The Primewell range of tyres is manufactured by GITI Tire, one of the world’s top ten largest tyre makers. The Chinese manufacturer produces a complete and modern range that is exported to over 100 countries. In the UK Primewell is exclusive brand of Stapleton’s Tyre Services, and the distributor has recently launched its Primewell Key Dealer Programme.
Vietnam Business Finance News has reported the opening of Michelin operations in Vietnam. The website states the French tyre major is establishing a presence within the country in order to take advantage of Vietnam’s rapidly increasing demand for radials.
The final version of the Environmental Agency and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) quality protocol has been released after approval by the European Commission. The 'Quality Protocol for Tyre-derived Rubber Materials', made public on November 3, finally provides a separate classification for rubber materials manufactured from waste tyres; classification as a product as opposed to a waste, as was previously the case, removes such items from waste regulation.
The Tire Industry Association (TIA) has launched a redesigned web site at www.tireindustry.org. The redesign includes better organization of information and drop-down menus to make navigating TIA's library of information faster. In the coming months, TIA says it will be working to make the existing information “even…more helpful than before.” TIA is also said to be considering adding more interactive features and content.
"Providing our members and the public as much relevant information as we can is not enough; we are on a continual mission to make this information as easily accessible as possible. Our newly redesigned web site helps us achieve this, and we are confident that everyone will find our site more user-friendly, faster and easier to navigate," said TIA Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield.
Falken Tire has launched a new slogan it says ‘personifies’ its mission – We get you going. This phrase, explains Falken in a press release, holds multiple meanings and purposes for the tyre maker: “Over the years, the company has made every effort to capture the essence of a valued product in a highly competitive market. Falken has consistently taken a leaps-forward approach in how it designs, produces, markets and sells its tyres. From the sophisticated tread and carcass designs, engineered in Japan, to the most important facet of sales: Customer Service.
Kwik-Fit has renewed its contract with data suppliers DriveRight for a further three years. The deal sees Kwik-Fit continue the customer focus of its online store front, with facilities that allow clients to shop for tyres and alloy wheels that fit their car by entering the vehicle details or registration number. According to a company statement, Kwik-Fit has worked successfully with DriveRight to make their online tyre and alloy sales process a “huge success.”
Following Bridgestone's announcement that it will walk away from Formula 1 when its current contract comes to an end at the end of the 2010 season, Tyres & Accessories' website (tyrepress.com) wants to hear your views on what should happen next. So, in order to canvas the widest possible cross-section within the tyre trade, we have posted a new question of the month and invite you and your colleagues to cast your vote. This month's question:
Now Bridgestone have ruled themselves out of F1 from 2010, how should tyres be supplied to the series?
Micheldever Tyre Services and the AA, teamed up with the BBC to produce almost 18 minutes of BBC news coverage on Saturday 31 October. The coverage began on BBC 1, centring on the estimated 3.6 million illegal tyres running on UK roads, and was repeated on BBC News24 and the BBC website.
The BBC Breakfast news team filmed at the Micheldever’s Hampshire site, interviewing CEO Paul Fox, Marc Ainslie and a customer and pointing out the very real dangers of driving on bald or defective tyres.
The English language version of Yokohama Rubber’s CSR Report 2009 has gone online. A visit to the company’s website (http://www.yrc-pressroom.jp/env_en) will yield the annual document in PDF format. The company has also added a site report summarising CRS activities at each of its domestic and overseas production sites and affiliates.
Make a note on your calendar – its only three more sleeps until Yokohama Rubber’s new global tyre business website goes live. While Tyres & Accessories hasn’t enjoyed the benefit of a sneak preview beyond the image shown here, the Japanese tyremaker discloses that the new site will give visitors an even wider range of company information than the previous incarnation. What’s more, Yokohama says the site content has been enhanced and the design ‘dramatically’ updated.
A new show catering to those with an interest in Chinese produced tyres and automotive components will debut next year. Called the China (Guangrao) International Rubber Tire & Auto Accessory Exhibition, the government organised show will take place at the Gurangrao International Expo Center on 9 – 11 May 2010. The exhibition area is anticipated to be as much as 11,000 square metres and host around 300 exhibitors. The organiser predicts more than ten thousand buyers and visitors will attend over the exhibition’s three days.
Nearly 60 per cent of motorists would now consider buying part-worn or retread tyres for their cars, compared to just 35 per cent three years ago. That’s the conclusion of a study conducted by online tyre retailer Blackcircles.com, published to coincide with Tyre Safety Month. Publicising the conclusions of the data in an official statement, Blackcircles MD Mike Welch made the expected warnings about part worn quality, but made a surprising comparison with what he called “sub standard” retreads.
“Buying part worn tyres and retreads might seem like a thrifty alternative to new tyres but it’s vital that motorists also understand the risks. Part-worns and retreads are effectively second hand – they have already been used for an unspecified number of miles with a different vehicle and so are inherently sub-standard compared to brand new models,” Welch commented, adding:
The Industrial Tyre Association (ITA) has issued a new guidance note about the fitting of industrial solid tyres using tyre presses. The industry association reports it was keen to raise standards in the industry after hearing incidences of serious injuries caused by the incorrect use of tyre presses. As a result, the ITA became involved with a working group, consisting of industrial tyre fitters and trade bodies as well as the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), to form a best practice approach.
Almost 20 years after it published the last “blue book” giving advice on how to comply with health and safety guidelines, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has released updated details. And what’s more “Health and Safety in Motor Vehicle Repair and Associated Industries” can be downloaded for free from the HSE website.
Apart from the Vauxhall Cavalier no longer being the nation’s favourite car, much has changed since the early nineties – the introduction of air conditioning, hybrid vehicles; and Small and Medium Area Repair Techniques (SMART) are just a few of the general changes motor vehicle repair industry. Tyre fitters specifically have the extra challenges of run-flats and increasingly large and low profile tyres to keep them occupied. As beneficial as these developments have been to the look and performance of our vehicles, the HSE points out each that of these technologies has also brought new health and safety challenges in an industry already dealing with many serious issues. In the last five years alone there have been over 8000 injuries and 25 deaths in the MVR sector.
Blackcircles.com has gone the route of bricks and mortar retailers before it, by adding car servicing options to its online tyre portfolio. The move, made in conjunction with Unipart will allow motorists to book and pay for car servicing online to be carried out at its network of 1,200 independent garages. According to Blackcircles.com the service will be up to 60 per cent cheaper than franchised dealerships.
Mike Welch, founder and managing director of Blackcircles.com, said: “We are moving into the vehicle servicing sector with the same innovative business model that has allowed Blackcircles.com to capture around £13 million of the UK tyre market.”
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.
