Delphi Academy shortlisted for ‘Training Scheme of the Year’
Delphi Academy has earned a spot on the shortlist for the prestigious Car & Accessory Trader (CAT) Awards 2025, set to take place in Manchester on 27th February. The ‘Training Scheme of the Year’ nomination highlights Delphi’s dedication to providing technicians with the skills and expertise required to tackle the growing complexities of modern vehicles.
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30 new Isuzu trucks for Stapleton’s Tyre Services
National tyre distributor, Stapleton’s Tyre Services, has taken delivery of the first of 30 new Isuzu N75.190(E) rigids, maintaining its 100 per cent commitment to Isuzu Truck’s 7.5-tonne range, after switching from another manufacturer in 2007.
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ETB Wholesale opens a further 2 distribution centres
With the opening of two new distribution centres, ETB Wholesale now operates nine locations in the Midlands, Wales and southwest England, and the company believes these additions to the network strengthen its status as “one of the biggest regional tyre operators in the UK.” The locales in Llansamlet and Redditch each stock around 5,000 tyres and will, like all ETB Wholesale sites, offer same-day tyre deliveries, with a ‘rapid response’ on-demand service in selected areas.
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Mesnac breaks ground on Vietnam production site
On 9 January, Mesnac hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction for Mesnac Union Technology (Vietnam) Co., Ltd., the company’s new production facility in Vietnam. Several senior members of the Mesnac team attended the ceremony, including company Vice President Xiang Kunhong and Zhou Chuanhai, General Manager of Mesnac Union Technology. The tyre industry machinery manufacturer also hosted representatives from Thanh Thanh Cong Industrial Zone as well as officials and guests from partner organisations.
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TireHub distributing Pirelli in the USA
As of this year, TireHub is a Pirelli distributor. The US-based tyre wholesale business, which The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and Bridgestone Americas jointly established in 2018, will take on the Pirelli range from early 2025. Alongside Toyo Tires, it will be one of only two TireHub tyre brands that do not belong to either of the founding partners.
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JK Tyre gains IFC sustainability-linked loan
World Bank Group subsidiary International Finance Corporation (IFC) has sanctioned a US$100 million Sustainability-Linked Loan (SLL) to JK Tyre. The funding will support the expansion of tyre manufacturing capacity, focusing on passenger car radial tyres at JK Tyres Banmore plant in Madhya Pradesh and truck and bus radial tyres at CIL’s Laksar plant in Uttarakhand. IFC views this as an initiative that will promote energy-efficient tyre production, strengthen local supply chains, and create jobs.
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Service Long March to list shares in Hong Kong
Service Long March (SLM), Chinese tyremaker Chaoyang Long March’s joint venture in Pakistan, is preparing to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. On 12 January, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue of Pakistan, exchanged views with Jin Yongsheng, chairman of Service Long March, and Omar Saeed, CEO, before attending the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong.
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Titan ratifies four-year contract with United Steelworkers union
US-based off-highway tyre and wheel manufacturer, Titan International, Inc., has announced that Titan employees represented by the United Steelworkers (USW) have voted to ratify new four-year contracts applicable to Titans operations located in Bryan, OH (Local 890), Freeport, IL (Local 745) and Des Moines, IA (Local 164).
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Trump mulls February start for 10% tariffs on Chinese goods
Roughly 36 hours after taking office for his second term as US President, Donald Trump again referred to his plans to impose a 10 per cent tariff on imports of all Chinese-made goods. The difference this time is that he has suggested they could be implemented as soon as 1 February.
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Zhang Xiaoxin becomes the general manager of Qingdao Doublestar
On January 20, Qingdao Doublestar announced the appointment of Zhang Xiaoxin as the new general manager. Zhang Xiaoxin has 40 years of work experience in the tyre industry. He previously served as Aeolus’s CEO, executive vice general manager, and general manager.
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Increasing complexity calls for increasing professionalism: T&A talks with Stapleton’s MD, Andy Fern
A year after Tyres & Accessories last spoke with Stapleton’s managing director Andy Fern, we learnt more about how, for those selling tyres as a retailer, the kind of professional distribution partner that can help navigate and mitigate the impact of such challenges is now needed. In short, increasing complexity requires increasing professionalism. So, how was business during the course of 2024? “Volumes have being pretty healthy, but I would say its been challenging with the freight cost this year”, Andy Fern explained, adding: “When I say volumes are decent, I would add that volumes are not as good as we feel they should be…I would say its quite a fine balance nowadays because the thing that is not stopping is that costs are increasing.
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Most drivers unaware of tread depth rules
Research conducted on behalf of the RAC and TyreSafe provides further evidence that UK motorists are tyre unsavvy. While 66% of the 1,775 drivers surveyed claimed to know what the minimum tyre tread allowed by law is, only 39% correctly identified this tread depth as 1.6mm. Perhaps more worryingly, 26% of survey respondents only check tyre tread when they “remember to do it” or directly before taking a car for its MOT, while 5% never do and wait for their car to fail its annual roadworthiness test before taking any action. Just one third said they check tyre tread at least every month, with 17% saying they do so every other month and 15 per cent only checking them about every six months.
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Pelmar Engineering and TGL sales mark end of an era: T&A speaks with Pelmar founder, Jacob Peled
Roughly 18 months ago, Tyres & Accessories interviewed Jacob Peled, then founder and chairman of the Pelmar Engineering Group. A short while after his 80th birthday, back then Peled was considering plans for a well-earned retirement. Now, two summers have passed and the outworking of those plans has come to fruition. In short, the companies within the Pelmar Engineering stable have been sold to new owners that enable the company’s founder to pursue different interests while also remaining involved in the wider industry and with newly realised assets available at the same time.
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North America, Middle East debut for Hankook Ventus evo
Following on from its launch in Europe last November, the fourth generation of Hankook’s ultra-high-performance range and successor to the Ventus S1 evo3 has debuted in key markets around the world, including North America and the Middle East. With the global rollout of the Hankook Ventus evo, Hankook Tire & Technology aims to showcase its technology in the ultra-high-performance tyre sector while further strengthening the Hankook brand’s premium positioning.
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Hankook to launch new Optimo car tyre brand in Europe
Hankook will launch a new sub-brand in Europe during the second quarter of 2025. Optimo will join the Korean manufacturer’s existing Laufenn brand, offering another full second-line product range beneath its premium flagship range. Hankook said this strategic move targets an increase in Hankook’s market share in Europe. It will also help to improve the manufacturer’s offer to customers, diversifying its brand portfolio.
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