As part of what it calls a “growing commitment to the Australian market”, Kumho Tyre Australia has opened a new AU$10 million (£5.9 million) purpose built distribution centre in Western Sydney. The company states the 5,000 square metre warehouse operation, which can hold up to 100,000 tyres, will greatly enhance the company's efficiency and ability to service the growing number of Kumho retailers.
In late August the cornerstone was set in place for an 18,000 square metre warehouse earmarked for use by Continental AG in the town of Mosonmagyaróvár, northwest Hungary. The warehouse, which is expected to be ready for use in January 2011, will serve as a storage point for tyres destined for sale in Hungary and Austria.
The Klarius Group has continued to invest and expand across Europe since its acquisition of Quinton Hazell in February of this year. Latterly the exhaust manufacturer opened a new Emission Control Distribution Centre at the existing facility in the Netherlands. The new dedicated Klarius distribution centre is fully integrated with the 1700 square meter Quinton Hazell facility already occupying the site. The warehouse now stocks 3700 different exhausts, 1100 catalytic converters and 1400 mounting and ancillary components; from September it will also stock a full range of Lambda Sensors.
Kirkby Tyres has appointed Cam Systems to implement a fully integrated online virtual warehouse using MIDaS enabling its customers in Ireland to view available stock, check prices and place orders online. The appointment follows the successful integration of Cam systems’ MIDaS platform into Kirkby’s UK warehouse in Speke, Merseyside, which has resulted in a significant increase in sales. MIDaS, Cam's online ordering framework for tyre wholesalers, now manages transactions valued at over £170 million per annum, across its client base – a figure which is reportedly growing exponentially.
The Redlands, California distribution centre opened by Continental Tire the Americas earlier this year is now operating at full capacity, and to mark the occasion an official ribbon cutting ceremony and ‘open house’ was held on April 15. The 46,500 square metre warehouse consolidates the operations of two smaller California based warehouses, and provides Continental with enough space to store and distribute over 450,000 passenger car, light truck and commercial vehicle tyres. Conti estimates that two million tyres will be moved through the Redlands site each year.
Michelin has appointed freight forwarding and supply chain management service provide Damco as its logistics and customs clearance provider in Vietnam. Under the three-year contract, Damco will handle Michelin’s exports from Thailand into Vietnam, inland transportation, cross-docking and distribution to customers within Vietnam. Damco will also manage warehouse operations for Michelin in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The new logistics set up will enable Michelin to distribute directly to almost 100 dealers across the country.
Louisiana’s Delta World Tire Co. opened its 15th retail tyre and automotive service location last month, Tire Review reports. The new location in Biloxi, Mississippi, has eight service bays and a warehouse. In addition to the new Biloxi location, Delta World Tire operates five other Mississippi locations in Pascagoula, Gulfport, Waveland and Picayune, and has nine locations in Louisiana, including Lake Charles, Lafayette, New Iberia, Houma, Kenner, Metairie and New Orleans.
EBC says it has developed and manufactured “the largest range of disc brake pads in the world, from mountain bike, motorcycle, passenger car, LCV, HGV, PSV , off highway and rail applications” using a range of specialist materials all developed in house at its R&D facility in Bristol. The company also announced the opening of a new distribution centre in Poland recently. The 500sqm facility is located near Krakow and carries “over 200,000 euro in EBC Brakes product inventory”.
Financially troubled US producer of specialty tyres, Denman Tire Corporation, has indicated it may shut down its operations if alternative arrangements cannot be made. In a company statement, Denman restructuring advisor Richard Szekelyi said “the company has reached the difficult decision to begin reducing operations while we continue our efforts to secure financing and/or find a buyer. If these efforts are unsuccessful, there will be no other alternative but to close all of the operations.”
Michelin North America sent its Michelin Disaster Response Unit trailer to a Tire Centers L.L.C. (TCI) warehouse in Dallas last week after heavy snow caused part of the roof to collapse. TCI, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MNA, said the 16,000-square foot Dallas warehouse is roughly 30 years old. A section of the roof caved in 12 February after record snowfall in the Dallas area. In addition to the roof, about 7,000 tyres were damaged.
Watts Tyre Group, the UK-based industrial tyre and wheel producer has announced the creation of Watts America Latina, a new business unit to service the Latin American market (excluding Brazil and Mexico where the group has existing business operations). Watts America Latina is headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay and is headed by director General Carlos Correia. The business services container customers across the region as well as sales from a warehouse operation from which pallet orders can be satisfied enhancing product availability.
Parts distribution company FPS has opened a new warehouse branch at the Blochairn Industrial Estate in Glasgow to serve Scotland. The new FPS facility officially opened its doors on the 28 September, although the full stocking process took another month to complete. This included the addition of Klarius type-approved exhaust and CAT systems, including over 2,500 exhaust references and 600 CAT references. The additional warehousing has allowed FPS to add these popular, but typically bulky products to the same-day delivery service offered throughout the UK.
Tire Group International (TGI) has opened a new sales office in Houston, Texas headed by Tom Wilbur. Wilbur comes to TGI with over 12 years experience in the tyre industry, having worked for firms such as Area Wholesale Tire and Tire Dealers Warehouse.
(Tire Review) Pep Boys has agreed to acquire Orlando-based Florida Tire for $4.4 million, the latest in a series of deals that has seen 90 independent tyre dealer locations change hands over the last 60 days. Florida Tire has ten locations in the Orlando are, and posts annual sales of $14 million. The acquisition is expected to close 30 October. Since the beginning of September, four other independent dealers have sold some or all of their businesses. Erlanger, Kentucky-based Bob Sumerel Tire sold its 30-store retail tyre business to an Ohio arm of AAA. Terms of the deal were not released, but the deal did not include Sumerel Tire’s commercial tire division, which includes 12 commercial tyre centres and four mixed commercial/retail locations. Greensboro, North Carolina-based Snider Tire Inc. acquired Greenville, South Carolina-based Consolidated Tires Inc., with six commercial centres in South Carolina and Georgia, and one retread plant in South Carolina.
Less than 12 months ago NDI UK was operating as a regional wholesaler around its base in the West Midlands, but now its Danish headquarters – one of Scandinavia’s largest tyre and wheel distribution groups, Nordisk Daek Import A-S – has its eyes on a larger goal. Managing Director, Ian Smith states, “we are now concentrating on working even closer with our headquarter base in Denmark in order to encompass all market sectors ranging from small implement tyres up to larger earthmover designs offering a nationwide service throughout the UK.”
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