Kwik-Fit Group has announced that it has appointed David Reid as Chairman. Reid, who is the Chairman of Tesco PLC and a Non-Executive Director of Reed Elsevier Group plc, will take up this new appointment with immediate effect.
Kwik-Fit Fleet has been named “Best Fast-Fit Company” by weekly fleet industry newspaper Fleet News at a prestigious awards ceremony held recently at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. This is the second accolade for the company this year, having taken first prize in the Fleet Excellence Awards – voted for by the fleet professionals who read Fleet Week and Fleet Management – for an unprecedented 13th year in succession.
Have you turned a boring and average motor into a blinged up, racing machine? If so, a new national competition from Auto Trader might interest you. The well-known magazine’s ‘Curves and Chrome’ competition is looking to find the “Best Amateur Modified Car” which will win £4,000 in cash and the “Best Professional Modified Car” which will win three weeks of advertising, with a full page advert, in their local Auto Trader magazine.
UK chancellor of the exchequer, Gordon Brown has raised vehicle excise duty on the most polluting vehicles to £210. Media sources have widely touted the increase as a tax on 4x4s and SUVs. However, according to the government only 1 per cent of vehicles will be affected and therefore the impact on the thriving 4×4/SUV sector (187,000 sold in 2005) will perhaps not be too severe. In an attempt to encourage cleaner vehicles Gordon Brown used his 10th budget speech to announce that the “cleanest” cars would pay no duty and that low emissions vehicles would see duty reduced from £75 to £40.
In Stanmer, near Brighton an “ultra green” housing estate is being built using 15,000 old car tyres. Developers, Biotecture, claim the homes will be so energy efficient they will have no utility bills. The company submitted a planning application at the end of February to build the estate on a site overlooking the Brighton marina. The move comes after the firm built two “Earthship”, as the houses are known, prototypes in Fife in Scotland and Stanmer in Sussex to demonstrate the potential of the idea.
Following the success of Banner’s new Interactive Training Presentation at Mechanex Coventry, the company will again be offering visitors to their ATS stand the opportunity to “fun and informative” 15 minute sessions covering new technological advances and warranty testing.
Members of the audience will be issued with a “Clikapad” and during the presentation will be asked to respond in “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? – Ask The Audience” style by pressing a button on their pad. Everyone taking part is assured of a prize.
Maha UK is in the process of doubling its project team. Extensions to their existing offices are under way to cope with the work load and the increase in staff. The project and planning team lead by Neil Ebbs has many years experience in this field and offers workshop planning for small extensions of up to 30+ bays including all the services and infrastructure that may be required.
The Viking tyre range has been extended to include the new Protech II pattern, replacing the current Protech 500. Exclusively available from Viking International, the Protech II’s advanced asymmetric pattern is the perfect combination for wet and dry conditions.
The outer pattern consists of stiff shoulder blocks and two circumferential ribs to ensure lateral stability and precise steering, as well as optimised grip for excellent braking to give all round excellent dry performance. The inner pattern with its combination of numerous block edges and sipes provides superb grip and handling in wet weather conditions.
Bridgestone has kicked off its 2006 First Stop Stars training programme with courses for managers, reception staff, and tyre technicians from dealerships across the UK. The first courses, in Birmingham and Leeds, were part of a series of bespoke training sessions scheduled for this year under the First Stop Stars scheme, Bridgestone’s programme that rewards high-quality tyre outlets and helps individual dealerships improve their standards.
The training sessions, which comprised theoretical and practical elements, were delivered by Bridgestone UK’s Paul Turner and Phil Thirsk, and focussed on car tyre knowledge, health and safety, and basic tyre fitting.
From 13 September 2006 complying with ECE regulations 108 and 109 could be a compulsory condition of selling retreads in the EU member states. The EU’s Brussels-based Competitive council adopted the decision on the 13 March. Now that this major decision has been taken it is likely that the regulation will be written into the statute books. Industry observers are receiving the announcement as a positive end to what has been a long procedure. The regulation has been compulsory in the UK since 1 January 2004 and has been available for use on a voluntary basis since June 1998.
The new James Bond movie, Casino Royale, is eagerly-awaited by fans keen to check out the stunts, the Bond girls and of course to see how Daniel Craig handles himself as the new James Bond. However, for a number in the audience, it will, once again be the hero’s choice of car that catches the eye. It’s an obsession that Richard Stewart Williams understands.
Richard just loves Aston Martins – in fact, there’s nothing he doesn’t know about them. He began work as an Aston Martin apprentice and for over thirty years has run his own highly successful company, Richard Stewart Williams Ltd in Cobham, Surrey, where his team service, sell and race the iconic cars.
Bridgestone’s premium high-performance and touring tyres have received praise from Which?, the UK’s leading consumer watchdog magazine. Which? magazine tested 30 tyres in varying sizes from mainstream manufacturers, with Bridgestone’s Turanza ER300 rated the top tyre in the 14-inch class, and its high-performance Potenza RE050A tyre named as ‘Best buy’ in the 17-inch category.
Cleaning solutions specialist, Nilco, is targeting its new Stainless Steel cleaner at the UK automotive aftermarket. The product is said to clean and polishes in one easy application and gives an excellent performance on stainless steel, chrome, aluminium and laminates.
Maywood Equipment Group has announced that it will be exhibiting at The Automotive Trade Show (25 to 27 April inclusive) at the NEC in Birmingham as well as at the Commercial Motor Show, which takes place at the same time. Maywood is a leading supplier of lifts in The UK and will take the opportunity to show visitors a selection of lifts from their total range of over 50 models.
This week sees the return of Goodyear on TV for the second successive year in the UK. Once again the campaign focuses on Goodyear’s firsts in innovation – from the first tyre on the moon, up to the present day RunOnFlat concept – the TV campaign allows Goodyear to reach millions of UK households with a clear brand message, focused on a clearly defined target consumer.
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