Halfords investing up to £81 million in Axle Group acquisition
Following the news that Halfords Group is buying Axle Group Holdings Ltd including 239 National Tyres garages and 60 mobile tyre fitting vans, further details relating to the transaction have emerged. Firstly, while company announcements refer to the purchase of “National”, Halfords’ latest acquisition actually sees the company purchase the entire issued share capital of Axle Group Holdings Ltd (“National”) for £62 million. And the transaction is expected to be completed on 9 December 2021.
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Pirelli extends tyre tech research partnership
A decade after the first agreement, Pirelli, Milan Polytechnic and Polytechnic Foundation have signed off a three-year continuation of their ‘Joint Labs’ programme, which centres upon research projects that advance tyre-related technological innovation.
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Goodyear survey suggests fleets embracing climate challenges
This year, Goodyear asked fleet operators in Europe for their views on issues related to sustainability and what they’re doing to reduce carbon footprint. A total of 985 fleets from 36 European countries responded during August and September 2021, and the results of this 2021 Goodyear Sustainable Reality Survey are now out and available from Goodyear upon request. Responses suggest that sustainability has a significant prominence for operators in the transportation industry.
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Falken opens new strategic warehouse in Germany
On 10 November, Falken Tyres Europe formally opened a new 40,000 square metre logistics centre and warehouse at Gengenbach, Germany. The new facility can house 450,000 tyres and is strategically located close to the Derman/French border, making it ideal to service customers in both countries, as well as those in Switzerland. It will be run by logistics partner FIEGE and Falken will be its largest customer. 6,000 tyres arrive at the complex each day and are distributed to OE and aftermarket customers.
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Cabot & IFF collaborating to increased bio-based rubber content
Under a freshly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Cabot Corporation will work with IFF Health and Biosciences, a leader in world-class bio-science and engineering, to develop and commercialise sustainable reinforcing additives for rubber products. The partners will exclusively work together to accelerate the advancement of solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the amount of renewable bio-based content in rubber products.
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Cabot commits to Paris Climate Agreement goals
Cabot Corporation has aligned its sustainability agenda with the Paris Climate Agreement to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Announcing its commitment to the agreement today, Cabot says this decision demonstrates its “ongoing commitment to protect the planet and further the company’s robust sustainability journey.”
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Bridgestone supplies original tyres for Audi Q4 e-tron electric SUV
Bridgestone is supplying bespoke versions of its WhatTyre Award-winning summer and winter tyres to Audi for fitment on the Q4 e-tron. The tyre manufacturer will supply newly developed iterations of its Turanza Eco and Blizzak LM005 tyres, WhatTyre’s 2021 Electric Car Tyre of the Year and Winter Tyre of the Year respectively. The Turanza Eco has been developed with Bridgestones sustainability promoting Enliten Technology. The Q4 e-tron is Audi’s first compact, fully-electric SUV.
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Halfords ‘motoring revenue’ will be 70% post National Tyres acquisition
According to Halfords, the acquisition of National Tyres delivers “on its strategy to become a Motoring Services focused business”. Halfords Autocentres has always been amongst the most profitable parts of the overall Halfords Group businesses and financial figures have consistently shown that autocentre-related revenue is amongst the fastest-growing parts of the group. But what the National Tyres acquisition specifically means is that what Halfords terms “motoring revenue” will “represent more than 70 per cent of Group pro-forma revenue”.
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Iverson Tyres also bought by Halfords
In addition to the acquisition of Axle Group/National Tyres, Halfords has also bought London-based Iverson Tyres, which describes itself as a “specialist supplier and fitter of tyres and provider of adjacent maintenance services”. Iverson Tyres was founded in 1992 and is made up of four locations in Chiswick, Hanwell, Northolt and Farnham Common.
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Materials, machinery suppliers feature strongly in Pirelli Supplier Awards
Every year, Pirelli awards just nine of the more than 14,000 suppliers throughout its global chain for distinguishing themselves in making the tyre maker’s supply chain even more sustainable, innovative and of the highest possible quality. Announcing the recipients of its 2021 Supplier Awards, Pirelli says the main selection criterion was care for the environment through an increasingly sustainable supply chain – with lower CO2 emissions, high quality, innovation, speed and global presence.
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New owner for Bridgestone (Huizhou) Synthetic Rubber
As of 1 December, Bridgestone Corporation has completed selling all shares in its Bridgestone (Huizhou) Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd. subsidiary. The new owner of the business, which manufactures synthetic rubber for passenger car tyres, is Taiwan’s LCY Chemical Corporation. Bridgestone announced the planned sale on 15 June 2021.
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Halfords buys National Tyres and Autocare in £62 million deal
Halfords is paying £62 million for National, the tyre and automotive servicing, maintenance and repair business, which operates under the National Tyres and Autocare, Viking Wholesale Tyres and Tyre Shopper brands. As a result, Halfords’ garage estate will grow by more than 60 per cent (from 372 to 604 garages), offering MOT, servicing, fitting and repair services. According to Halfords, this deal makes it “the largest vehicle service, maintenance and repair business in the UK, with the majority of UK households within a 20-minute drive of a Halfords garage.” However, Tyres & Accessories data suggests European Tyre Enterprises Ltd (ETEL), which incorporates 650 Kwik Fits in its portfolio, is still the largest in the UK with a total estate of 740 at the last count.
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Bridgestone finalises Otraco acquisition
Otraco International is now part of Bridgestone Mining Solutions Australia. Bridgestone Corporation reports that after gaining regulatory approvals and satisfying other customary conditions, yesterday it completed the acquisition deal first announced in April. The OTR tyre management firm changed hands for AU$79 million (£42.4 million).
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Goodyear UrbanMax MCA HL + for electric & hybrid buses
The city bus market is undergoing an unprecedented transformation. Electrification, autonomy and accessibility, including on-demand services, are revolutionising urban mobility. Goodyear has launched a new tyre to provide a solution for operators seeking to maximise the efficiency of their current fleet and prepare for the future; the UrbanMax MCA HL + is an all-position tyre with high-load structure, enabling the 8-tonne axle load capacity required by modern electric or hybrid buses.
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RH Claydon to open Tunbridge Wells depot in January
RH Claydon will continue its expansion plan with a new 20,000 sq ft depot in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. The unit, on the North Farm Industrial Estate will be the company’s seventh, taking its total storage capacity to more than 240,000 sq ft. The depot will be operational from 4 January 2022, opening for collections Monday-Friday between 8:00 and 17:30, and on Saturday mornings 9:00-12:00.
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