American Tire Distributors (ATD) has appointed Ryan Walsh to the position of Chief Financial Officer. As CFO, Walsh takes on responsibility for leading the independent replacement market tyre supplier’s key finance operations, in addition to Enterprise Risk Management/Internal Audit.
Arnold Clark Autoparts has expanded its network of branches offering tyres to the trade. Tyres can now be ordered from Arnold Clark Autoparts branches at Aberdeen, Bilston, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Newcastle, Rugeley, and Wolverhampton.
Goodyear EMEA is opening two new distribution centres in Cheb, the Czech Republic, and Amiens, France. The announcement coincides with the news that Goodyear is closing its Philippsburg, Germany operation. Goodyear announced that it was closing its Philippsburg, Germany tyre factory in 2016 and production ceased in 2017. Since then, it has been run as a tyre distribution centre in conjunction with a third-party logistics firm. Tyres & Accessories understands that the Philipsburg tyre distribution operation is no longer as efficient and effective as Goodyear had hoped. The company is now consulting with employees regarding the future of 15 jobs in Philippsburg.
Logistics property developer Prologis is developing a new build-to-suit unit for Hankook Tyre UK in Daventry, Northamptonshire. Construction of DC9, a 357,221 square-foot unit within Prologis Apex Park, begins immediately and when completed in early 2024 will reinforce the position of Daventry as Hankook’s main UK distribution hub.
Davanti Tyres has a new exclusive distributor across all territories within the United Arab Emirates. This remit has been taken on by Central Trading Company LLC, a member company of the Al-Rostamani Group, one of the largest and oldest conglomerates in the UAE.
For tyre distributors in import-heavy markets such as the UK, the sharp and sustained rise in the cost of shipping product from key sources such as China and South-East Asia is a major headache with potential market-reshaping consequences. While there have been varying levels of success in managing this headwind according to some in the market with whom Tyres & Accessories has spoken, strategically placed orders and bumper levels of stockholding can only ameliorate prices on such products for so long. Wholesalers have faced a difficult trading environment this year, which to this point has shown little sign of abating.
Despite Covid-19 restrictions preventing too much fanfare, Bridgestone has opened a new distribution centre in Truganina, Victoria, Australia. The official opening of Bridgestone’s Truganina hub sees the relocation of the company’s former warehouse, state office and store at Derrimut relocated to the new site, as well as the convergence of the state operations for Lube Mobile, Webfleet Solutions and the expansion of services into new segments – highlighted by the launch of an onsite truck wash.
With the 19 July 2021 relaxation of Covid-19 legislation fast-approaching, some have dubbed next Monday as “freedom day”. However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stressed that the pandemic is not over and in practice the government is passing responsibility for health and safety and social distancing onto businesses and households. With this in mind, the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) commissioned the “Keeping Tyre Centres Safe – Insight Report” and is launching a “Safe Tyre Centre Scheme” in order to help tyre distributors with the challenging choices they face. At the top of the list of difficult decisions is “which (if any) COVID-19 restrictions they will relax in their branches and workshops” after 19 July, as NTDA chief executive Stefan Hay notes in his foreword to the report.
After weeks and months of mounting pressure on UK ports, the automotive industry is showing visible signs of strain. Specifically, Honda UK has halted manufacturing at its Swindon factory because it can’t get the right parts in-time to continue production. General UK tyre supply is likely to be impacted too.
The Springwater Capital financial group has made a binding offer for Fintyre, which is currently controlled by Bain Capital. No details have officially been released, but some Italian news sources are reporting that the Springwater offer includes a capital increase of 50 million euros. The company has been in talks with potential new investors since May.
As of 1 January 2020, the Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) will share its address with the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) in Aylesbury. According to the association, TRA’s new address is:
The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has approved Michelin’s bid to form a tyre distribution joint venture with Toyota Kenya’s parent firm CFAO to sell tyres in Kenya and Uganda.
A giant new warehouse complex built by Michelin in the USA is now operational and capable of supplying tyres to up to three thousand regional customers. The Michelin Woodruff U70 distribution centre is, at 3 million square feet, the Michelin Group’s largest distribution centre.
Linglong Tire hosted its dealer meeting in Turin recently. The event focused on global cooperation and Linglong distributors and suppliers from all over the world were reportedly present. Dialogue with local partners was a specific talking point.
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