Although the National Tyre Distributors’ Association would like to see them banned and TyreSafe implores motorists not to buy these products, around 4.5 million part-worn tyres are sold in the UK each year. The Local Government Association (LGA) has now also highlighted some of its members’ experiences with the sellers of used tyres, and cautions motorists to exercise caution when buying.
Following up comments made at the Tyre Wholesale Group’s annual lunch on 5 October, NTDA chief executive Stefan Hay has called for a total ban on the sale of part-worn tyres. Speaking at the association’s Tyre Industry Conference, held at the VOX Conference Centre on Thursday 6 October 2016, Hay said previous attempts to enforce current laws through collaboration with trade bodies and enforcement agencies have not yielded the required results, leaving the association with little option but to harden its stance. Later the same day, NTDA chairman Roger Griggs reiterated the message during the association’s annual dinner.
Back-to-back titles as Tyre Manufacturer of the Year has likely led to back slapping all-round at Bridgestone. The tyre maker was selected ahead of fellow nominees Goodyear Dunlop, Hankook, Michelin, Pirelli and Yokohama to take the award for a second consecutive year at last Thursday’s Tyre Industry Awards, and this victory was further sweetened when Bridgestone scooped the Staff Training & Development Initiative of the Year award.
The NTDA Tyre Wholesale Group annual lunch saw greatly increased numbers alongside enhanced association support in its new position the day before the Tyre Industry Conference (5 October 2016), and location (the Hilton Birmingham Metropole adjacent to the NEC). The group chairman, Kirkby Tyres’ John Parker, presented his third – and potentially final – annual survey of the UK wholesale landscape. His topics included part-worn tyres, against which he joined the NTDA in taking a more radically oppositional stance, commented on the coming challenges and perhaps opportunities of Brexit, and the role of wholesalers in the e-commerce age.
Following the news that 15,000 tyres and their labels will be checked over the next two years as part of the Market Surveillance Action on Tyres 2015 (MSTYR15) project, representatives of the UK tyre business have welcomed the news that surveillance and enforcement steps are increasingly being taken across Europe.
At the end of February Tyres & Accessories attended the NTDA’s North West region meeting. For years the National Tyre Distributors Association kept in touch with the grass roots of the industry via a regional structure. This dissipated and virtually evaporated in recent decades, but not in the North West where it has continued to be strong – representing the local needs of the association and working together for the common good of tyre distributors as part of the national NTDA organisation. Latterly, the NTDA has experienced something of a resurgence of the regional approach with other regions being re-invigorated (prior to the North West meeting, the South East and Central South regions met in Watford on 10 February).
After a decade-long hiatus, the National Tyre Distributor Association (NTDA) resurrected the concept of having an annual tyre industry conference, with a new location and new format at the start of October. The new conference sees the association position its gathering as an industry-wide professional event alongside the NTDA dinner. The decision to re-launch the conference comes at a time when the NTDA dinner has itself evolved significantly – this year some 600 people attended (see complete coverage in the preceding section of this issue). But the most noticeable thing was the concerted effort, especially on the part of various industry associations participating, to present a united front. By doing this they showed that the associations are now more interested in highlighting where they stand together as opposed to where they differ.
Bridgestone’s double victory at the NTDA Awards 2015 was labelled a “significant breakthrough for the business.” The world’s largest tyre manufacturer won both the Tyre Manufacturer of the Year and the Industry Marketing Campaign of the Year awards, presented at the Annual Dinner in early October. Bridgestone added that the awards pay “tribute to the giant strides made by its senior management team over the past 12 months.”
The sale of dangerous tyres to unsuspecting motorists has led to the conviction of six retailers of part worn tyres from the Brent and Harrow area of London within the space of a week. Top Tyres & Auto Parts Ltd (Wembley); Whitchurch Road Tyres (Harrow); Pinner Road Tyres Ltd (Harrow); Quick Car Repairs Ltd (Harrow); Mr Walazedeh trading as Harrow Tyres (Harrow); and 3D Tyres Ltd (Wembley) faced 36 charges of supplying unsafe tyres, not complying with the Motor Vehicle Tyres (Safety) Regulations 1994. All six pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay a total of £18,009.40 in fines, including individual penalties for company directors, costs and victim surcharges.
The NTDA plans to challenge at the consultation phase the UK government’s proposal to extend from three to four years the deadline for a new car’s first MOT. Chancellor George Osborne announced today that the Government is exploring the options, with the proposed changes to become part of the government’s forthcoming Motoring Service Strategy.
The Tyre Recovery Association’s (TRA) Recycling Day, a one-day conference and dinner organised in partnership with the Retread Manufacturers Association, was held at the Ardencote Manor, Warwickshire on Friday, 19 June. Attended by representatives of the tyre and waste recycling industries, the conference included presentations covering the key themes of regulations and enforcement, best practise and innovation, and common causes and issues facing the industry. The unity of the various trade bodies struck a particularly strong note throughout the day, not just through the joint organisation of the event between the Retread Manufacturers Association (RMA) and the TRA, but with strong backing given to the event by association directors representing the whole of the UK tyre industry. The Recycling Day also marked an occasion for celebration, as the TRA celebrated its tenth anniversary.
Autoparts UK has joined the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) as the same time as launching an exclusive range of Orium Tyres. There are six Autoparts branches, five Midwest Motor Factor sites and Monmore Auto Parts joining NTDA membership meaning that group factor manager, Craig McCracken, will also join the NTDA Executive Council.
Lincolnshire part worn tyre retailer Luke McKenzie faces up to 12 months in prison along with a £20,000 fine after being found guilty of supplying unsafe part worn tyres to the public. The jury at Lincoln Crown Court unanimously found defendant Luke McKenzie, trading as Moss Tyres in Grantham, guilty on 16 accounts of being in possession to supply dangerous products, namely unsafe part worn tyres, to consumers after one hour’s deliberation. McKenzie also pleaded guilty on two other accounts – one account of supplying a spare tyre of the incorrect size during a Trading Standards test purchase operation; and one account of providing false information stating that that tyres fitted by the business had been balanced when they had not.
RH Claydon’s John Parker gave his first Tyre Wholesalers Group speech as chairman at the group’s annual lunch in November. Parker covered the current state of the market, before summing up current views on part worn tyres and tyre labelling, the latter of which he labelled a “debacle”. Attending the event, Tyres & Accessories reports the contents of Parker’s speech below. Parker contextualised what he had to say with current UK market figures. Saying that the consumer tyre replacement market has “stabilised at about 34m units give or take”, he reserved judgement on whether this represented a corner starting to be turned, while noting that this did not take into account part worn sales.
Road safety campaigner and Brityrex 2014 TyreTalk speaker, Frances Molloy has been “encouraged” by the response from tyre industry representatives following a meeting in Westminster. Supported by Liverpool Walton MP, Labour’s Steve Rotheram, Molloy is campaigning for a change in the law on the fitment of aged tyres. Her son, Michael, was killed in a 2012 crash caused by the blowout of a second-hand, 19.5-year old tyre alongside a fellow passenger and the driver of a coach.
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