Being ‘serviced’ by Daniel Craig is perhaps not everyone’s idea of a pleasant day, but it appears that quite a few female motorists wouldn’t mind having the James Bond star as their personal motor mechanic. This factoid emerged during a consumer survey Micheldever Tyre Services carried out for Valentine’s Day.
ATS Euromaster will continue to service The Queen’s tyres, having been granted an extension to 2018 of its current Royal Warrant. The agreement was recently reviewed by the Royal Household Warrants Committee and the approval was granted again as a result of the quality of ATS-E’s servicing standards and expertise, as well as the company’s social responsibility. Evidencing this, the Birmingham based company says it provided details of the work it has undertaken to reduce its impact on the environment, and its corporate social responsibility efforts.
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At the tail end of 2012, Nokian Tyres plc has signed a co-operation agreement with the Wissol Group conglomerate to expand its Vianor retail chain into Georgia. With this agreement, Wissol Group’s 15 existing “AutoExpress” retail outlets will be re-branded as Vianor. In the future, the chain will also be further developed and expanded under the Vianor brand.
Exhibition organiser ECI International has confirmed that tyre and workshop equipment exhibition Tyrexpo Africa will return to the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg on 4-6 March 2014. Managing director, Paul Farrant, said: “We are delighted to confirm that Tyrexpo Africa will once again be returning to the Sandton Convention Centre, which has proved to be an excellent host venue for the show since it was first launched in 2006.
Six months after appointing Andrew Huntly as business development director, Halfords Autocentres is continuing to drive its fleet and affiliate business with the addition of two further BDMs. The new appointments bring Halfords Autocentres’ fleet account handling complement to six, demonstrating the business’ willingness to invest in the sector as part of ambitious growth targets.
The Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) has responded to a recent Motorist Forum report on customer experience of franchised and independent MoT stations and garages in the wake of the government’s statement on the matter. While Brian Spratt, IAAF chief executive, praised the Roads minister for taking a “balanced view”, he said a fundamental change of attitudes towards communication is the key to improving the garage customer service experience. The Motorists Forum report put forward 12 recommendations to the government on how to improve the garage customer experience, details of which can be found on the IAAF website.
A key piece of equipment demonstrated at Pro-Align’s recent ‘Service Vision’ events held across the country was the newly-introduced Hunter Road Force ‘Touch’ balancer. This new unit includes unique features that allow it to measure road force variation and load force measurement, and Pro-Align believes it is set to transform wheel balancing. This potential was well demonstrated in September; despite being launched only a matter of weeks ago, the new system has already claimed its first international accolade – it was awarded the prestigious Innovation award at the Automechanika show in Germany.
Stertil Koni recently received the American Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) Gold Label certification for heavy duty vehicle lifts, recognising the quality of the company’s manufacturing standards. Stertil Koni is a preferred supplier to many leading companies within the worldwide truck, bus, logistics and transport industries.
Consumers are being urged to fight back against 'clockers' by HPI, as it launches an e-Petition to DirectGov to close down mileage correction firms. Across the UK, these companies are turning back the miles on used cars, helping certain sellers push up the price of vehicles. 1 in 20 cars checked with HPI show a discrepant mileage, and this figure has risen by 10 per cent in the last five years.
Tyre labelling regulations that come into force the week after next offer switched-on workshops an even greater opportunity to sell profit-boosting wheel alignment checks, opines wheel alignment specialist Pro-Align. The label is expected to help retailers move from a primarily price-based, commodity style transaction to a more consultative approach, based on differentiated customer needs or preferences – “a perfect scenario for educating drivers about wheel alignment,” the company says.
Car parts distributor CES (UK) has released its latest Workshop Essentials catalogue. Issue 9 contains 25 per cent more products than ever before, making it the biggest edition yet. Comprehensively redesigned with an entirely new look, it features some of the industry’s leading brands, such as Comma, Wynn’s, Kent Car Care, Sealey and Ring Automotive. Launched at Mecahanex 2012, the catalogue can be requested by calling CES (UK) or visiting its website.
DriveRight, an independent provider of wheel and tyre fitment data, has reported growth within the European Union over the past two years, citing the introduction of tyre labelling legislation as a contributing factor. The company established a database of vehicle fitments in 1995 and offered online data to manufacturers and retailers throughout Europe. The number of tyre fitments in DriveRight's database expanded from 31,000 chassis fitments in March 2010 to reach more than 40,000 currently. The need for dedicated support for DriveRight's diverse product range led to the company appointing French and Dutch agents as distributors, while the German market is served by the Berlin-based DriveRight GmbH.
Further outlets have been added to Michelin Americas Truck Tires’ fleet network following an agreement with TravelCenters of America (TA), operator of the TA and Petro Stopping Centers branded travel centres. The addition of these TA/Petro locations will expand the total number of Michelin X One servicing dealers to nearly 2,000 locations throughout the US.
point-S UK recently held its first member only TPMS seminar as a result of recognising the importance of impending legislation and increasing numbers of TPMS equipped cars on the road. TPMS and consumables supply partner Autogem hosted the half-day session at the company’s headquarters in London.
Those interested in getting to grips with the latest advances in Hunter alignment and wheel balance technology may do well to give Pro-Align a call. The wheel equipment specialist says it will soon hold a series of regional events; titled ‘A Service Vision of Tomorrow, Today!’, these are aimed at demonstrating the newest additions to the Hunter range in a workshop environment.
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