tyre dealers Archives - Page 19 of 32 - Tyrepress

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TIA Retreading & Recycling Conference Grows 60%

The Tire Industry Association (TIA) reports that tyre industry visitors to the second Commercial Tire, Retread & Recycling Conference (CTRRC), held in Florida, increased by more than sixty per cent over last year. The CTRRC had 404 registered attendees, including 294 from the commercial/retread market and 110 recyclers who attended the three-day conference that included various seminars, a recycling tour and an equipment demonstration. This meeting was held again in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC) of the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

25th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Australian Groups Become Newest TRIB Members

Two groups representing the interests of retreaders, the Australian Tyre Retreaders & Associates Ltd, and Makepeace Agencies, joined the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau during TRIB Managing Director Harvey Brodsky’s recent visit to Australia. Brodsky was in Australia visiting TRIB members and was the keynote speaker at the first meeting of the newly formed Australian Tyre Retreaders & Associates in Sydney.

20th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

US Top Shop Awards Website Launched

Building on the success of its first Top Shop Awards program last year, US based tyre industry publication Tire Review and presenting sponsor Ammco/Coats on February 18 launched a new Website dedicated to all aspects of the prestigious North American tyre dealer awards programme.

18th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Download Free Bike Tyre Safety Month Posters

Following the announce that TyreSafe is promoting a tyre safety campaign aimed at bikers, tyre dealers are now being encouraged to get involved. TyreSafe are offering free posters for interested parties to download at www.tyresafe.org/bikesafety. Dealers have the option of choosing one or all four of the free checks by displaying the posters on their premises. A free leaflet with further details about motorcycle tyre safety is also available. “By doing this, [dealers] will be promoting a vital safety message, increasing the overall effectiveness of the campaign and benefiting from the increased footfall from customers responding to the offer,” TyreSafe representatives told Tyres & Accessories.

14th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dealers Object to 50-Cent Fee on Tyres

(Burlington (VT) Free Press) Rep. Jon Anderson, D-Montpelier, wants to put a 50-cent fee on each new tyre sold in Vermont to raise about $300,000 to help Green-Up Day volunteers and solid waste districts cover costs associated with illegally dumped tyres.

“I don’t want to overstate the tyre problem,” Anderson said. “It’s 1 per cent to 2 per cent of the tyres sold, but that is still 6,000 to 12,000 tyres.”

His plan isn’t popular with tyre and auto dealers, who lined up to testify before the House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources Committee this week. They downplayed the problem Anderson is trying to solve and emphasised the detrimental impact on business of another government fee.

11th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

CIMS Discusses NHTSA E-Registration Plan

Calling it a “win-win situation for tyre manufacturers, tyre dealers and more importantly for the tyre purchaser,” CIMS President Paul Kruder offered his endorsement of NHTSA’s plan to formally allow electronic tyre registration. NHTSA revealed last week that it would undertake changing tyre registration regulations to permit direct registration via the Internet or other electronic means. While not preventing such in recent years, NHTSA had not formally included non-paper registration means.

In a letter to the media, Kruder said, “These proposed changes will give tyre dealers the option of providing a paper tyre registration form to every customer or completing the tyre registration process electronically on behalf of the tyre purchaser. By improving tyre registration levels everybody wins, especially the tyre purchaser because of the safety protection registering tyres offers them and their families.

29th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

NHTSA Takes Up E-Registration, RMA Supports

The RMA has thrown its support behind NHTSA’s plans to broaden tyre registration methods. NHTSA earlier this week release proposed regulations to improve tyre registration and recordkeeping, allowing greater use of online tyre registration. The agency feels broader use of Internet or other “electronic registration” will improve tyre registration rates, which, in turn, would make tyre recalls more effective and efficient.

Currently, the industry’s best estimate is that only 10 per cent of paper tyre registration cards are ever completed and returned. While most tyremakers already offer online tyre registration via their Web sites, current online tyre registration rates are unknown.

28th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bike Tyrestore Wins British Dealer News Award

Bike Tyrestore (BTS) has won the “Best Trade Service” award during the British Dealer News Industry Awards ceremony, following day one of the 2008 Motorcycle Trade Expo Show. Presented by industry personality Peter Gleave, the trophy was presented to Bike Tyrestore’s Managing Director, Peter Smith. The award follows a survey of motorbike tyre dealers (conducted by British Dealer News) that resulted in BTS being described as the best trade service. During the presentation citation BTS was described as being “recognised not just for its excellent service but for the breadth of its service.” The citation continued: “Next day delivery and competitive pricing is normal these days, but this company goes the extra mile with a free phone order service, free technical training for dealers’ staff, a weekly trade newsletter and customer invitations to their highly popular track days.”

28th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

MTNA Creates New Sales Region, Appoints New Managers

Marangoni Tread North America (MTNA) reports that it experienced record sales in 2007 and anticipates continued incremental growth. The company adds that increasing its salesperson to dealer ratio is viewed as a priority, and thus MTNA has created an additional US sales region, to give the company a total of four; Northeast, Southeast, Central, West. A new region sales manager, Doug Edwardsen, will be responsible for the newly established Central region. Edwardsen, a former Bandag Executive, has worked within the tyre and retreading industry in the US and Canada for over 25 years and possesses, reports MTNA, extensive experience in the distribution and development of fleet and dealer sales.

14th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Appoints New National CV Sales Manager

Helen Tattersall has been appointed National Sales Manager – Truck at Michelin Tyre plc, with immediate effect. Helen Tattersall takes on this new role after eight years at Michelin, having joined as a Key Account Manager within Michelin Fleet Solutions, with her most recent position being Head of Truck and Earthmover Marketing. She replaces Peter Philpott who is retiring after more than 30 years service to the company. In her new role Helen will be responsible for heading up a 63-strong team of Sales Account Managers across the UK and Ireland. According to Michelin, this is the largest specialist truck tyre sales force of any manufacturer in the UK industry. Commenting on her appointment, she explains: “My new role will give me the opportunity to meet regularly with tyre dealers and fleet operators at the heart of the industry, which I am really looking forward to.”

9th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

‘Optimism Returning to the Market’

“It was fantastic to see optimism returning to the agricultural tyre market in 2007. Despite all the problems that farmers faced last year, the better wheat and milk prices seem to have steadied the ship,” comments Barry Coleman, Firestone’s marketing manager. According to Coleman the UK agricultural tyre market looks like it has turned a corner compared with the broader trend seen in recent years. “Over the past few years the market demand has been in steady decline, but in 2007 demand was about the same as the previous year. However, the market is changing with sales of the traditional standard 85 series tyres diminishing as sales of specialist agricultural tyres grow.”

“Firestone has a continuous stream of new products to meet these specialist demands. In November we launched Maxi Traction, a range of large tyres designed specifically for high horse power tractors,” Coleman continued, adding: “Maxi Traction is designed to operate at 2.4 bar which means the load carried is significantly higher than a normal tyre can carry. The main original equipment tractor manufacturers have already started to fit Maxi Traction as standard fitment to new machines.”

4th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

TIA Adds to Training Staff

(Tire Review/Akron) TIA has hired Sean MacKinnon as its director of automotive training development. In this new position, MacKinnon will be the primary resource for tyre dealers seeking TPMS service information, and he will also work on developing updates to TIA’s Automotive Tire Service Training and Certification Program.

MacKinnon has been in the retail tyre industry for more than a decade and has worked in tyre stores as a technician, supervisor and manager. He will be based at TIA’s Bowie, Maryland, headquarters.

10th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin and Kirkby Settle Copyright Dispute

Kirkby Tyres & Wheels has agreed to end the distribution of a number of Double Coin brand tyres that Michelin claimed infringed the French manufacturer’s intellectual property rights. According to the agreement, Kirkby will cease distribution of the tyres and also remove all versions of “Michelin-copyrighted content” from its websites within an agreed period of time. In return Michelin is dropping its legal action for “infringement and other issues.”

In May Michelin informed the media that it was filing suits against tyre dealers selling the Double Coin brand because of tread patterns similar to those on Michelin truck tyres. The French tyremaker had previously (in December 2005) alerted more than 5,000 tyre dealers that while the treads may look the same on both tyres, the look-alikes may not deliver the same grip or longevity as an authentic Michelin tyre.

23rd November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Meeting the Demands of Today’s Tyre Business

Tyre technicians throughout the UK are benefiting from a training scheme aimed at improving industry standards, and the first group of delegates have now successfully completed their courses. The awards scheme, run by Bridgestone UK, recognises excellence in tyre servicing and care, together with professional customer service delivery. The scheme offers three different levels of achievement for both car and truck categories – gold, silver and bronze – which are attained by completing a set number of training courses.

Bronze award achievers are required to pass four modules in either car or truck tyre training. They cover subjects such as health and safety, customer care, tyre knowledge and roadside breakdown assistance. Courses at this level are held at training locations across the UK. Upon passing each module, technicians are awarded a Bridgestone certificate of achievement, and when all four modules are completed, they receive the bronze award, which is recognised by the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI). They also become eligible for IMI membership. The more advanced silver and gold awards cover tyre technology, specialist tyre care and management skills. Some of these courses are held at Bridgestone’s European Education Centre in Rome.

20th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

CarbonBlack Introduces Australian Tyre Quoting Marketplace

CarbonBlack TyreXchange (CarbonBlack), Australia’s first independent online quoting marketplace for new passenger tyres and related services, outlined on November 12 its plans for a national rollout. Currently operating in New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory, the company intends to continue its expansion within Australia and further integrate value-added services including consumer and industry data, vehicle servicing, insurance, general car safety and maintenance, driver education and car detailing and accessories to its site. CarbonBlack managing director, Jodi Stanton, said that the launch of Australia’s first independent online quoting marketplace for tyres was a breakthrough for both industry and consumers.

“We only deal in new stock and can compare a vast range of tyres across multiple dealers and manufacturers for our registered users. A major benefit is the seller actually does all the work for consumers,” said Ms. Stanton. “For the passenger tyre industry this is an efficient leverage of existing Internet technology which also solves the issues surrounding traditional ways of marketing.

12th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors