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Seth Whales; AllJengi; Flickr; CC BY-SA 2.031 waste crime sites targeted by SEPA, BBC Disclosure programme
SEPAAt the end of January, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) staff and their work tackling waste crime were featured as part of investigative journalism programme BBC Disclosure. The programme entitled ‘Dirty Business’ highlighted problems associated with unregulated ‘man with a van’ flytipping to large scale illegal activities with links to serious organised crime such as abandoned lorry trailers bursting with up to 41 tonnes of waste. SEPA launched a dedicated intelligence and enforcement function in October 2019 to deal with those types of growing activities.
COP26: Michelin’s Dundee partnership approach a ‘blueprint’ for industrial transformation
MichelinWith global leaders gathered in Glasgow for the COP26 climate and sustainability summit, ecological issues have become a focus of recent media coverage. During the summit’s Transforming Industrial Sites to a Net Zero Future event, Michelin chief executive Florent Menegaux explained how the 32-hectare ex-Michelin tyre factory in Dundee (Baldovie) is now operating as Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc, a partnership between Michelin, the Scottish Government and Dundee City Council. Specifically, Menegaux set out how the transformation of the company’s former manufacturing site in Dundee sets a blueprint for a greener future at industrial sites and stressed that the venture could not have been launched by Michelin alone:
Tyre businesses need to take responsibility for managing Covid risks
NTDAThe media might have picked up on the rhetoric of “freedom day”, but the NTDA’s recent “Keeping Tyre Centres Safe” report highlights the fact that businesses will still be required to take responsibility for managing health and safety risks: “All employers will continue to have a legal responsibility to protect workers and others from a risk to their health and safety and have a legal duty to consult workers on health and safety matters.” Here, Tyrepress.com takes a close look at the responsibility and choices facing tyre retailers.
Scottish tractor run backed by Goodyear Farm Tires
A spectacular array of vintage tractors will take to the road in Scotland this coming weekend in aid of cancer charities as the Mearns Vintage Vehicle Club will be staging a Tractor Run from Laurencekirk to Brechin on Sunday, July 18. The run will start from road haulage and transport business Douglas Mitchell Limited in Laurencekirk at 9.30am and a convoy of around 60 tractors will make its way to the Brechin depot of leading Scottish tyre specialists Soltyre.
First Bus begin works on UK’s biggest electric vehicle charging station at flagship Glasgow depot
Work has begun on an ambitious new project by First Bus that will transform its Glasgow Caledonia bus depot into the UK’s largest Electric Vehicle (EV) charging hub. The plans mark another major milestone on the leading transport operator’s sustainable travel roadmap and follows its pledge to only invest in zero-emission vehicles from December 2022, with a 100 per cent zero-emission fleet by 2035.
Soltyre opens first English branch
Tim Green; Flickr; CC-BY-2.0Scotland-based Soltyre Ltd has expanded into the Northern English market with the opening of a new branch in Sowerby Bridge, Yorkshire. Soltyre currently runs its tyre operations from eight locations in Scotland (Aidrie, Aberdeen, Brechin, Dundee, Dumfries and Edinburgh). News of the new Sowerby Bridge location brings the company’s branch total up to nine.
Michelin adds Redpath Tyres to list of Quality-Approved Centres
Michelin continues to expand its network of approved dealers north of the border, with the addition of Redpath Tyres to its Quality-Approved Centres list. Specialising in commercial, agricultural and earthmover tyres, the family-run business has grown substantially since it was founded in the Scottish Borders by Peter Redpath in 1974.
50 years of Kwik Fit
Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of a brand that launched an entire automotive sector and today is familiar to every motorist up and down the land. On 16 April 1971 in McDonald Road, Edinburgh, the first ever Kwik Fit centre opened its garage doors to motorists, offering the new concept of ‘fast fit’ services, replacing components while drivers waited.
SSH embarking on £75 million Renfewshire, Scotland tyre processing plant project
SSH RecyclingSSH Recycling Ltd has submitted a planning pre-application to Renfrewshire council in a bid to build a tyre devulcanization and processing plant in Linwood, Renfrewshire, Scotland.
The project is what the company describes as “the first of its kind in the UK” and is intended to “solve the entirety of Scotland’s waste tyre problem, using revolutionary new technology to recycle or reuse every component part of the tyre”. However, SSH’s process will support the devulcanisation of treated rubber in order to create synthetic rubber sheet, conveyor belts, shoe soles or rubber mats.
Tomket Tires signs two-year Glasgow Rangers sleeve-sponsorship
Glasgow Rangers; Tomket TiresGlasgow Rangers have confirmed Tomket Tires as a new sleeve partner for the next two seasons, commencing in the 2020/21 season. Through the partnership, Tomket Tires will reportedly have “a significant presence around Ibrox” including on the interview backdrops and LED boards.
Bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis to axe 160 jobs
Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) has announced that it is to axe 160 jobs at its Scottish facilities at Falkirk and Larbert. The news comes just one month after the company said that up to 650 jobs were at risk at its sites in the UK.
NFDA highlights impact of delayed car dealer reopening in Scotland
On Friday 19 June, the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) wrote to Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP to highlight the potential impact of the delay in allowing dealerships to reopen in Scotland. While dealerships could reopen on 1 June in England, 8 June in Northern Ireland and 22 June in Wales, dealers in Scotland have been given the green light from 29 June. Acting on behalf of its Scottish members, NFDA states that it has repeatedly urged the Scottish Government to consider reopening as soon as possible in view of the specific circumstances of the sector. The NFDA previously said there had been “positive trading” at dealerships in the other parts of the UK since reopening.
Half a century of Michelin tyre making ends in Dundee
Michelin’s tyre plant in Dundee, Scotland has produced its last tyre. Although the facility wasn’t scheduled to close until mid-year, Michelin now says it won’t resume operations after the coronavirus crisis – indeed, it considers doing so “unviable and unwise”. The decision has been taken in agreement with the Unite union, and the company will pay plant workers all wages they’re entitled to through to the planned closure date.
Michelin Development relaunched to support job growth in Dundee area
Production at the Michelin tyre plant in Dundee is expected to end by the middle of this year, with around 850 jobs affected. To offset this loss, the company is relaunching its Michelin Development scheme with the aim of helping to create hundreds of jobs in Dundee and the Angus area.
