyremen Distributes CMS, Seeks New Trade Partners

As we enter 2008, Tyremen’s is seeking new trade partners to distribute CMS light alloy wheels. Having traded as tyre and wheel specialists for more than 40 years, Tyremen has been importing quality wheels since 1998. “Our European supplier is a company called CMS, which is based in Germany,” explained Phill Carlin of Tyremen. “As firm believers in the quality of these products, we’re very excited to be able to promote CMS wheels to potential trade partners.”

A leading manufacturer of light alloy wheels, CMS develops and exports more than 3 million wheels every year. As well as supplying companies such as Tyremen with high quality wheels for the aftermarket, CMS manufactures original equipment for top motoring names including Bentley, Peugeot, Renault, Seat, Toyota and Volkswagen.

3rd January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Makes Sales & Marketing Appointments

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has made five key sales and marketing appointments that are as follows: Phil Kortokrax moves into the newly created position of vice president, dealer channel sales, and will be responsible for realigning the sales and marketing team with a channel and market-facing focus. Currently the general manager of Cooper’s Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels, Kortokrax started his career with Cooper in 1990 and has worked in computer programming, production management, as director of internal audit. He earned a bachelor’s degree from The University of Findlay, Findlay, Ohio, and a master’s in business administration from the University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.

Adam Zickert has accepted the position of director, wholesale channel. Zickert joined Cooper in 2005 as Great Lakes regional sales manager and most recently worked as business development manager for the North Central region. He previously worked as sales and marketing director for Rockford Products Corporation. Zickert earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Rockford College, Rockford, Illinois.

17th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors