Kara Rouse named Trucker of the Year
Insurance broker Staveley Head has announced Kara Rouse from Derbyshire as the inaugural winner of the Trucker of the Year competition, in partnership with Trucking Magazine. Throughout October, the UK public nominated deserving HGV drivers from all over the country to be named as Staveley Head’s Trucker of the Year. The first of its kind, the competition aimed to showcase the unsung heroes of the trucking industry, whom for many trucking is so much more than just a day job.
Continue ReadingTerraClean returns to Classic Motor Show
Engine decarbonizing service, TerraClean, will continue its growth in the classic car industry by exhibiting at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, from 13 to 15 November at the NEC, Birmingham.
Continue ReadingThree-quarters of Welsh drivers ‘uncomfortable’ about driverless cars
A recent national survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of claims portal www.claims.co.uk revealed that 77 per cent of adults in Wales said they would be uncomfortable being a passenger in a driverless car, the highest percentage out of all the regions surveyed in the GB-wide research. The research summary can be viewed here.
Continue ReadingNational Conciliation Service launches new website
The National Conciliation Service (NCS) has launched its new website, www.nationalconciliationservice.co.uk. The site, which is interactive and user-friendly, has a fresh design and modern layout providing users with a significantly enhanced digital experience.
Continue ReadingRedpath Tyres welcomed into Pirelli Performance Centre network
The latest depot to join the Pirelli Performance Centre group is Redpath Tyres’ South Gyle depot in Edinburgh. The centre gained Silver status in their recent technical audit. As a PPC, Redpath Tyres will receive ongoing support from Pirelli.
Continue ReadingCar registrations level off after 43 months of growth
The latest car registration figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that the market is levelling off, after a 1 per cent drop in October 2015 figures. 177,664 new cars were registered in the month, down 1.1 per cent on last year’s figure, following 43 consecutive months of growth.
Continue ReadingKingsferry agreement is Bridgestone’s crowning glory
A luxury coach hire company has opted to extend its tyre contract with Bridgestone by three years. The operators opted to extend a tri-party agreement along with Watling Tyres, who will manage the PPK contract and service each vehicle, fitting Bridgestone M788 products. The fleet comprises 61 coaches, running on 295/80 R22.5 and 315/80 R22.5 tyre sizes.
Continue Reading‘Fascinating times’ – Roger Griggs speaks at NTDA Annual Dinner
NTDA national chairman Roger Griggs used his speech at the 86th NTDA Annual Dinner to echo many of the sentiments expressed at the Tyre Industry Conference, calling especially for unified voices in tackling industry-wide issues. Encompassing cheap imported products, the under-regulated part-worn tyre market, MOTs and road safety, and the importance of attracting young talent to the industry, Griggs’ speech outlined the evolution of the NTDA’s position over the past year and, most crucially the work it is doing in attempting to bring together a variety of disparate voices. Reinforcing the association’s “growth and renewed energy,” according to Griggs, the dinner was the “biggest… in recent decades, with 620 guests in attendance,” indicating the “value…we all place on spending time together as an industry.
Continue ReadingNew directors appointed at ATSE
Rachel McMullen has been named group operations director - comprehensive at ATS Euromaster, after nearly eight years leading the company’s finance department. In March 2015 she was named UK Finance Director of the Year at the Business Finance Awards.
Continue ReadingNTDA ressurects annual conference
After a decade-long hiatus, the National Tyre Distributor Association (NTDA) resurrected the concept of having an annual tyre industry conference, with a new location and new format at the start of October. The new conference sees the association position its gathering as an industry-wide professional event alongside the NTDA dinner. The decision to re-launch the conference comes at a time when the NTDA dinner has itself evolved significantly – this year some 600 people attended (see complete coverage in the preceding section of this issue). But the most noticeable thing was the concerted effort, especially on the part of various industry associations participating, to present a united front. By doing this they showed that the associations are now more interested in highlighting where they stand together as opposed to where they differ.
Continue ReadingHow a tech approach can improve fleets’ approach to tyre maintenance
The maker of the TreadReader handheld tyre scanner has called for fleet managers to prioritise tyre maintenance, citing economic and road safety statistics in its reasoning. Pointing out that tyres account for around 35 per cent of a car’s overall maintenance budget, SigmaVision says prolonging the healthy life of tyres is sound practice, securing maximum value from a set of tyres. The early detection of uneven wear, for example, means the cause of the problem – incorrect inflation of the tyre, or wheel misalignment – can be corrected. On the safety side, fleets’ tyre care policy has a clear role to play too: more than a quarter of road traffic incidents involve someone who is driving as part of their work at the time.
Continue ReadingMichelin closing Pneu Laurent (Germany) in 2016
In addition to closing its Ballymena truck tyre factory, Michelin has announced plans to shutter its Pneu Laurent location in Oranienburg, Germany at the end of 2016 and shift all of its activities to Michelin’s Avallon, France retreading location.
Continue ReadingMichelin closing Ballymena factory, investing in Dundee and Stoke-on-Trent
Michelin Tyre Plc is consulting on the closure of its Ballymena truck tyre factory at the same time as investing in the expansion of its Dundee car tyre and Stoke-on-Trent retreading sites. The Ballymena factory closure plans suggest the site will be run-down between now and a mid-2018 closure point. The Ballymena factory currently employs 860 people and Michelin says it is “committed to supporting those employees during consultation and in the forthcoming months”.
Continue ReadingATS Euromaster’s Vasey ‘honoured’ by Roadside Technician award
Joint recipient of the Tyre Industry Awards REACT Roadside Technician of the Year, ATS Euromaster’s Michael Vasey works at the network’s Aberdeen centre predominantly as a mobile technician in one of ATS Euromaster’s more than 820 service vans. The 29-year-old holds City and Guilds qualifications in every aspect of tyre fitting and roadside breakdown, from car and van to heavy industrial vehicles, including experience working airside at Aberdeen International Airport.
Continue ReadingFuture profitability declines despite increasing sales – NMDA Attitude Survey
The NMDA Autumn 2015 Dealer Attitude Survey, published 2 November 2015, shows that the all dealer average when asked about the overall value of the franchise remained stable at 6.6 since the last survey in spring 2015. Harley Davidson, KTM and Kawasaki were recorded as the top 3 franchises, while the BMW, Honda and Piaggio Group were least valued.
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