Starco Europe has announced the appointment of Anders Pålsson, an experienced Swedish business leader who has spent the last nine years as MD and CEO of Hilding Anders. In that time he guided the Swedish bed manufacturer from an annual turnover of 3,000 million SEK to 7,000 million SEK. Special wheel and tyre manufacturer and supplier Starco is preparing to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary.
Starco has announced that its Eastern Group (SEG) and Tente have established a new joint company, Tente SIA, which will handle sales and support of Tente products in the Baltic States and the CIS region. Tente will be the majority shareholder of the company, which hopes to build on the existing sales and support structure SEG has established in the region since 2005, when the German parent company first sought the support of Starco in its endeavours to establish itself in the region.
Agricultural and other primary resource industries continue to play a leading role in the economic growth and social development of the former Soviet republics. In these nations, agriculture, natural resource development and the construction industry have always been at the forefront of economic development, and this is now being further facilitated by the growth of private enterprise, an influx of foreign investment capital and a general recovery from the global economic recession.
The speed rating of agricultural implement wheels and tyres has traditionally often been limited to 40 km/h, a limit reflecting the restrictions historically imposed on general agricultural tractors not equipped with suspension. This absence of a suspension system was a deliberate design feature that optimised field performance, and the known limitations – the affect upon stability, ride and road holding at increased speeds – were in past times not considered economically important.
Starco RT Agritread tyres for agricultural trailers, slurry tankers, muck spreaders and more are not just two new members of Starco’s product range; they also represent a new product line, since the RT Agritread ML and RT Agritread SL are high quality retreads. The tyres were designed for a high proportion of road use, in addition to high-speed medium to heavy load applications such as slurry tankers. The RT Agritread ML (Mud & Load) pattern is suitable for field and road usage, providing better traction in field, yielding greater fuel efficiency. The RT Agritread SL (Speed & Load) was designed for a large proportion of road work, with the ribbed pattern providing a smoother, quieter run and longer lifetime. Starco says the tyres are being rebuilt exclusively from premium brand carcasses exclusively to the ECE 109 standard, which makes them “a safe, durable and economical option”.
Starco has announced the launch of its new range of low cost, good quality ATV tyres. The brand, which has been previously established on the US market, will run alongside Starco’s existing Kenda line up, a move that the company says will offer customers greater choice.
The range includes both crossply and radial sizes and is available with a choice of tread designs to suit all applications and conditions. Starco’s warehouse in Rugeley, Staffordshire holds £3 million of stock, comprising comprehensive ranges of wheels, tyres and tubes for not only ATV but also turf, wheelbarrow, high speed trailer, industrial forklift, implement, skid steer and small materials handling applications. In response to customer demand and market trends, the ATV addition to the existing range is designed, says Starco, to maintain the company’s position as a major supplier of ATV tyres from the premium to the budget end of the market.
It has been just over a year since Starco GB added the industrial tyre segment to its existing product range, and although market conditions have been tough, the company reports that it has achieved “substantial growth” in this area. As the UK and Ireland distributor for the Globe Star product, Starco stocks a wide range of resilient solids and press on band tyres, both standard and non-marking easyfit. The solids are complemented with a full range of Kenda Kinetics pneumatic forklift tyres and an even wider range of other industrial, agricultural and skid steer sizes due to the recent addition of the Deestone range of product.
Industrial and niche tyre specialist Starco has launched a newly redeveloped website. According to marketing co-ordinator, Sharon Wilkins, the upgraded web presence recognises “the increasing importance and prominence the Internet plays in our daily communication.” Company representatives told Tyres & Accessories that the company’s goal is to provide visitors even more relevant information on group issues, while still enabling them to quickly find information about local group companies. At the moment, the page is available in English with German, Russian and Danish translations expected shortly. The new site can be found at www.starco.com.
Starco GB Ltd has appointed Keith Slater to its newly formed aftermarket sales department. Starco GB Ltd, part of the pan-European Starco group of companies, is better known for supplying an extensive range of tyre and wheel assemblies to original equipment manufacturers.
Keith Slater commented: “We at Starco GB Ltd are very upbeat and enthusiastic about the future of the dedicated aftermarket sales department with our competitive pricing structure and ever increasing product portfolio we are in a fantastic position for rapid progression to achieve our goals.”
During Tyres & Accessories’ visit to Starco, the company unveiled the new KargoMax trailer tyre and announced a five-year exclusive OE agreement. According to GiTi Europe’s Richard Lyons, the KargoMax is the first time a tyre manufacturer and OEM supplier have cooperated on the development of a full range of trailer tyres aimed at the high speed trailer and touring caravan market.
What sets the KargoMax apart from other products in the trailer segment is its “mission-matched” development. Company representatives told Tyres & Accessories that design features include construction aimed at counteracting heat build-up; and specially designed sidewall enhancements to help combat the effects of ageing – something that is particularly relevant in this segment.
Operators in the fitting area at Stafford-based Starco were have taken up to 10 minutes of assembly time by using PCL inflators. The team was previously using manual gauges on fitted machines, which proved time-consuming not just to inflate the tyres but to make continuous checks for accuracy. After ordering 8 wall-mounted Accura 12 inflation units there has been a significant improvement in tyre inflation times, with one particular assembly having its inflation time reduced from 15 minutes 34 seconds to 4 minutes 26 seconds. They have seen a clear and definite improvement across the board in inflation times, and this is enabling Starco to improve output and efficiency.
Operations Manager Craig Addison said: “The change to PCL’s digital unit has given us a greater level of control and an assurance that what is on the display is exactly what is going into the tyre. Before that we were constantly having to secondary check, which was taking up more operator time. It’s also good for our OEM customers to see, it reassures them that our tyre inflation is carried out using equipment with a high safety specification, providing the highest levels of accuracy.”
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