Toyo promotes two, takes on new plant manager
Toyo has announced three changes of personnel, with a change of leadership at its subsidiary companies Toyo Tire (Zhangjiagang) Co, Ltd and Toyo Tire (Zhucheng) Co, Ltd, which will become effective on 1 November.
Continue ReadingBritain’s only motorcycle tyre manufacturer exhibiting at Intermot
Avon Tyres, the only motorcycle tyre maker in Britain, is exhibiting at Europes biggest motorcycle show. Intermot is being staged at Cologne’s Kölnmesse – the venue set to host a new BRV-backed rival to Messe Essen’s Reifen, and one of Europe’s largest exhibition centres. Intermot started on 1 October, and will run until the fifth, with Avon exhibiting a full range of sport-touring, race, road, and classic motorcycle tyres from stand A038 in hall 6.1.
Continue ReadingNetwork meeting encourages trade to get social
Motor factor and supplier members of the independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) have been urged to ‘get social’ and enhance their social media presence at the recent breakfast network meeting.
Continue ReadingCity of London worst for car thefts
New research conducted by IntelligentCarLeasing.com reveals the areas in the UK which have the highest and lowest rates of car theft per head. A total of 42 police forces across England and Wales participated in the study which was conducted via freedom of information requests. Each force told the leasing specialists how many cars had […]
Continue ReadingAA to fill void left by tax disc
From 1st October a paper tax disc no longer needs to be displayed in the windscreen of vehicles. Drivers will still be required to purchase vehicle excise duty (ved) but will no longer receive a small perforated tax disc in exchange for their money. Edmund King, AA president, said: Scrapping the tax disc really is a poignant moment in motoring history and the end of an era. That circular disc in the corner of the windscreen has been an intrinsic part of the look of motoring over the last 93 years. In many ways the car windscreen will look naked without a disc.
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Cooper tops global social media ranking
Cooper Tire is the world’s leading tyre company in terms of global social media influence, according to research conducted by Tyres & Accessories. Meanwhile the 2014 rankings also show that Michelin went up one place and held off Continental to top our UK chart. There has been significant change in both cases as well as a strengthening in the online presence of mid-range brands, something we also found in our online brand equity research (see separate article).
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Fully automated Remix factory amongst the most modern in the Michelin group
With recent upgrades complete, Michelin gave Tyres & Accessories a tour of its fully-automated Remix retread remanufacturing plant in Stoke-on-Trent. Foot for foot, Michelin’s Campbell Road, Stoke-on-Trent Remix plant is one of the smallest in the Michelin group, but it is arguably also the amongst most modern and most flexible and most productive. Built at the height of Michelin’s industrial activities in Stoke, the Remix site was originally a manufacturing plant for new truck tyres. In 1968 Remix capabilities were developed and in 2000, the French tyre maker’s Encore process was added. Nowadays the Stoke location is Michelin’s UK headquarters and is therefore home to hundreds of executive, sales, marketing and administration-based employees. Across the road from the offices, over 350 are directly involved in the manufacturing process. New tyre production left decades ago, but Stoke is still a bustling centre of market leading retreading activity.
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Wide variation in prices achieved by different brands and platforms online
Online tyre retailing continues to grow in volume and influence – something that has been expected for a long time. However, the proliferation of differing online strategies is something that is proving to be less predictable. Gone are the days when online tyre retailing was simply a price competition, or in other words a race to the bottom. That strategy has resulted in the demise of many here-today-gone-tomorrow startups and has instead led to the development of a considerably more nuanced market place. Still, the online tyre space remains fiercely competitive with the likes of Blackcircles and Tyregiant each signing deals with supermarkets Tesco and Asda respectively; and with National Tyres backing the AA’s tyre offer, as another example, In other words, this market is now about far more than who can offer budget tyres for the lowest price.
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Kabat Group plans further growth through retreading
It’s never easy for a market leader to generate additional growth, but entering into a related business area that draws on existing expertise offers potential. Brothers Andrzej und Tadeusz Kabat have been certain of this in recent times. After a quarter century in which their Kabat Group has become an established force in the European inner tube market and has developed a name for itself in the manufacture of rubber compounding and technical rubber products, last year the company took its first steps in a whole new area: It has started producing agricultural tyres and plans to introduce industrial tyres by next year at the latest. In addition, since acquiring the former Stomil production facility in 2012, the Kabat brothers have become one of Poland’s largest retreaders – and plan to grow this business further.
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Mid-range online brand value growing
French manufacturer Michelin has won our global online tyre brand value rankings for the seventh consecutive year. However, while Michelin deserves credit for the unparalleled achievement. This year’s research also shows significant growth from Korean manufacturers/mid-range brands. Tyres & Accessories once again partnered with NetNames, a partnership that this year celebrates its 10th set of annual results and 10 years of assessing tyre brands’ online prominence and sentiment.
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Hankook stocks hit in factory fire
Hankook Tire’s Daejeon South Korea factory has suffered a fire, the company confirmed on 1 October. The fire is not expected to disrupt production since the damage is mostly to its warehouse. However a fifth of the warehouse has reportedly been lost along with some 180,000 tyres. According to local news reports, the warehouse held products destined for both domestic and overseas markets.
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NTDA auctioning Ryan Giggs-autographed shirt for BEN
During Brityrex International 2014, (EventCity Manchester 7 - 9 October), the NTDA will be auctioning a signed Ryan Giggs no.11 Manchester United shirt, which commemorates his 588 appearances, 108 goals and 24 years of service with Manchester United. It also lists all of his accolades as a player during that period including his PFA Player of the Year in 2009. The shirt will be on display on the NTDA stand during Brityrex and delegates will be able to make silent bids for the shirt between 7 - 8 of October.
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Bentley’s Dr Ariane Reinhart joins Continental’s executive board
Dr Ariane Reinhart (44) assumed her post as Executive Board Member for Human Resources at Continental AG today (1 October), raising the company’s executive board to nine members. The supervisory board of automotive supplier/tyre manufacturer appointed Dr. Reinhart during a meeting on 25 April 2014. Her contract runs for three years.
Continue ReadingAustralian expert warns of false economy
A new habit in cost cutting measures by major transport companies in Australia is likely to come back to haunt them, according to independent industry expert, Brad Bearman, who says the revamping of tyre purchasing and management dynamics to save costs is highly likely to emerge further down the track as a higher expense. “In general, a sizeable percentage of the larger transport companies are dropping links with the better-known tyre companies such as Michelin, Bridgestone and Beaurepaires for their supply and servicing,” said Mr Bearman. “Instead, they are purchasing tyres directly from non-traditional Asia-based producers and appointing inexperienced in-house tyre fitters in the false belief they will get better results. This is good in principle, but the real problems will emerge a little further down the track,” added Mr Bearman, developer of the world’s only software based Bears Tyre Tracker.
Continue ReadingResearch highlights Chinese counterfeiting risk
Ipsos Business Consulting, a leader in fact-based business consulting, has published new research highlighting the risks posed by counterfeiters in Chinas fast-growing automotive parts market. Chinas automotive components sector is set to achieve annual growth of 20 per cent for the next five years driven by demand for new cars and a growing secondary market. The aftermarket segment will become the main outlet for automotive parts as the average age of vehicles on the road continues to rise and the current total car population has already surpassed 100 million. The counterfeit auto parts market, already the worlds largest with a current value of about US$40bn, will only increase as the overall market grows.
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