Today Mitas Tires North America begins the process hiring staff for its new agricultural tyre plant in Charles City, Iowa. The company says it is interviewing job seekers with a view to hiring ten “foremen and core employees” who will be sent to the Czech Republic for training. A further 149 employees will be recruited later this year.
Pellon Tyres in Halifax recently hosted Huddersfield Town footballer Scott Arfield, when he visited the branch for two new Kumho tyres to be fitted to his Volkswagen. The meeting came about after Pellon’s Eric Roberts, himself a life-long Huddersfield Town fan, was contacted by a friend to ask if he could help a friend fit a “couple of tyres” on his car.
UK wheel alignment specialist Supertracker has announced the relocation of its headquarters from Sholing in Southampton to nearby Hedge End. The company said increased demand for its increasing product range was the main reason for the change of locations for its entire manufacturing, sales and administration operations. The new address is new and custom built, which will enable further expansion, according to managing director Trevor Lovesy: “Since our launch twenty three years ago, Supertracker has always maintained a policy of continuous improvement in both products and services through natural evolution and ongoing customer demands. Therefore moving to our new office and manufacturing complex – which gives us easier motorway access and interior layout possibilities – is the latest development in this process.”
Following on from its five year deal with the MCE British Superbike Championship, Metzeler has announced that it will increase its involvement in Superstock 1000, 600 and the Triumph Triple Challenge, including a promotional brand unit in the trade areas of each event. Metzeler Racing manager Jason Griffiths commented; “This is a big year for Metzeler as the Superstock classes have never been bigger and we are also proud to supply the tyres for the Triumph Triple Challenge. Just like the bike manufacturers, Metzeler sees real importance in proving the quality of its road based products especially as lap times have continued to tumble. The class is very difficult to predict this year with so many potential winners, it’s going to be a real battle out there I’m sure! We are also supporting the fans more this year with a promotional unit and competitions at every round with top prizes.”
Pirelli UK has announced the appointment of Matt Bell as product training manager for Pirelli UK; a new role aimed at training people from both inside and outside the company about aspects of the business. Bell will design training packages for Pirelli sales teams, customers and dealers to give them the product and corporate knowledge needed to carry out their roles in the most effective way, a company statement says.
ATS Euromaster is helping to construct the largest single tyre wall in the world after supplying a truckload of scrap tyres to an exciting rural development project in Newstead, Nottinghamshire. The tyres are being used to form the building blocks of a new visitor centre and café, after Newstead became one of six villages to receive a grant from the Village SOS project, sponsored by Big Lottery Fund and the BBC.
Michelin made a contribution to the Transaid Professional Driver Training project in sub-Saharan Africa, where road accidents are the third highest cause of premature death after HIV/AIDS and malaria, by hosting a training session on 17 March for two Zambian commercial vehicle driving instructors at its UK headquarters in Stoke-on-Trent. The tyre manufacturer’s Sales Process and Training manager Richard Whitehurst oversaw the full-day tyre safety workshop with the instructors, who are employees of the Industrial Training Centre (ITC) in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka.
Infinity Tyres was the first supporter this year of the SAATHI social advocacy initiative, which strives to achieve “a better quality of living for individuals with special needs.” In line with Infinity’s mission to give back to the community, the company reports that it is finding “unique ways to make a difference in our local communities.”
Congratulations are in order for Serbian player Novak Djokovic, yet Maxxis International comments that a win for Britain’s Andy Murray would have been the icing on the cake for the tyre maker following a successful Australian Open. The tyre maker is an Official Sponsor of what has been dubbed ‘Australia’s greatest global sporting event’, and as part of a two-year deal will continue in this role during the 2012 tournament. The deal, signed last November, entitles Maxxis to courtside branding in the Rod Laver Arena and to use the Australian Open logo in its marketing materials and promotional activities.
Across the Atlantic, Bartec USA has launched its new EZ-Sensor starter kits, which include the new programmable TPMS replacement sensors from Schrader.
The latest Corghi products on the UK market include the Exact Black Tech X 3D wheel aligner series and the Four Columns (ERCO4004 and ERCO5004) and Two Columns (ERCO H4002 and ERCO H5002) lift series. An extensive range of Corghi products have been distributed exclusively in the UK for over 40 years by Apaseal, which offers full training, installation and technical service back-up. In the past three years Apaseal says it has increased investment throughout its resources and specialised workforce that, together with Corghi’s products, has permitted a quick and constant increase in wheel aligner sales.
Supertracker has told Tyres & Accessories that it has experienced “a very successful twelve months during 2010”, in which it continued “an ongoing and upward trend year-on-year since 1987” when the company was formed. The company said its presence at a number of trade shows was a contributing factor in this, including an appearance at Brityrex 2010. When asked if fully-integrated machines were seeing a rise in interest, Supertracker representatives told T&A that while the company was not seeing increases in sales of these units, “it would be true to say they form a part of Supertracker's sales”. The company then pointed to its new product releases, including the launch of the STR410 and a Steering Angle Reset Tool.
According to Commission directive 2010/48/EU (which is dated 5 July 2010) and “Adapting to technical progress Directive 2009/40/EC” of the European Parliament and of the council on roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers, tyre pressure monitoring systems will become part of the MOT from 1 January. That’s the analysis of the law TPMS supplier tyresensors.com recently shared with Tyres & Accessories.
Bandvulc Tyre Contracts (BTC) recently invested in new software and telephone systems in order to take the operation “to the next level of expertise,” the company said in a statement.
Bridgestone has officially opened the new building housing its 2008-established Bridgestone Institute of Global Training (known as the BIG-T for short). A ceremony was held at the Tokyo address on December 14 to mark the occasion, at which Bridgestone commented that the establishing of this permanent base for developing the group’s human resources represents the completion of the facilities needed for Bridgestone to develop its global human resources and more effectively communicate its management policies around the world.
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