Wheels
Delticom has added a wheel configurator to dealers at yourtyres.co.uk. In addition the company’s complete aluminium wheel and alloy wheel range is also being expanded on yourtyres, and on Delticom's dedicated site for fleet buyers.
Singapore-based YHI International’s Advanti Racing propriety brand has been named ‘official supplier’ to the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team. Through YHI International’s subsidiary, YHI Manufacturing (Singapore) Pte Ltd, the group has inked an agreement to supply Advanti Racing Alloy Wheels for all Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 race cars through to the end of the 2015 championship.
Earlier this year US firm Kiene Diesel Accessories – whose products are distributed in the UK by Liftmaster Garage Equipment – introduced a new adapter for its K-1350 Wheel Grabber. This “Extender” allows a technician to safely remove seized wheels from vehicles on a floor lift.
It’s official – the UK has avoided entering into a triple-dip recession. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that, following the 0.3 per cent contraction that was witnessed in the last three months of 2012, the UK economy expanded by 0.3 per cent in the opening quarter of this year. At the start of May, Rob Shelley, founder of Suffolk-based freight forwarding specialist Maritime Cargo Services, spoke with Tyres & Accessories about this development and other issues influencing the cost of shipping tyres across the ocean.
Leading UK food waste recycling and animal by-product transporter, John Pointon & Sons has put into place a structured tyre management process. The firm will work closely with Staffordshire tyre supplier, Potteries Tyres of Stoke-on-Trent and Continental Tyres to minimise tyre costs and unplanned downtime, while ensuring the tyres meet the varied demands and working conditions of Pointon’s fleet of 68 trucks and 216 trailers.
A common theme while talking with wholesalers this year has been the need for flexibility. Various companies are approaching this in different ways, and Danish wholesaler Nordisk Dæk Import, better known as NDI, has chosen a path not yet taken by any other European wholesaler. In order to offer customers the double advantage of flexible ordering and competitive prices, the company has established a new warehouse in Qingdao, China, near where its Nordexx private brand is manufactured. From this warehouse, NDI will directly supply Nordexx-brand and other products to its European and international customers; in early March the first shipment of Nordexx tyres arrived in the new Qingdao warehouse, and by April the full Nordexx range was in stock.
Every three years Bauma, the international trade fair for construction machinery, mining machinery, construction vehicles and equipment, takes place in the German city of Munich. The show also serves as a focal point for tyre makers, wholesalers and equipment suppliers serving the off-road segment. And although many within Europe’s tyre industry are not experiencing the best of times at the moment, most Bauma exhibitors were nevertheless in very high spirits and saw themselves, as companies active within the OTR tyre sector, as an “island of the blessed” surrounded by a highly contrasting situation in the passenger car and truck tyre markets. Many exhibitors expressed hope of once again experiencing sound growth within their market segments in 2013, yet one thing was clear: Everyone in the market realises that, in the long-term, real growth will only take place outside of Europe.
Titan International has announced “another record quarter” during the first three months of 2012, however the figures behind this impressive-sounding statement make for rather modest reading. While sales are up 24.9 per cent over the first quarter of 2012, the tyre maker only managed a small increase in gross profit, while adjusted net income declined significantly. Earnings per share were less than half what they were a year ago, although admittedly they show an improvement on Q4 2012. Titan says it remains focused on its goals, however, and sees many opportunities in the agricultural and mining sectors where it is most active.
In recent times, Starco has placed a significantly stronger focus on one specific business area. While the firm has been guided by the vision to become “the global market leader in special wheels” for a number of years now, its group strategy for the period from 2010 to 2014 singles out the agricultural sector for particular attention. This focus is influencing Starco’s numerous operations, including its development of new products and the company’s wholesale business. Indeed, the agricultural sector was a crucial factor in the company’s recent expansion into a new continent.
When listing off the major European alloy manufacturers, it isn’t hard to forget the “Française de roues” plant in Diors, smack in the middle of France. The company, along with Dial, is the only cast alloy wheel manufacturer remaining in France. The wheel maker has been established for a number of years and was known as Montupet before its parent company announced plans at the start of to divest its wheel business to Indian company Deltronix.
Less then five decades after starting out as a one-man tyre business in western Holland, Heuver Tyrewholesale has grown into a major commercial segment wholesaler. Today the company is headquartered in Hardenberg, near the Dutch border with Germany, and specialises in supplying truck, OTR and agricultural tyres to customers throughout Europe. Tyres and Accessories recently spoke with director Bertus Heuver about Heuver Tyrewholesale’s current activities and focus; he shared that during 2013 the wholesaler is introducing an entirely new brand and intends to grow in at least two key regions.
Motor Wheel Service Distribution (MWSD) will display two new xlite super single forged aluminium wheels on stand A28 at Truckfest Peterborough. Following their February launch, the show will mark the first exhibition appearance for the wheels MWS says are among the lightest on market. A change in profile by manufacturer Wheels India has enabled the load index to be increased to 5,000kg from 4,500kg.
Thailand based manufacturer Stamford Sport Wheels (SSW) has launched a new alloy wheel design collection into the UK and European wheel markets, the Euro Technik. The company says the new range marks a first venture into Europe having become established in South East Asia. The design has been exclusively produced in a European style targeting prestige and luxury high performance marques.
Speke OTR and commercial tyre and wheel wholesaler Kirkby Tyres says it has recently undertaken a major programme of investment, upgrading its existing facilities with a new shot blaster capable of processing wheels up to 54” and above. A customised temperature and pressure controlled spraybooth has also been installed along with new fitting facilities.
Rimstock introduced a range of Team Dynamics winter alloy wheels for the first time this season. The company has been impressed with the results, labelling the new initiative “a success” despite a mostly quite mild 2012-13 winter season. The company said it is “looking to expand the programme further for 2013”, with “two large OE marques” interested in adopting a winter programme. The programme works similarly to the trend of storing summer tyres in “tyre hotels” over winter widely used in Europe, but with take-up in the UK only occurring over the last few winters. Rimstock believes it is becoming attractive with the trying grip conditions and poor road maintenance of Britain’s winter roads, to protect original equipment wheels when temperatures drop.
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