Wheel Alignment
A driver for the Denmark based fish supplier Nielsens Fiskeeksport has racked up an astonishing 801,090 kilometres on the set of Bridgestone M729 tyres fitted to his Volvo FH12. Driver Poul Jensen achieved this whilst driving between the company’s northern Jutland headquarters and various European destinations, primarily Poland and Germany. The kilometres obtained from the M729 is, comments Bridgestone, an “impressive performance from one set of drive tyres”.
Former Ebley Tyre and ProTyre colleagues John Price and Chris Mullins have resumed a working relationship spanning almost 25 years by joining forces to open a new tyre retail centre in the heart of Gloucester’s busy commercial centre. The new venture, Chris Mullins Tyres, is a £250,000 investment in a 5000 sq ft centre specialising in car, motorcycle, 4×4 and van tyres on the city’s Bristol Road, a few hundred yards from the ProTyre centre which Mullins managed for 10 years.
The pair first met while working for the west country independent group Ebley Tyres in 1985 and their career paths ran in parallel when both moved on to ProTyre in the late 1990s. Price owned and managed centres in Gloucester, Bristol and Alcester before selling his interests in the company in early 2006, while Mullins looked after the flagship centre in Gloucester until late last year.
The patented Easy 3D wheel aligner from Beissbarth is the first of its kind and, says the company, offers workshops a completely new 3D wheel alignment method, comprising highly accurate cameras and an integrated reference system to ensure reliable results. Classic features of the Easy 3D include easy use, reliable technology that is robust and easily mobile – suitable for use with any lifting platform or wheel alignment pit.
Using the Easy 3D, one workshop technician needs roughly seven minutes to carry out precise wheel alignment on a car. This represents a time saving of 50 per cent compared with conventional devices. Accuracy is ensured by the use of two high-precision cameras per wheel. The sensors can be positioned wherever convenient in the workshop without time-consuming calibration. The Easy 3D wheel aligner is suitable for aligning all types of cars, through to light transporters and commercial vehicles. The standard indicators enable vehicles with a wheelbase of up to 340 centimetres to be aligned. With the larger rear indicators available as optional equipment, vehicles with a wheelbase of up to 430 centimetres can be aligned.
While tyres are one of the most important components of a vehicle, they’re also one of the most overlooked. In the US, according to a study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than one in four passenger vehicles and light trucks are driving with at least one significantly under-inflated tyre. As National Tire Safety Week is just around the corner in the US – this year it is being held between June 7 and 13 – Firestone Complete Auto Care recommends motorists follow the following maintenance tips to keep tyres in tip-top shape:
With the recession biting and more of the aftermarket looking to wheel alignment servicing to generate revenue and increase profit margins, Pro-Align is its new Hunter HawkEye ‘Special’ alignment system at an economical price. The idea is to increase access to premium quality products by offering an entry-level model at a competitive price.
The HawkEye Special is very similar to the Hunter HawkEye 100 model, with the only real difference being it uses a two camera system instead of the four camera system of its sibling. The camera lift system offers versatility enabling the HawkEye Special to operate at variable adjustment height. With the console mounted on the main column, the system remains compact, offering great space savings in the workshop whilst not compromising on quality and accuracy of alignment readings as well as offering the valuable ‘before’ and ‘after’ colour customer printouts. According to the Hunter HawkEye imaging provides low cost of ownership through the use of its polycarbonate HEX targets and the cameras being mounted out of harms way.
In the motor vehicle workshop equipment segment, Corghi reports that it is responding to today’s global economical crisis by investing in product innovation, infrastructure and new commercial facilities. The company says that it is committed to constant research in innovative solutions to meet the demands of an increasingly discerning market, an aim that the brand hopes to address through its participation in the Autopromotec show, where it will display a wide range of its newest products.
For the wheel balancer segment, Corghi presents Blue Light, a sophisticated wheel balancing machine developed in response to the needs of the upper end of the market. This high-tech system includes touch screen, real time, blue light and touchless technologies, which aim to simplify significantly the operator’s job.
Following what the company says was “a very successful 2008,” wheel alignment manufacturer Supertracker reports that it has maintained a good sales performance in the first quarter of this year. Recommending that garage and fast fit operators make wheel alignment an integral part of every customer visit, Supertracker is attempting to back up its assertion with a wide range of competitively-priced wheel alignment equipment ranges, making its systems available to as wide a portion of the market as possible.
Managing director Trevor Lovesy is aware of the need to reduce costs in the current fiscal climate: “Obviously the significant downturn in business has affected all market sectors – including the garage equipment market – with many companies looking to minimise business expenditure as much as possible. Fortunately because the Supertracker range is more reasonably priced than other wheel alignment equipment on the market we have not seen any reduction of interest for our products.”
In addition to all the latest news and analysis, April's issue of Tyres & Accesories contains features on Private Brands and Wheel Alignment, as well as our annual in-depth Wheel Report.
John Bean, a brand within Snap-on Equipment, announced its price reduction on the popular V3D Lite to £7,995 (excluding VAT). The reduced price is available on machines ordered before July 2009 and includes a two-year warranty.
Chris Behan, general manager of Snap-on Equipment, states that the company hopes to attract more converts to the system’s 3D alignment operation: “Reducing the price of the successful John Bean V3D Lite enables more workshops to leave their old laser aligners behind and step into the world of fast and accurate 3D wheel alignment. The current economic climate means that garages need to maximise profit opportunities and V3D Lite enables them to gain a new or improved revenue stream alongside their core business.”
Over the years, Uniroyal has developed a strength in the area of wet weather tyres, so it is hardly then surprising that its latest product has been named the RainExpert. The new range for super-mini, compact and medium cars covers 78 sizes between 13 and 16-inches – some 96.5 per cent of the European compact and high performance segment. The first 43 sizes were released in January, and a May launch is planned for the remaining 35 sizes.
Private Business
The opportunity to exclusively offer a range of tyres is very attractive, and gives a business a point of difference between it and the competitor around the corner. The UK is reported to have one of the most active private brand markets in the world, with new labels regularly added to the healthy range currently available. A good private brand in the portfolio can make noticeable difference to a company’s sales figures – just one reason to include April’s Private Brands feature on your monthly must-read list.
At the Centre of Things
It takes more than a tyre to make a wheel, and without that metal bit in the middle we’d be left with a rubber circle flopping about on the road. Thank goodness then for rims, the oft-overlooked partner to the tyre. The April edition of Tyres & Accessories puts the centre part of the wheel on centre stage: See next month’s Wheel Report for the latest product and industry news.
No Deviation Allowed
If you’ve ever strayed from the straight and narrow, gone off the beaten track or exhibited divergent characteristics, don’t spend too much time in soul searching – it was probably just your vehicle’s wheel alignment. While the Department for Transport attributes only around 4 per cent of MOT failures to steering defects, undetected wheel alignment issues are much more frequent and are a key cause of premature tyre wear. Next month’s Wheel Alignment feature will help you stay trim and true with all things alignment-related.
Zimbabwe’s National Tyre Services (NTS) is in the process of finalising a strategic restructuring exercise to rationalise its operations. Dunlop Group (Dunlop Zimbabwe, owned by Apollo Tyres, is a major shareholder in NTS) managing director Kennedy Mandevani, recently appointed to oversee operations at the distributor and retreader, said the exercise would also increase the company’s operational efficiencies.
“Given the trading environment, the exercise brings NTS and Dunlop Zimbabwe closer to each other in order to deliver increased synergistic benefits to all stakeholders,” Mandevani said. “The right-sizing and restructuring will see a more flexible and customer focused entity poised to take advantage of current and future opportunities.” Mr. Mandevani added that NTS has maintained a strong presence in key geographical locations in order to maintain its market share.
Haweka (UK) Ltd, one of the world’s leading independent manufacturers of wheel alignment and balancing solutions, announced on 10 November the opening of a specialist Wheel Alignment Training Centre in Gloucestershire, UK. The brand new facilities contain a state-of-the-art commercial vehicle MOT bay, lecture room and communal area. Haweka believes that the educational facility will help garage workers to speed up significantly the process of alignment and balancing. It is designed to provide a platform for the company to train UK commercial workshop technicians on the next generation of Haweka’s wheel alignment systems, the TA-20.
Located at Richard Read Transport’s Longhope depot, the new training centre gives Haweka the resources to keep offering tailor-made courses to customers nationwide. The lecture room contains the modern facilities needed to communicate the theoretical side of wheel alignment and how to provide optimal logistical angles, reducing tyre wear and fuel consumption to customers. The communal area is spacious and comfortable allowing course attendees to discuss the theory between themselves and relax during breaks. It overlooks one of two workshops where the practical training sessions will take place.
Beissbarth UK is introducing a new easy use Drester W-750 fully automatic wheel washer to their range which cleans in approximately 30 seconds. Additionally, the company showcased its new hope for the future of wheel alignment, the Easy 3D, at the Automechanika Show. Beissbarth believes that the machine will save workshop space, requiring little room in which to work and easy storage capabilities.
The Drester wheel washer gives wheels a low environmental impact wash that aspires to generating a show-room sparkle. The company claims that the relatively short payback time on the machine can also have a similar effect on the balance sheet, boosting profits in a comparatively short space of time.
John Bean and Hofmann, brands within Snap-on Equipment, have unveiled their new cabinet designs and equipment overhauls for the company’s ranges of wheel aligners, balancers and tyre changers. Hofmann has redesigned its high specification monty 3300 racing tyre changer, in order to allow it to handle run-flat and ultra high profile (UHP) tyres, while the John Bean range of aligners now features ergonomically designed cabinet fittings.
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