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661

Bridgestone Wins Run-Flat Tyre Test

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The UK’s first independent magazine run-flat tyre test has named the Bridgestone Turanza ER300 RFT as “Best Buy 2006.” The extremely close results placed Continental’s PremiumContact SSR second, with Michelin’s Primacy HP ZP third overall. All three tyres were V-rated 205/55 R16 sidewall reinforced style run-flats. The test car was a BMW 320i. Auto Express carried out the assessment as part of its annual tyre test, with experts assessing some of the biggest names in run-flats in a variety of disciplines including wet handling, rolling resistance, and dry handling.

Naming the ER300 RFT as its “Best Buy 2006,” Auto Express said the tyre was “the best performer in the wet and matched its rivals elsewhere”. The tyre finished top in half of the 10 tests, beating the Continental and Michelin run-flats in straight aquaplaning, curved aquaplaning and wet cornering. The Turanza was also named the top performer in rolling resistance and was the cheapest tyre tested.

The Continental tyre also performed well, winning tests for wet braking, wet handling, dry braking and interior noise. The PremiumContact performed particular well in the dry braking test, stopping 3.4 metres ahead of Bridgestone and about two metres earlier than the Michelin tyre. And with interior noise measured at 67.3 decibels the Premium Contact was found to be about 10 per cent quieter than the next best Michelin tyre.

Michelin scored well in noise (5 per cent quieter than Bridgestone) and wet braking, but failed to win a single test in the Auto Express report. Following on from a 15th place result in Auto Express’ standard tyre test, Michelin managers must be disappointed. On this subject a Michelin spokesman told Tyres & Accessories that the company did not believe the Auto Express run-flat results were consistent with other independent research. According to Michelin research conducted at MIRA, and by the TUV in both Germany and the Czech Republic contradicts Auto Express findings.

Bridgestone Delighted

“We’re obviously delighted to have been given the top rating,” said Andy Lane, marketing manager with Bridgestone UK. “We have worked hard for many years to develop a run-flat tyre that offers consumers the best in performance, safety and comfort, and this test shows that we’re the best at doing just that.”

To reinforce its commitment to the technology, Bridgestone UK – which won the NTDA’s Product Innovation Award for its run-flats last year – has increased the level of investment in its RFT training programme throughout 2006.

Looking forward, Andy Lane believes this infrastructure is vital, if dealers are to cope with the number of run-flat tyres already on the market – estimated to be 750,000 by Auto Express.

“As a result,” said Lane, “dealers will have to ensure that their fitters are fully trained to replace the tyres. The technology has already evolved in the last few years, to the extent that our RFT tyres are now fitted as standard on several vehicles.”

662

Trade Angry at MOT Fee Delay

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A long-awaited £6.20 increase in the MoT test fee has been put back more than six weeks by the Department for Transport. Testers expected the increase to be brought in on 1 October, but have now learned it has been put back until 24 November. Some now fear this deadline will slip even further back into December, the NTDA website reported. The traditional date for an MoT fee increase is 1 August.

663

Bridgestone Wins Run-Flat Tyre Test

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The UK’s first independent magazine run-flat tyre test has named the Bridgestone Turanza ER300 RFT as “Best Buy 2006.” The extremely close results placed Continental’s PremiumContact SSR second, with Michelin’s Primacy HP ZP third overall. All three tyres were V-rated 205/55 R16 sidewall reinforced style run-flats. The test car was a BMW 320i. Auto Express carried out the assessment as part of its annual tyre test, with experts assessing some of the biggest names in run-flats in a variety of disciplines including wet handling, rolling resistance, and dry handling.

664

Far From Frozen

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With less than 1 per cent of the total UK market, no-one is saying the cold weather segment is huge, but speaking to influential market representatives reveals that the last couple of years have seen the industry make renewed efforts to raise awareness, emphasising both the safety benefits and profitability that cold weather tyres offer. Some manufacturers are even expecting the segment to total 3 million units “in the medium to long term.” Tyres & Accessories spoke to the leading cold weather players and asked what progress they have made and what’s happening next?

In short the answer is growth. Many of the manufacturers surveyed by T&A said 2005 was a good year for cold-weather sales, while all were positive about their performance this year. T&A estimates, based on Europool figures suggest that almost 54,000 non-truck winter tyres were sold in the UK last year, up almost 15 per cent on 2004.

665

Companies Continue to Commit to Brityrex

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Stand bookings for the next Brityrex International exhibition, to be held at the G-MEX Exhibition Centre, Manchester from 1-3 May 2007, are coming in at a steady pace, according to the organisers ECI International. Sometimes the pace is more than steady, such as the day in August when three separate companies confirmed their attendance at the show. The three were Snap-on Equipment, Tyreco and Rema Tip Top UK and Tyres & Accessories asked them their reasons for booking space at the show.

666

Companies Continue to Commit to Brityrex

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Stand bookings for the next Brityrex International exhibition, to be held at the G-MEX Exhibition Centre, Manchester from 1-3 May 2007, are coming in at a steady pace, according to the organisers ECI International. Sometimes the pace is more than steady, such as the day in August when three separate companies confirmed their attendance at the show. The three were Snap-on Equipment, Tyreco and Rema Tip Top UK and Tyres & Accessories asked them their reasons for booking space at the show.

Exhibitions, said Brian O’Sullivan, General Manager of Snap-on Equipment Ltd., are a regular part of the company’s marketing strategy, with Snap-on usually exhibiting at at least two or three shows a year.

The company offers a range of wheel service equipment under the Hofmann and John Bean brands; no fewer than 10 Hofmann wheel balancers, eight Hofmann tyre changers and eight John Bean computerised alignment systems.

Snap-on Equipment enjoyed great success at the last Brityrex International and O’Sullivan is looking forward to 2007, saying: “We will be using the show to showcase our extensive alignment, balancing and tyre changing ranges, along with the launch of a number of new products, the details of which are confidential at the moment.”

Tools and consumables on show

In contrast to the Snap-on’s line up of capital equipment, Rema Tip Top UK will be using Brityrex to promote its extensive ranges of tools and consumables. The company will be sharing its stand with Taiwanese company K-Tools, the manufacturer of Kuani brand air tools, for which Rema Tip Top has the exclusive UK tyre industry distribution rights.

Divisional Manager, Tyre Repair Materials, Cliff Jones revealed that Rema Tip Top will also be showing a couple of new products, including Xact Balance, from the USA. This is a thermoplastic adhesive weight, with steel particles inside but further details will be released nearer the show.

New product number two is a repair kit for run-flat tyres which, given the current level of debate surrounding these products, should attract a great deal of interest from the tyre trade.

So why had Rema Tip Top decided to use Brityrex International as the launch pad for these products? “We chose Brityrex because it is a tyre-related – indeed, a tyre-specific show” Jones answered, adding that the fact that the event was being supported by the NTDA was “a major factor” in the company’s decision to participate.

The fact that Brityrex International is a dedicated tyre exhibition also played a large part in the decision of UK tyre wholesaler Tyreco to take a stand at the show. In Tyreco’s case, the emphasis is not so much on exhibiting products as a business opportunity for both buying and selling. As Director and General Manager Eddy Fogarty put it: “We will be at the show to do business, rather than just show tyres.”

Why pick Brityrex? “The main reason behind our decision to participate was the obvious success of the last Brityrex at Harrogate,” explained Fogarty, adding: “We regard Brityrex as a professionally-run show for the tyre sector.”

And what about the move to G-MEX? “Manchester is a terrific location and we are looking forward to a successful event,” he replied.

Speaking for ECI International, Managing Director Paul Farrant said that he was “delighted” that so many companies had decided to commit themselves to Brityrex International at this comparatively early stage, believing it to be a vindication of ECI’s decision to revive the show.

Brityrex International is an important part of ECI’s continuing and growing involvement in tyre industry exhibitions – an international involvement that currently spans three continents, with the Tyrexpo Asia, Tyrexpo Africa and Brityrex International events:

“When we re-introduced Brityrex last year, we said that we believed that there was a need and a demand for a UK-based exhibition, dedicated to the tyre industry,” said Farrant. He went on: “The positive reactions that we have had to the 2007 event so far show that our faith was justified and we are very pleased with progress to date.”

667

Pause For Thought

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The setting and format of the 2004 NTDA conference was so well received last time that this year the association decided to invite members, suppliers and industry observers back to sunny Spain. Held at the Don Carlos Hotel just outside Marbella at the end of June, the conference was opened by keynote speaker Jim Rickard, managing director of Michelin Tyre plc and chairman of the Tyre Industry Federation (TIF). Numerous important issues were discussed, but delegates agreed that the most pressing topics under discussion were: potential government imposed regulation of the industry and the poor consumer perception of the tyre business. The trade’s use of the Internet, issues relating to end-of-life tyre disposal and of course run-flat tyres were also discussed.

668

“Hello, I’d Like to Make a Super Complaint”

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Did you know that the tyre business could be subject to a “super complaint” because of poor service in the wider automotive service sector? Did you know that it could cost you as much as £750 per depot if the government is forced to push external regulation on the business? During the recent NTDA conference in Marbella, this subject stood head and shoulders above the rest as most delegates were surprised to hear what a so-called super complaint might mean for them.

So what’s behind all this talk of an Office of Fair Trading (OFT) super complaint? Basically the National Consumer Council (NCC) believes that there are too many legitimate customer service complaints being made against the automotive service industry and the tyre trade is being tarred with the same brush in terms of potential consequences. The recent push for action from the consumer point of view also follows media reports highlighting the “garages don’t care” attitude fostered by many consumers.

669

Making the Most of the Internet

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Online retailing has come of age and UK consumers are leading the way. Conservative calculations suggest UK e-shoppers bought some £6.9 billion worth of products online in 2005. This year IMRG, the professional body representing online retailers, expects sales to increase to around £30 billion because 45 per cent of shoppers are looking to increase their online spending this year. Despite this, government figures suggest that only 15 per cent of tyre related businesses are represented online. And the 2006 NTDA/Trend Tracker Tyre Wholesaler survey found that over half of respondents described the Internet as “not important” when it came to their part of the business. Tyres & Accessories spoke to Internet specialists from both inside and outside of the tyre trade and found out that fresh business is there for the taking.

670

Penny Hydraulics and Renault Vans in Partnership

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Renault Vans and Penny Hydraulics have got together to offer fully equipped tyre service vehicles, complete with tools and lifting equipment, available from £377 a month. A demonstration Renault Master highlights the two companies’ capabilities under a “Partners in Success and Safety” theme.

671

“Fifth Gear” Supports 3mm Campaign

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The industry’s 3mm campaign has received support from top UK motoring TV programme Fifth Gear, which called on Government to change “dangerous” UK tyre tread laws. Fifth Gear presenter Vicki Butler-Henderson hosted a slot on the programme in July which showed the dramatic effect of worn tyres on stopping performance which travelling at 50mph.

672

Brityrex International – Welcome to G-MEX

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Next year’s Brityrex International exhibition (1-3 May 2007) will be breaking new ground, as the show will be taking place for the first time at the G-MEX Convention Centre in Manchester. The show is being supported by the NTDA, who have arranged their AGM and Annual Dinner for 2 May, to be held at the Palace Hotel. In mid-July, the NTDA held an Executive Council Meeting at the hotel and got together with ECI International, the organisers of Brityrex, and members of the press to arrange a familiarisation day.

673

C-Tyres Launches Run-Flats that Keep-on Going

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Following Tyres & Accessories’ initial coverage of the news in June, C-Tyres has provided more information about its pioneering range of Colway run-flat retreads. The recent launch has further highlighted C-tyres’ position as a market leader within its industry segment, and shows the company’s commitment to product innovation.

The run-flats are said to have been manufactured “with the driver in mind” and are made using only “quality first-life casings,” company representatives report. This casing selection strategy is said to ensure the Colway run-flat is “up there with the very best,” but at a fraction of the cost of a new tyre.

674

Maxxis Signs Up for Brityrex International 2007

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Maxxis International is the first of the major tyre manufacturers to confirm it is to attend Brityrex International, which takes place at the G-MEX Convention Centre in Manchester from 1-3 May 2007. All exhibitors will be located in one hall with 10,500 square metres of space and the Maxxis stand will be in a prime position adjacent to the entrance.

Maxxis is continuing to develop its credentials within the PCR market while also expanding its UK product portfolio and is actively looking to recruit specialist distributors for its new light and heavy truck tyres.

675

Michelin UK to ‘Adapt’ Run-Flat Advice

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Michelin UK plc is to publish revised run-flat repair advice in the coming weeks. Commercial director, Chris Bloor, told delegates at the recent NTDA conference that Michelin would “adapt” its position. Tyres & Accessories (www.tyrepress.com) will publish the official details as soon as they are available.

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