In the UK, the Asda supermarket chain is said to be looking at the possibility of opening car fast-fit businesses. Asda is owned by Wal-Mart, which operates “tyre and lube” centres at its stores in the USA. An Asda spokesperson said that the company had no plans to launch “tyre and lube” in the UK at present, although the possibility is being evaluated.
Bridgestone/Firestone UK has won the contract for the sole supply of tyres to the BRS commercial vehicle rental fleet. The fleet consists of around 3,000 vehicles, ranging from 3.5 tonnes to 44-tonne tractor units and will now follow a policy of using Bridgestone new and retread tyres. The three-year contract was won against fierce competition and it is the first time that BRS has used a single tyre supplier. The contract will be serviced through Truck Point, the 220-depot organisation of independent tyre dealers established by Bridgestone/Firestone UK.
Uniroyal’s Rallye 540 came out top in the latest and biggest-ever tyre test carried out by Auto Express magazine in the UK. The test took place with the aim of finding the best tyre for the average family car and included budget and second-line brands.
The Kelly brand is to be relaunched at the Tyrexpo Europe exhibition in the UK in March. Director of Kelly Europe, Chris Kisby, says that the relaunch will give Kelly a powerful presence in the ‘price shopper’ market segment and a clearer identity in relation to the other group brands, Goodyear and Fulda. New products to extend the range will also be introduced at the show.
Vauxhall’s dealer franchise fast fit operation now operates 250 outlets in the UK. The expansion of the fast fit chain within the dealer network emphasises the importance of the fast fit market to the viability of the UK car distributor network. The sector is growing in importance as it increases market share, taking fast fit tyre and exhaust business from the shrinking independent fast fit sector.
Disposal of scrap tyres in the UK has been boosted by the news that two more Blue Circle cement plants have received the official go-ahead to consume tyres. The factory at Dunbar in Scotland will take chipped tyres while the plant at Westbury, Wiltshire, will take whole car tyres. These plants join Blue Circle’s factory at Cauldon, which is already consuming chipped tyres.
Following the negative Which? report on UK fast-fits, including Kwik-Fit among others, there is better news for the company from other magazines. A survey carried out by the publications Top Fleet, Fleet Management and Business Car voted Kwik-Fit “best fast-fit company in the UK” for the eighth year running. The readers of these magazines comprise fleet management companies and people responsible for the maintenance of the majority of UK company cars.
Bridgestone/Firestone UK (BFUK) has been presented with a “2000 Supplier Award” by JCB, one of only five companies to receive awards and the only tyre company to be nominated. The award was given for supply service, product quality, innovation and cost reduction. John Patterson, JCB’s CO, presented the trophy to Jim Wilson, MD of BFUK, at the JCB Suppliers Conference.
A report in the magazine Which? – published by the UK Consumers Association (CA) – has accused fast-fits of recommending unnecessary work in almost a quarter of cases. The CA took a test car to 93 depots, belonging to seven of the UK’s largest fast-fit chains, and says that 23, split across all seven chains, recommended unnecessary work. In response, one of the companies involved – Kwik-Fit – says that it has not been given detailed information by the CA but, on behalf of all the companies involved, it takes exception to the implication that so many in the trade would intentionally mislead the customer.
German e-commerce company Delticom AG (Hanover) is expanding to other European countries and is now starting to sell tyres and wheels via the Internet (www.mytyres.co.uk) in Great Britain. A subsidiary company, Delticom Ltd., has been founded in Oxford, with Lennart Pluim as Managing Director.
A report commissioned by the Motorsport Industry Association and researched by various universities and management schools has concluded that the motorsport industry is worth nearly 5 billion Pounds a year to the UK economy. It also earns over 2.2 bn Pounds in export earnings; more than steel and agriculture combined, as well as employing 40,000 people. Three quarters of the world’s single seater racing cars are made in Britain and, in F1, 7 of last year’s 11 teams were based there.
The Continental Tyre Group has reviewed its next day delivery service in the UK. From 1st May, the following minimum order levels will apply per delivery: Car/van: 4 tyres, Truck: 2 tyres, Agricultural/Industrial: 1 tyre (unchanged). The company says that the move will ensure better quality of service and prompt delivery.
In the UK, National Tyres and Autocare has appointed Kevin Parker as Managing Director of its Fleet Division. His previous position was as Sales Director for FTM Tyrefit and he has 13 years’ experience in the automotive trade.
In the UK, ATS Euromaster has announced that Birmingham City centre will become home to its new National Administration & Finance Centre, creating over 150 jobs in the process. Commenting on the announcement, Roland Combes, Managing Director, said: “We want to develop our strategic base in the city of Birmingham to complement our state-of-the-art Customer Service Centre in Aston. The new facility means we will be able to provide seamless operational support for our centres, whilst continuing to deliver the best possible service to our growing UK customer base.”
Goodyear has announced that its tyres will be the sole make in use in a form of motor sport new to the UK: ASCAR, or Anglo-American Stock Car Racing. This is based on the US-style stadium stock car racing, NASCAR, and will consist of a nine-race series, beginning later this year on a specially-built banked oval track in Northamptonshire, at Rockingham.
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