The end of Goodyear Dunlop’s UK retreading
Just before the September Retreading Special went to print, Goodyear Dunlop was in consultation on the proposed closure of its Wolverhampton mixing and retreading plant, announced in June. Though the plant was the subject of significant investment as recently as 2012, its viability has ultimately reduced to a level at which Goodyear Dunlop believes “there is no other option” but to close the facility, in the words of UK managing director, Erich Fric, who spoke to Tyres & Accessories shortly after the announcement. Indeed, the company’s exit from Wolverhampton appears the logical conclusion to decades of diminishment since its post-war peak, when Goodyear employed more than 7,000 jobs in the city, mostly manufacturing new tyres, an activity that ended in 2006. With the new tyre manufacturing site the subject of a £150m redevelopment plan to make the area a housing zone, Goodyear Dunlop signed a 10-year lease on the land occupied by its mixing and retreading operations, a commitment that was augmented by a five-year investment plan that brought two new Next Tread retreading machines and a Banbury mixer to Wolverhampton.
Continue ReadingEuro Car Parts and Autologic sign distribution deal
Euro Car Parts, the UK distributor of parts for all makes of cars and light commercial vehicles, has agreed an exclusive distribution deal with Autologic, a world leader in automotive diagnosis, to add Autologic Assist to its Workshop Solutions portfolio.
Continue ReadingExol’s £2.5 million HQ redevelopment
Exol Lubricants has completed the latest £2.5 million redevelopment of its 120,000sqft Wednesbury production facility, which has seen the introduction of a new warehouse, new laboratory and fleet wash facility.
Continue ReadingAuto Windshields completes AA AutoWindshields acquisition
Eight weeks to the day, Auto Windscreens (part of the Markerstudy Group of Companies) has today (1st October) confirmed that the deal to purchase AA AutoWindshields has completed. With no time to lose to ensure the full integration of 200 staff and technicians, this is cited as a phenomenally successful exercise in communication and collaboration by the Sunday Times Best Companies Top 100 listed organisation.
Continue ReadingOak Tyres outlines brand strategy in new Davanti era
Oak Tyres has undergone some dynamic changes this year as it adapts its business to a shifting wholesale landscape. The most radical of the company’s developments in 2015 has been the launch of its fully owned private brand Davanti, which Oak’s management most recently supported at CITExpo 2015 in Shanghai. To accommodate operations associated with the new brand, Oak Group Holdings was formed, with the Oak Tyres 100 per cent wholesale business now under this umbrella alongside Davanti Tyres, and promotional merchandise producer Davanti World. With the Davanti product designed as “an opportunity for margin”, in the words of general manager Larry Cross, Oak Tyres’ brand portfolio has increased its scope. Stating that “we have a very clear, defined brand strategy at Oak, which we have refined continuously over the past five years,” Peter Cross, commercial manager at Oak Tyres, told Tyres & Accessories a bit more about the company’s current outlook, and how the second tier “exclusive brand programmes” are offering customers the opportunity “to maximise their profits”.
Continue ReadingEden Tyres stocking SD International’s Zeta range
Derby’s Eden Tyres & Servicing (ETS) holds over 60,000 tyres in stock for immediate delivery. The family owned and managed business commenced trading in 1981 at its headquarter base in Codnor Gate, Ripley. Leigh Howes of ETS said: “One of our most established partnerships has been with Chinese based contract tyre producer SD-International. We have been purchasing their popular Zeta range for the past five years both as a wholesale brand and through our thriving ten retail outlets throughout the East Midlands. We stock the Zeta brand on an exclusive basis for a number of reasons including the extensive range available and because of its competitive pricing structure.”
Continue ReadingUncertain outlook for Asia-Europe tyre shipments: MCS
Asia-Europe container transportation rates are currently at a deep low (see graph), but the obvious price benefit to importers of tyres from South-East Asia is mitigated somewhat by volatility in shipping conditions, which affects punctuality and reliability of tyres’ delivery. Shipping lines’ over-estimation of the market potential has led to artificial capacity restrictions used to mitigate over-capacity, and in some cases, cancelled shippings. With these factors fundamental to UK tyre wholesale, Tyres & Accessories asked freight forwarder Maritime Cargo Services partner Rob Shelley about the issues currently at play in this market.
Continue ReadingGrouptyre turnover ‘approaching £310m’
Grouptyre says that “continued investment” by its members is one of the primary reasons for its 2015 growth following a period of consolidation. With a turnover fast approaching £310m, Grouptyre, which comprises 10 strong regional wholesalers, has seen further investment in warehousing, delivery vehicles and therefore availability of product and an increase in delivery drops to its retail customers. Currently Grouptyre has 40 strategically located distribution points, with more expected to be added, and 440 delivery vehicles nationwide.
Continue ReadingTyre Industry Awards 2015: Winners
The winners of the 2015 Tyre Industry Awards were announced during the 86th NTDA Annual Dinner on 1 October following the new one-day Tyre Industry Conference at the International Convention Centre (ICC), Birmingham. Attendance at the dinner set a new record, with 60 tables sold out. The speaker and presenter of the awards was former England Rugby Union international, amateur dancer and current television pundit, Austin Healey, who added some trademark irreverence to proceedings. The Awards were also live-tweeted as they were announced on the @Tyrepress Twitter feed. The awards were sponsored this year by Sailun Tyres.
Continue ReadingGoodyear officially ends SRI alliance
The Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Company has officially announced that it has dissolved its global alliance with Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd – following talks and then then the terms and conditions outlined by Goodyear on 4 June 2015.
Continue ReadingBridgestone trials guayule rubber in prototype tyres
Around three and a half years ago, Bridgestone Corporation announced plans to develop the guayule plant into a commercially viable alternative to traditional sources of natural rubber. The company produced its first guayule-sourced natural rubber samples a year ago, and today shares it has reached another milestone on the path to guayule commercialisation – Bridgestone says it has produced passenger car tyres whose natural rubber content is 100 per cent sourced from the desert shrub.
Continue ReadingMichelin to use incadea solution for TyrePlus network in China
Software solutions and services provider incadea has entered into an agreement with Michelin to deploy its incadea.fastfit tyre business management solution in more than 2,000 Tyreplus retail sites throughout China by 2018.
Continue ReadingMarco Polo/ChemChina buy almost 10 per cent of Pirelli shares
On 29 September Marco Polo Industrial Holding S.p.A purchased 45,143,033 ordinary Pirelli & C. S.p.A. shares representing approximately 9.5 per cent of the company and 190,307 savings shares from certain investment funds managed by Paulson at a price of Euro 15.00 per share.
Continue ReadingMRF signs MoU for expanding plants
Indian tyre maker MRF Ltd reports it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Tamil Nadu to invest at least Rs 45 billion (£446.4 million) in two plants located within the state over a seven-year period.
Continue ReadingMichelin places €209 million 30-year bond issue
Michelin has successfully placed a €209 million thirty-year bond issue with a 3.250 per cent coupon. The issuer of the bonds is Michelin Luxembourg SCS, with the guarantee of the Compagnie Financiere du Groupe Michelin, “Senard et Cie”. The issue has been rated BBB+ by Standard & Poors and A3 by Moodys.
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