Europa Tyres, the UK agricultural tyre wholesaler which is part of the BITS organisation, has acquired the share capital of Moplant Limited; the manufacturer of the Thornguard and Nailguard ranges of anti-puncture tyre liners. These liners reduce punctures in off-road vehicles by over 90%, according to customers.
Stapleton’s Tyre Services, the UK-based wholesaler, has released financial figures for the year 2001. Turnover rose 15 per cent over 2000 to 86 million Pounds (141.15 m Euro) and profit before tax was 1.55 million Pounds (2.5 m Euro). Stapleton’s recently completed the acquisition of rival wholesaler WSTyremasters; a deal which will add another 36 million Pounds (59 million Euro) to annual turnover.
When Ian Wilson retires from his post of managing director of Vredestein UK at the end of March, he will be replaced by Bert Stellinga who has been with the company since 1994 and is currently the company’s export manager. Bert will take up the post on 1 April.
The tyre recycling issue may be about to gain a boost from the heightened awareness of waste management raised in the UK, by the increased level of dumping of domestic fridges. Inaction by the UK on the issue has led to the imminent implementation of laws requiring the controlled dismantling, recycling and disposal of various elements of old fridges. However, the facilities to dispose of the waste do not exist in the UK – resulting in a fridge mountain growing at a rate of 6,500 units per day. Increased disposal costs – as much as £70 per fridge, have resulted in fly tipping of old units. This high visibility problem has led to questions being asked in the Commons and Environment Minister, Michael Meacher denying Government responsibility, blaming the European Commission. This heightened awareness of waste management might also attract attention to the tyre problem.
Effective February 1, 2002 Goodyear Great Britain Limited and Dunlop Tyres Limited will implement an organisational structure reflecting its intentions to manage the two brands separately in the marketplace supported by various shared service functions. Among the key appointments are the following, who report to Marco Molinari, Chairman and Group Managing Director UK Operations: Bill Yates, Managing Director Dunlop Tyres Limited, Bill Hall is appointed Managing Director Goodyear Great Britain Limited and Paul Harrell, GM Retail Operations.
There is speculation in the UK press that Sir Tom Farmer may be poised to buy back Kwik-Fit from Ford. Ford would sell Kwik-Fit for $1 bn, it is suggested, which is just over half of what the car manufacturer paid for the company in 1999.
Fleet tyre management phoenix, FTM, has claimed domination of the UK fleet tyre management market, with coverage, largely exclusive, of 80 per cent of the fleet market. Some 1641 depots and 400 mobile units give FTM the claim to being the largest network of independent tyre retailers serving this market in the UK. Managing Director, Mike Wise, said at the annual dealer conference, that this had been achieved in the face if doubts and criticism from both the industry and press, and against a range of unprofessional business tactics from competing fleet tyre operators. Sir Tom Farmer, speaking as CEO of the Kwik-Fit Group which owns FTM, complimented the team on their success with a business which he couldn’t have given away 18 months previously.
William Clay Ford has presented his restructuring programme which he hopes will lead the car giant out of crisis. The company wants to reduce the workforce by 35,000; 22,000 of which will be in the USA. None of the redundancies will affect German (or UK) Ford operations. Ford told journalists in Detroit that he wants to reach profits of $7bn by the year 2005. But first Ford has to make provision for $5bn in restructuring costs.
A double management buy-out of former Conti-owned tyre retailer National Tyre Service and wholesaler Viking International was announced today. The buy-outs, which were for an undisclosed sum, were led by Chairman and Chief Executive Alan Revie. The two companies will continue to trade as separate businesses, under the umbrella of a new holding company, Axle Group Holdings Limited. In addition to National and Viking, the group includes a property company.
Workers at the Pirelli factory in Carlisle, UK, will enjoy a longer-than-usual break this Christmas. The plant will be closed from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Eve, instead of re-opening as planned on December 28th. Pirelli UK says that the move is in accordance with a decision by the parent company to reduce stock levels worldwide and it has been taken with the full agreement of the Unions. The Carlisle factory produces 10,000 tyres a day.
Aftermarket wholesaler SDL, which went into Receivership when parent company Finelist collapsed recently, has been purchased by Belgian exhaust manufacturer, Bosal Group. SDL was one of the biggest customers of Bosal UK and the acquisition ensures continuity of supply of Bosal exhausts, catalytic converters and other accessories to the UK aftermarket. No details about the terms of the deal was revealed.
Jim Wilson, Managing Director of Bridgestone/Firestone UK since 1995 has retired to return home to the USA. Wilson joined Firestone in 1965 and has worked overseas since 1967. His position will be held by marketing director Chikuma Otsuki until further notice.
It was early in the year 2000 when Continental merged its two UK wholesalers, Viking Express and Birkenshaw International, to form Viking International. The move made a lot of sense, as the two companies had separate territories and there was little duplication of services – this was underlined by the fact that Viking International was formed with no redundancies being made in either company. In our article, Viking International’s MD Alan Revie talks about the events of the past year, how the merger had affected customers and company alike and the prospects for the future. Times are difficult today for wholesalers, with costs increasing and price pressure on tyres and Viking International places great emphasis on IT and its role in modern business practice. One year on from the merger and Alan Revie is upbeat and confident about the future for Viking International, believing that the company is ideally placed to develop and grow.
The formation of ContiNetwork, a service based partnership with independent dealers, has been much in the news recently. Bridgestone/Firestone UK has been running a similar network for over five years, called Truck Point, and the company was embarking on an exercise to raise the profile of the network. Our article examines what’s on offer to the dealer and to the fleet operator – the timing of the article is particularly appropriate, as Bridgestone/Firestone UK recently announced that it had won the contract to service the 3,000-strong BRS commercial rental fleet.
Kwik-Fit has been trialling a new, three-stage car care concept at a site in Edinburgh, offering motorists a service beyond that of a standard fast-fit operation. Fault diagnosis and mechanical rectification are available on the same site, as well as the usual fast-fit services. The concept is ready to roll out at selected locations in the UK and could transfer to mainland Europe. Five years qgo, Kwik-Fit launched its insurance scheme for motorists. Originally planned only as a telemarketing operation, the idea to offer insurance was an afterthought, which it was hoped would offset some of the costs. Read how the operation has grown to become the biggust outbound call centre in the insurance industry, plus a significant contributor to group profits.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
