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Coker Releases New Firestone Rear Tyre

Coker Tire has announced the release of its new Firestone 820-18 grooved rear tyre. According to the company, this tyre is “recognised as a great choice for fitment on vintage racers, sprint cars, or nostalgic hot rods,” and adds that “these tyres deliver an old-school street look coupled with modern reliability, safety and a comfortable ride.”

Moulds for the 820-18 were created from original Firestone drawings and Coker state that every original detail, right down to the sidewall engravings, has been replicated in the 2007 version of the tyre. The Firestone 820-18 grooved rear tyre features four-ply polyester construction, and in the US will retail for $293.

2nd July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Opens New Indian Retail Outlets

Goodyear India is attempting to raise its profile through the opening of new branded retail outlets, the latest being in the southern state of Kerala. The two new outlets, in the towns of Malappuram and Kollam, are part of Goodyear’s efforts to gain a stronger foothold in the nation’s replacement tyre market.

The new stores will also stock a range of car care products supplied by other manufacturers, such as perfumes, car wash and tyre shine – the intention being to make the stores a place where customers can purchase all their automotive-related requirements under the one roof.

26th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Age Shall Not Weary Them…

With depreciation, traffic jams and high fuel costs an established part of life and the threat of a “user pays” road system hanging over our heads it is perhaps little surprise that many people take a wistful glance at yesteryear, to the days when a jaunt in the jalopy was considered an exciting day out and a motorist’s hand signal did not involve extending the middle finger. But for some fond memories just aren’t enough, and thanks to them vehicles from what the bygone age of motoring remain on our roads.

But it is not always easy to keep them there. With each passing year the pool of vintage spare parts dwindles and performing repairs on these relics is in most cases way beyond the scope of many mechanics. But at least vintage car owners don’t have to worry about tyres – there are a number of companies dedicated to supplying owners with authentic period rubber for their vehicles, and the largest of these companies is the UK’s own Vintage Tyre Supplies.

22nd June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Poor Telephone Skills Hand eTailers Opportunity

The idea of an online tyre replacement market might sound like a less-than-significant niche to you, but when you consider that the UK and Germany are not only the most “wired,” but also the two of the continent’s largest tyre markets, it is clear that this means a lot of tyres and potentially a lot of money. The total online shopping market is currently worth £21 billion and is expected to triple in the years to come. As far as tyres are concerned, the leading online players are banking on the increase in broadband availability bringing extra customers organically, but one report Tyres & Accessories has seen suggests the poor communications skills of some conventional businesses are handing e-tailers even more opportunities.

22nd June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Turmoil Passed, CTNA Focus Shifts to Brand, Rebuilding Dealer Trust

(Akron/Tire Review) Plant closings, union battles, multiple management changes, low fill rates, irate dealers, shifting directions…the last five years have been difficult for Continental Tire North America. But, the past is the past. Since the appointment of Continental AG CFO Alan Hippe as president and CEO of CTNA in May 2005, CTNA officials point out, progress has been made. Even while it was sorting out its North American tyre production issues, Andreas Gerstenberger, who joined CTNA in September 2003, was leading a virtual transformation of the company’s marketing and sales group. It was not, as he himself admits, a smooth road, and it wasn’t until 2005 that many key issues were settled.

21st June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

With Right Business Approach, Selling Nitrogen Can Pump Up Profits

(Akron/Tire Review) For the past five or so years, suppliers of nitrogen-inflation equipment have made serious claims. Compared to moisture- and dirt-laden compressed air, nitrogen – a dry, inert gas – runs cooler, does not permeate through rubber as quickly and does not cause rust to develop on steel cords, expensive wheels or tyre pressure monitoring sensors. The result is better fuel economy, more consistent inflation pressure, longer tyre life and increased safety, advocates say. Those are big claims, so it’s only natural for tyre dealers, commercial fleets and consumers to be sceptical. As the old saying goes, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” Real results are what count.

21st June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Paul Furlong Joins Micheldever as Motorcycle Brand Manager

Micheldever is continuing to build its motorcycle tyre wholesale operation with the recruitment of Paul Furlong as Motorcycle Brand Manager. Paul has 12 years industry experience in the motorcycle tyre niche, most recently working for one of the largest bike tyre wholesalers where he was responsible for winning and maintaining some of their largest accounts.

21st June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Wholesalers Embrace Online Trading to Drive B2B Tyre Sales

Online ordering of tyres between wholesalers and their retail customers is undergoing a technology-driven revolution, which is improving business efficiency through time and cost savings. One dedicated IT system developed by Cam Systems is already on track to deal with one-in-five of all wholesale tyre sales by the end of the year. And the proportion of sales traded online will gather pace as more businesses get involved and new systems become available.

Cam Systems released its MIDaS Virtual Warehouse system into the market as long ago as 1996. It allows wholesalers to set up direct online trading links with customers for 24-7-365 stock, price and delivery enquiries and order placement. But the trigger for industry-wide use of the system came with easy access to broadband, offering speed and reliability of connection and data transfer.

20th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Hi-Q Gets to GRIPS With Customer Service

A bespoke point of sale customer service system has been installed throughout the entire HiQ network in a move to improve the experience for customers visiting stores. The Goodyear Dunlop Retail Integrated Point-of-Sale System (GRIPS) is a unique customer relationship management system which is being introduced to all HiQ stores in the UK and its sister companies across Europe.

The unique Windows-based point of sale system is the result of £1.5 million investment in customer service which will provide employees with detailed pricing information and enhanced customer profiling at all of HiQ’s 130 stores across the network. “GRIPS is the result of an intensive research and development programme and reflects a substantial investment in customer service,’ comments Gary Price, GRIPS project manager.

15th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyremaker Hopes for an Upsurge in Bigfoot Sightings

Wait….don’t grab your camera and head off into the forest just yet….the News of the World won’t pay good money for photos of this particular beast – the Bigfoot monster truck. A popular drawcard at events such as demolition derbies and truck rallies across the US, Bigfoot has been boldly painted with an all-new colour scheme featuring the Firestone shield. Staff at Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire (BFNT) worked with the Bigfoot team to produce a new look for the truck, and came up with a designed intended to evoke the pride and tradition of the Firestone brand.

In addition to the well-known Firestone shield, the new look also combines the classic Bigfoot blue with traditional Firestone red as well as the tiresafety.com logo – a website created by BFNT to promote tyre and automotive safety information via the Internet.

13th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kwik-Fit Shows Training Academies to Fleet Customers

Kwik-Fit has thrown open the doors of one of its four UK training academies for the first time to show leading fleet customers the courses its apprentices, fitters and specialist technicians undertake. Representatives of two of the UK’s leading leasing and fleet management companies Masterlease and Carillion went behind the usually closed doors to gain a first-hand insight into the training undertaken by Kwik-Fit’s centre fitters and mobile technicians.

Kwik-Fit employs more than 4,000 people in the UK and the company’s Training Academy, which has operations in Derby, Gloucester, Harlow and Perth, is the foundation for its business success. That success in the fleet industry translates into a dominant market share of the UK fast-fit market with solus or dual supply agreements with almost all of the country’s top 50 contract hire and leasing companies; more than one million vehicles on tyre management programmes and more than 60 industry awards that recognise best practice delivery in the company car and van marketplace.

6th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Launches Touring Tyre-Inspired Footwear Line

(Akron/Tire Review) At the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., Michelin North America (MNA) launched the Michelin Primacy MXV4 touring tyre and a casual footwear line inspired by the new tyre.Developed by Michelin Footwear, a division of Gear Six Technologies, Michelin’s official worldwide licensee for footwear, the MXV4 footwear line is being distributed by IGE 3 Corp., a division of Geoffrey Allen Corp. located in Secaucus, N.J.

Available this autumn in specialty retail stores, the MXV4 line features two outsoles inspired by the tyre-tread sculpture of the Michelin Primacy MXV4 touring tyre. It has full-grain premium leather uppers in variety of different styles.

“The Michelin name stands for innovation, performance and mobility worldwide,” said Tom Costin, president and CEO of Michelin Footwear. “Footwear industry insiders and consumers will continue to see many of Michelin’s popular tyre-tread sculptures creatively captured in footwear outsoles,” added Costin. “When wearing them, it’s easy to recognize the benefits of each sculpture’s design are directly in line with the type of footwear and its performance needs.”

5th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Manufacture in SA – Will it Have a Future?

(SA Treads – South Africa) The South African business sector is applauded the world over for its unflinching work ethic, its determination to succeed against all odds and its uncanny ability to come up with creative solutions whenever the occasion demands it. Nowhere is this more evident perhaps than in the tyre manufacturing segment. Rocketing oil prices, unstable currency, raw material shortages and subsequent price hikes, not to mention the seemingly relentless infiltration of foreign makes landing at suspiciously rock-bottom prices, have all taken their toll on our four domestically-based tyre makers. How are they meeting these challenges? Is tyre manufacturing in this country sustainable or can it expect to meet a similar fate to that of nations like Australia which has seen the demise of local industry in favour of low-cost imports?

4th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Introducing the Dunlop Interactive Display – a First for South Africa

(SA Treads- South Africa) An exciting new development – the Dunlop Interactive Module Display – was launched early this year, exclusively for Dunlop’s Accredited Dealers. This hi-tech selling tool – the first of its kind in South Africa – is set to make an irrevocable mark in this business and is likely to provide Dunlop’s loyalty programme with an added advantage in the marketplace.

Set on a hi-tech display stand that not only makes a fashion statement, but also reinforces the fact that the shop in question is at the cutting edge of the latest global phenomenon, the new Interactive Display Module is operated at the touch of a button via an advanced touch screen option. Easy to drive and fun to explore, it provides customers and motoring enthusiasts with exciting footage and plenty of information. Take the Land Speed Record for example. Here, customers are provided with the full story behind the record-breaking run, thereby demonstrating the outstanding performance of the SP Sport 7000D.

4th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Up Close and Personal With Dunlop

(SA Treads – South Africa) April of this year marked the end of an era. Industry icon, Pierre Dreyer, outgoing managing director of Dunlop Tyres SA and Mike Hankinson, CEO, officially announced their joint retirement from Dunlop and the tyre industry as a whole, in a move that will see them pursuing new business ventures and personal aspirations in the months and years to come. Simultaneously, Brazilian-born Dr Luis Ceneviz assumed the role of managing director of Dunlop Tyres SA on 1 April 2007. Amidst all the last-minute frenzied activity, we managed to secure an exclusive interview with all three, to not only recap any historic milestones the Company may have achieved, but gain some insight into what we can expect from this new tyre manufacturer going forward.

1st June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors