As of the start of 2016, new vehicles require a minimum of two advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to qualify for a 5 star Euro NCAP safety rating. The minimum requirement is to have Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW), both of which are complex systems requiring specialist equipment to recalibrate following repair to the vehicle.
Kathryn Beaurain, marketing director of wheel servicing equipment specialist Pro-Align, has been recognised by the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) for her ongoing support of the IMI Skill Auto competitions. Receiving one of five awards presented at the IMI’s Annual Dinner, Kathryn received the award for her Contribution to the Work of the IMI, having supported the industry’s Skill Auto competitions for the last six years.
Having spent the past thirty years improving its position in the UK alignment market, Southampton-based Supertracker continues to introduce new innovations into its product range and 2018 will follow the same creative path. At the moment, ADAS systems are grabbing industry headlines.
Garage equipment distributor Absolute Alignment has announced two partnerships with UK race teams in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) and British GT Championship. The company has become an Official Technical Partner to Power Maxed Racing in the BTCC, and will be supporting Academy Motorsport’s Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 entries in British GT.
Southampton based Supertracker, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of wheel alignment equipment, has launched Shoot & Go, an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system designed to obtain technical Wheel Alignment data. Now available to order on the STR600 and STR120B aligners, Shoot & Go uses a digital camera installed in front of the lift, ramp or pit, to detect the number plate of the vehicle in service.
Pro-Align’s recent distribution agreement with ADAS diagnostic and calibration tools supplier TEXA shows how garage equipment specialists are adapting to the rapid development of the connected car. Yet the staple equipment remains a vital part of the equation; greater accuracy in the tyre changing and wheel balancing processes can help ensure the full functionality of downstream systems. In addition, Pro-Align tells Tyres & Accessories that balancers and changers are often overlooked in terms of their potential for a workshop’s efficiency and profitability.
Rema Tip Top Automotive UK’s fourth consecutive Aftermarket Equipment Supplier of the Year Tyre Industry Award was a testament to its “great working partnerships and mutual value added benefits and expertise,” according to group CEO Mark Insley. In its capital equipment portfolio, the company supplies Corghi garage equipment, including the brand’s latest Touchless line of wheel service equipment for all ranges of tyre changers, wheel balancers and wheel aligners, demonstrating such added value partnerships. Rema Tip Top states that Corghi’s latest products “guarantee extreme professionalism”, as they concentrate on the wheel alone without touching the rim and/or the tyre, depending on the product line, during any procedure.
Workshop equipment distributor Pro-Align’s support for the Skills Show has stretched to half a decade, including the last five years in succession. Trainee vehicle technicians competing in this year’s show were able to gain valuable hands-on experience using some of the most advanced wheel alignment and diagnostic wheel balance systems currently on the market, thanks to this ongoing support. Held over three days at the NEC, Birmingham, competitors took part in a diverse range of practical skills and knowledge tests such as beauty therapy, bricklaying, landscaping, and games design.
Delticom AG teamed up with Netherlands-based TechnoMarketing to exclusively present the Mobile Mech concept and its compact, ‘all-in-one’ Ecube tyre service unit. Delticom believes the Ecube is a “completely game-changing” advancement which provides businesses with more versatile solution to the roadside tyre sales.
During May’s Autopromotec, leading Italian garage machinery firm Nexion Group and Chinese garage equipment-maker Bright Technology announced that they have formed a joint venture.
According to the two companies, the two firms have formed a third company that will allow Bright and the Nexion Group to “assert itself as a leader in the industry and be active on all global markets with a full range in all product segments from the top of the range to the entry level”.
The latest generation touchless wheel aligner from Cemb will be on display at the Autopromotec show in Bologna later this month. The Italian manufacturer is presenting the Argos, a product it says is the “result of years of studies, field tests and highly advanced technology entirely developed within our company.” The Argos is able to, Cemb claims, reliably measure wheel geometry in just five seconds. The aligner can be viewed at the Cemb booth (19 B72) between 24 and 28 May.
Conceived for oversized car and van wheels, SM1100 is a new generation universal leverless tyre changer with central locking system for rims from 12 to 30-inches in diameter, available in both manual or pneumatic versions.
Hunter garage equipment supplier Pro-Align will bring a new concept to Automechanika Birmingham (stand 19D80), designed to show how workshop spaces, even on the smaller side, can be transformed to offer profitable wheel alignment and wheel servicing. The interactive concept has been designed to give technicians and business owners a real-world experience of its systems, emphasising the ability of smaller businesses to deliver quality Hunter and customer service levels or returns. The company will demonstrate live award winning equipment like the Hunter Elite TD wheel alignment system, in addition to launching the new Hunter Road Force Elite and Pro-Align TCLine tyre changer systems.
Autogem is exclusively distributing Tire Profiles Inc’s TreadSpec and Groove Glove tyre tread depth and wheel alignment diagnostic equipment. Tire Profiles is designed to help auto dealers and repair shops sell more tyres, wheel alignments and other “around the wheel” repairs, by providing equipment and processes that create “a sound repeatable process”. The solution works on the philosophy that “it is not the measurement that matters but rather what one does with the measurement which has driven”.
Wheel alignment specialist Pro-Align has introduced a new advanced level training course for technicians with a basic level of knowledge and understanding of wheel alignment theory and practice. Suitable for technicians who have already passed Pro-Align’s IMI quality assured wheel alignment fundamentals course, the new course is designed to extend technicians’ skills in both theory and practical sessions, enabling their business to grow their wheel alignment expertise and revenue further.
