Southampton based Supertracker, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of wheel alignment equipment, has launched Shoot & Go, an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system designed to obtain technical Wheel Alignment data. Now available to order on the STR600 and STR120B aligners, Shoot & Go uses a digital camera installed in front of the lift, ramp or pit, to detect the number plate of the vehicle in service.
Micheldever Tyre Services is celebrating after being voted Tyre Supplier of the Year at the inaugural Power Awards, organised by Workshop magazine. The award was voted for by the magazine’s readers, made up of workshop professionals at both independent and franchised dealers.
Alan Baldwin, sales director at Micheldever Tyre Services, said: “We’ve always prided ourselves as the wholesaler and distributor that goes above and beyond for our customers, so it’s rewarding to have been named Tyre Supplier of the Year.
Euro Car Parts has been presented with two accolades at the inaugural Workshop Power Awards, including Large Motor Factor of the Year trophy. Held at the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth on 1 September, ECP head of communications & PR, Paul Baylis, and brand & communications manager, Áine McCarthy, also collected the trophy for Suspension Product Supplier of the Year, as well as framed certificates for being Highly Commended in the Filter Supplier, Garage Cleaning Product and Extra Mile Award categories.
Tool and workshop equipment manufacturer Chicago Pneumatic has opened new offices in Turkey. The 300 square metre Customer Center in Istanbul has been set up to better meet the needs of distributors and customers across many industries, and it provides additional space for customer support and service, product and technical training activities, and it also features a fully equipped showroom.
Chicago Pneumatic has added new wheel dollies and rugged workshop presses to its line of workshop equipment for the professional automotive and heavy fleet maintenance industries. The two new wheel dollies for heavy vehicle tyre changing and maintenance have lifting capacities of up to 1543 lbs (700kg) and 1.2 tons and are a robust assembly aid for trucks, buses and tractors.
Launch Europe has released a series of new video tutorials to assist installers with using the X-431 PRO 3 diagnostic tool. Available via YouTube, there are three different videos focusing on setting up, registering & updating and also using the X-431 PRO 3 on a daily basis. The “unboxing” product overview video is available below.
The National Association of Bodyshops (NAB) Executive Committee, and the body repair arm of the Vehicle Builders and Repairers Association (VBRA) National Repairers Council, met on 23 July 2015 to scope out their future plans for working together as a unified voice for bodyshops.
Workshop tools supplier, Pichler Tools has launched a new software system which they believe will boost productivity, and support continued sales growth. OrderWise, from supplier Wise Software, offers support through a strong UK base, which includes a staff team of nearly 100 people, as well as a community of over 8,500 active users.
Bosch says its latest diagnostic control unit aimed at small to mid-sized aftermarket businesses and franchised dealers, the DCU 100, offers a cost-efficient mobile solution for diagnosis, service and repair work, and is an “easy route” for garages wishing to take their first step into Bosch diagnostics.
Chicago Pneumatic has launched three powerful new air tools that aim to enable service professionals to increase productivity in the workshop. The manufacturer says the new CP7748TL and CP7776 impact wrenches are comfortable and easy to use, while the new generation CP7749 – which it calls “ultra-compact” – is said to deliver the best power-to-weight ratio in its class.
The National Association of Bodyshops (NAB), has been nominated by some of the UK’s leading body repair specialists to represent them in a Creditors’ Committee looking into the conduct of directors of failed accident management company, Drive Assist. When Drive Assist, once one of Britain’s leading non-fault accident vehicle replacement companies, collapsed in December 2012 with debts of more than £82 million, 150 bodyshops were left with more than £7m in unpaid repair bills.
First-time registered passenger cars and vans up to 2.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight are required to be equipped with tyre pressure monitoring systems from November 2014 onwards. In most cases, vehicles will be fitted with direct TPMS in which sensors monitor both the tyre pressure and its temperature. For the diagnosis of these direct systems, Bosch has developed the TPA 200 mobile tester, a unit that can be used when working directly on a vehicle or in a tyre warehouse.
Silver is certainly not runner-up to gold at PCL; the company reports that its famous “Made in Sheffield” couplings began the transformation from gold to silver at the start of the month for the sake of the environment. The switch to a more environmentally-friendly manufacturing process means a change of colour for the PCL couplings, however they will still be made from hardened steel to ensure extra durability.
According to detailed research undertaken by United Aftermarket Network (UAN), annual UK automotive aftermarket distributor turnover is now estimated to be worth £2.5 billion. The research shows that three companies (Euro Car Parts, Andrew Page and Motor Parts Direct) collectively share around 27 per cent of the total market. In terms of buying groups, three companies including UAN account for over 40 per cent of the total market.
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