(Akron/Tire Review) American Tire Distributors (ATD) relocated its Salt Lake City operations into a new distribution centre in the city’s Ninigret Complex. The 115,000-square-foot facility nearly quadruples ATD’s distribution capacity, replacing its former 30,000-square-foot location in the Utah city.
Bridgestone is planning to open a European distribution centre in the Czech Republic in July 2006, Gert Meylemans, senior manager corporate PR at Bridgestone Europe NV/SA told Czech Business Weekly.
(Akron/Tire Review) Kumho Tire USA Inc will be relocating its US headquarters and its California warehouse from Fontana to Rancho Cucamonga, California, during the weekend of 10-11 December, and plans to be up and fully operational on Monday 12 December. Kumho said the new 830,300-square-foot building, named the Haven Distribution Center, is more than three times the space of its previous home. The facility features 136 truck docks and 144 trailer stalls.
Mahle Filter Systems UK has opened a new, purpose-built warehouse at Salisbury, doubling its storage capacity for automotive filters and engine components to 40,000 square feet. Investment in the new building was £2.5 million and it is equipped with the latest stock picking and handling systems. Products under storage include Mahle and Knecht oil, air, fuel and cabin filters and the range of Mahle Original engine components. Mahle says that the new facility will enable the company to meet its new business development strategy and to accommodate the expanding range of products for the UK and Irish aftermarkets.
Pirelli UK industrial director, John Nixon, will retire at the end of December after 37 successful years with the company. Having started as a Technical Clerk in 1968 at the company’s Cummersdale factory, Nixon steadily rose through the ranks to become the industrial director, responsible for a 1000 strong workforce. Wolfgang Meier will take over as industrial director.
Illegally storing 10,000 tyres cost a Halifax man more than £2,000, according to the Environment Agency. Halifax Magistrate’s Court fined Simon John McCormack a total of £500 and ordered him to pay compensation of £1,034 to SHD Holdings. A contribution of £500 to the costs of the Environment Agency, which brought the case, was also imposed.
Nokian Tyres plc and YIT Construction Ltd have signed a contract agreement concerning the expansion of the Vsevolozhsk tyre plant. The agreement covers construction of a mixing department and warehouse. The contract, worth approximately 21.5 million euros, was signed in Vsevolozhsk on 23 September. Construction work will begin immediately and is scheduled for completion at the end of July 2006.
Galdax AB is located in Vara, 100 km northeast of Göteborg, and is Bandag’s new ally in an ambitious plan to increase its market share in Sweden.
“As a tyre business, we are ideally situated where we are,” says Claes Amnäs, General Manager of Galdax AB. “We are located not far from the main roads that link Norway, Stockholm and Göteborg. Many fleets
operate in the area and we are within striking distance of Sweden’s most industrialised cities.”
The Mahle Group has recently completed a major overhaul of its product packaging for automotive filters and engine components, designed to create an instantly-recognisable image globally.
(Akron/Tire Review) Alliance Tire USA opened its first North American warehouse this week, located in Springfield, Ill. The company did not say how large the facility was. “This is a very exciting development for us, and allows Alliance and our customers the opportunity to ensure that we can put Alliance tires on equipment at short notice,” said Manjri Shah, manager of Alliance, based in Denville, N.J. “Many customers, especially original equipment manufacturers, have been eager to see a warehouse to ensure a quick way to fill surprise needs.”
Shah said Alliance customers will continue working through their normal supply channels to fill container loads. The warehouse is for emergency needs only, she noted. In addition, the company is also soliciting suggestions from its customers on the tread designs and sizes that they would like to have close at hand. Seeking customer input will help ensure “a steady supply of the right products,” according to Alliance president Joseph Anglister.
A recent report in US trade magazine, Tire Review, has suggested lead balancing weights could be phased out from the American market in 2009. The report follows the implementation of the European End of Life Vehicle Directive, which banned the use of lead weights on passenger vehicles from July 2005.
The article encouraged US dealers to “start planning now for the same thing to happen here.” It also highlighted the fact that one balancing weight manufacturer, Perfect Equipment Co already produces zinc clip-on and steel adhesive wheel weights for GM, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler vehicles being exported to Europe.
Group Tyre UK member Broadway Tyres has just completed and commissioned a new 16,000 sq. ft. warehouse, adjoining the High Wycombe administration and distribution centre.
The warehouse is designed to receive bulk container deliveries and is capable of handling up to 25,000 tyres. It increases Broadway’s capacity by 35 per cent and customers should experience even better levels of service, according to managing director Jonathan West, who said: “This is a major investment which will ensure that we can provide an in-depth service with immediate turnaround to our distribution partners, retail stockists and the many motor dealers, whose tyre needs we manage.”
Around £750,000 worth of rubber, destined for Pirelli’s tyre factory in Carlisle, has been destroyed in a fire. The blaze, which began yesterday and is expected to continue all day, occurred in a 100 metre square building at the former RAF 14 MU site between Rockcliffe and Cargo.
Firefighters are now using a pioneering foam to try to stop the day-old blaze that ruined 550 tonnes of rubber – enough to make 50,000 tyres.
Pirelli claims that production should be relatively unaffected, as a delivery lorry had picked up some stock from the warehouse on the day before the fire.
(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. is set to open a new 400,000-square-foot distribution center in Grand Prairie, Texas. The new facility, said Cooper, will improve its service to customers in the Southwest, South and Midwest regions of the US.
UK wholesaler, Viking International, has invested more than £500,000 in distribution by replacing 34 of its vehicles with new Mercedes Sprinters vans for its nine warehouse distribution centres.
This investment further strengthens its fleet that already consists of 100 vehicles. Mike Curry, managing director for Viking International, explained: “We need to guarantee at all times that our customers get the best possible service and that means we have to continually invest in our company.
“These vans are our face to the customer and they cover considerable distances each year. It is essential that they remain in top condition to ensure that we can continue to maintain our reputation for service delivery.”
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