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Kwik-Fit “No Comment” On Rumours

Having recently sold a number of its Stop ‘n’ Steer centres in the UK, there are rumours that Kwik-Fit is set to rationalise its European operations. Our information, which comes from sources close to Kwik-Fit, but who did not want to be named, is that the company is looking at selling its operations in Poland, Belgium, Spain and Ireland in order to concentrate on the UK, Netherlands, France and Germany. We contacted Kwik-Fit in the UK to see if this was indeed the case and received the following reply from a company spokesperson: “Kwik-Fit is undertaking a review of all its operations. It would therefore be inappropriate to comment on future plans at present.”

27th February 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone UK Shows Market Share Gains

Bridgestone UK says that independent industry figures show that the company made market share gains in all sectors of the commercial vehicle tyre business. Figures released by the company are as follows: UK replacement market shares for van tyres have risen from 11 per cent in 2001 to 13 per cent last year, truck (22 per cent to 24 p.c.), agricultural (15 p.c. to 16 p.c) and off-road (37 p.c. to 39 p.c.). Truck tyre sales topped 300,000 pieces last year and Bridgestone claims a market share of 16 per cent for steer tyres and 26 per cent for drive tyres.

18th February 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Insurance: Soaring Costs Or No Cover

Insurance premiums are becoming an increasing topic for concern for many businesses. T&A looks at the problem and tries to uncover the reasons why premiums are rising and some companies are having problems finding cover. Insurance is one of those business costs which we all hate but equally almost all agree are a necessity. No reasonable businessman would argue that he didn’t need insurance. Firstly there is Public Liability, which, contrary to common wisdom, is not a legal liability, nor is Product Liability for anyone making or repairing a product. Then there is Employer’s Liability Insurance, which is a legal requirement, and we haven’t even started on premises, stock, vehicles or more targeted niche policies. The big problem for everyone is that insurance premiums are climbing. There have been warnings of 100 per cent this year, and as much as 400 per cent increase over the next two years.A UK truck tyre retreader who called T&A in a complete state of shock was having to completely reconsider his business strategy and advised us of several competitors who were taking the only option open to them and shutting up shop. His premium for Premises and Business Income Insurance in December 2000 stood at £9,000, by the following year it had doubled to £18,000. This was bad enough, but December 2002 saw the premium rise to an incredible £60,000 with a £50,000 excess. At the same time his Employer’s Liability Insurance climbed from £9,000, through £20,000 to £42,000. He reckoned that his insurance premiums had risen by 700 per cent in two years. Worse still, this business had never made a single claim …

10th February 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

The UK Motorcycle Tyre Market: Who Does Wins

For many in the UK tyre trade the motorcycle sector is a bit of an enigma. Bikers need tyres, but they also need specialist attention. The car buyer generally will fit whatever the dealer has to offer, surprisingly often without question. The Motorcyclist though is another fish altogether. Not only does the motorcyclist generally talk a great deal more about tyres, he, or she, will know more about them and will be more brand aware than the car driver. That creates some difficulty for the fast fit outlet used to pushing the tyres they want to sell. The case is compounded by the fact that, unlike the auto sector where tyres may be specifically tuned for OE supply, and the aftermarket offered a best option as a replacement tyre across the complete size range; the motorcycle sector retains those finely tuned OE specifications for aftermarket fit (by and large). It is therefore important, for example, that the Honda and the Yamaha, which both use the same size and range of Bridgestone tyre as OE, say, 120/70ZR17 BT 020, are offered the correct suffix code tyre to suit their bike. There are ten variations of this tyre from Bridgestone alone in this particular size. It is important that the sales staff are aware of the effect of fitting the wrong “120/70ZR17 BT 020” tyre to a bike – especially higher performance road bikes. Harmonics can induce “shimmy” in the steering, or vibration in the frame, or just make the bike noisy and uncomfortable to ride. At Dunlop Steve Male takes the explanation a stage further. “Manufacturers specify the bike and tell us what they expect from the tyre. Together we specify a tyre and tune it exactly for the bike as an OE fit. That OE fit is a global option and represents what the manufacturer of the bike believes is the correct global tyre for that bike. We will supply that OE tyre to the manufacturer. However, our own R&D team will design further options, refining the OE specification for different markets. There will possibly still be an exact OE spec. available for the bike, but there may also be a European spec., an Asian spec., and a North American spec., each tuned to the bike and the prevailing conditions.”

10th February 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

National Into The Black

One year after a management buyout, National Tyres and Viking International (the ex-Continental-owned UK tyre retail chain and wholesaler), reported a 2002 profit of 750,000 Pounds. This compares with a joint loss of almost 44 million Pounds in 2001, before the buyout. The turnaround was due to reduced costs and increased turnover, with 2002 sales up 25 per cent, from 80 million to 100 million Pounds.

1st February 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Bosal UK Achieves ISO14001

Bosal UK has become the first of Bosal’s European manufacturing group to achieve the prestigious ISO14001 environmental management system (EMS) accreditation. In order to qualify for the standard, Bosal adapted many of its operational processes to reduce the Company’s impact on the environment.

29th January 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Bill Hall To Leave Goodyear GB

Bill Hall, MD of Goodyear Great Britain, is to leave the company later this year to work in a family-run business consultancy. He will spend the next six months working on a number of strategic initiatives to accelerate the integration of Goodyear Dunlop UK. He joined Goodyear 24 years ago and has held a number of senior positions in the UK and Europe, launching the pan-European Truck Force service network. The role of MD, Goodyear will disappear as the company develops a structure based around strategic business units, reporting to Andreas Niegsch, General Manager, UK.

17th January 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

RMA Quits TIC

In the UK, the Retread Manufacturers Association (RMA) has announced that it is to leave the Tyre Industry Council (TIC). RMA Director Sheila Ikin said that, while the association still supported the principles of the TIC, it felt that it was more appropriate to concentrate its resources more directly on retreading and the RMA’s growing involvement in Europe with the Bipaver retreading division. Brian Smith, TIC Chairman, said that he regretted the withdrawal of the retreaders, but he understood that changing circumstances have presented them with different challenges and opportunities.

15th January 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

UK Motorcycle Tyre Market

The motorcyclist has long been regarded as being knowledgeable about his tyres, much more so than the car driver. The motorcyclist is also more likely to be fussy over which brand of tyre he puts his trust in. We take a look at what’s on offer.

9th January 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Back To The Land

Agriculture in the UK has suffered over the past few years, with the foot and mouth crisis and farm incomes falling. Farms have grown larger as people have left the business and farms have been amalgamated. Machinery has become more powerful and harder-working and the tyre manufacturers’ products have changed to accommodate this. The scope of agriculture has widened as new machines appear on farms – backhoe loaders, ATVs, forklifts etc. We look at some of the tyres available and at the industry’s premier showcase, the Smithfield Show.

9th January 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Hoosier To Be Control Tyres For 2003 Ascar Series

Cars in the 2003 Ascar race series in the UK will be running on Hoosier radials, similar to those used in oval racing in the USA, where Hoosier provide over 65 per cent of control tyres. The tyres were tested at the Rockingham circuit, at 150+ mph speeds for up to 50 laps at a time. With 105 laps completed, the softest compound tyre was found to be only 50 per cent worn.

12th December 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Agricultural Tyres

They say that you never see a satisfied farmer. What about agricultural tyre manufacturers and distributors – what sort of year has it been for them? We take a look at the factors affecting the agricultural tyre market and some of the latest products available. We also get the views of those who attended the biggest UK agricultural event, the Smithfield Show.

11th December 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Motokov (UK) Ltd: The Matador People

Motokov UK Ltd is the long-standing importer and distributor of Matador tyres from Slovakia, the UK subsidiary of a Czech company. Its tyre division is a high efficiency, low cost hands-on operation offering a dedicated service for the Matador brand. The King’s Lynn-based operation is perhaps one of the most straightforward tyre import businesses in the country. The tyre division at Motokov is handled by Paul Mills and Steve Eke. Paul has been with Motokov for seven years, Steve for 17. Their sole raison d’etre is to ensure the availability and supply of Matador tyres.The company which has been dealing in tyres for over 30 years, has been the importer of Matador tyres for the past ten years and has recently taken on the agency for Triangle crossply truck tyres and earthmover tyres from China.

11th December 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Mystery Shopping Exercise Shows Up Faults

More than half of garages across the UK deliver low standards of service to customers, according to new research published recently. Key car industry figures have met with Consumer Minister Melanie Johnson and Industry Minister Alan Johnson to discuss the problem. The Ministers welcomed a pledge from the industry to sign up in principle to develop a ‘Good Garage’ scheme to tackle the low standards.A recent government-sponsored mystery shopping survey found that 51 per cent of garages missed one or more safety-related defects in cars or items that should have been picked up in a regular servicing. The survey also revealed that, only five per cent of garages sampled carried out a thorough service against the manufacturer’s schedule and were judged to be ‘very good’,· 86 per cent of garages missed at least one introduced fault· 40 per cent of garages missed at least one service item; 51 per cent if the customer was female, 33 per cent if the customer was male; and· 27 per cent of fast fit centres recommended unnecessary replacement of parts.

28th November 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental Truck Tyres: Restructuring Pays Off

It was in mid-2001 that we reported on the plans of Continental Tyre group to drastically re-organise its commercial tyre operations in the UK. How successful was it? The result was no cosmetic tinkering with the problem, but a root and branch reform that ushered in a fundamental change in the way the manufacturer brought its tyres to market. Conti’s plan was to form a network of independent truck tyre dealers, each with their own territory, to provide an effective nationwide service capability. The commercial division of the Conti-owned equity, NTS, disappeared, with some depots being bought out, others purchased by outside parties and a handful joining ContiNetwork, as the new chain was called.Certainly Continental needed to take some action, as its commercial tyre activities were consistently posting losses, and the radical surgery that was the introduction of the ContiNetwork was seen as the best way. So, 18 months or so on, has it worked? Has the patient recovered? At the time, there were some mutterings that the whole exercise was merely a precursor to Continental quitting the truck tyre business – something which, to be fair, the company has always vehemently denied.The company had turned its loss-making commercial activities into a profit, the ContiNetwork members were happy with the volume and profit they were making and the fact that no fleet customers had been lost indicates that they must be happy.Arthur Gregg, Business Director for Commercial Tyres, certainly believes that the future is bright and pays tribute to what has been achieved over a relatively short period. “We’ve gone from loss to profit and established what we regard as the UK’s premier independent network,” he said, concluding: “the truck tyre business makes a profit for us and for our partners.”

28th November 2002/by Tyrepress Editors