Kirkby Tyres has invested 3.5 million euros in moving to new, larger premises in Dublin, Republic of Ireland in a move that was completed on Wednesday 21 July 2021. According to the company, “Kirkby Tyres Ireland operations serves all geographical areas in Ireland” and made the investment due to “increased sales activities and opportunities”.
Following Halfords’ recent acquisitions of Universal Tyres and McConnechy’s before that, many have speculated regarding what the future holds for Lodge Tyres. Rumours aside, the short story is that Lodge Tyres had a good 2020 despite the obvious Covid-19-related adversity and is set for further growth in 2021. Tyres & Accessories met with Lodge Tyres managing director Andy Christmas and commercial director Martin O’Brien in order to get the latest details straight from Lodge Tyres’ management.
Micheldever Tyre Services has almost doubled its sales of BFGoodrich tyres since becoming the brand’s official 4×4 wholesaler in the UK at the start of 2020. The agreement sees the Winchester-based business – which has established a wholesale distribution network of 15 sites around the country, supplying more than 6,000 retailers nationwide – stock a large selection of BFGoodrich’s All Terrain T/A KO2 and Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 ranges, helping to ensure excellent product availability throughout the year.
German tyre wholesaler, retailer and service provider Pneuhage has realigned and renamed its business in Poland. Going forwards the bulk of its activities there, including the 1999-established Pneuhage Service Opon, will operate under the name Interpneu Polska.
Springwater Capital has been confirmed as Italian tyre wholesaler Fintyre’s new shareholder, bringing with it 43 million euros of new capital – a figure that is in-line with reports suggesting Springwater’s involvement back in November 2020. Springwater Capital, founded in 2002 and led by managing partner Martin Gruschka, specializes in the turnaround of European Mid-Caps with a long-term investment horizon.
Marty Krcelic, president and chief operating officer (COO) of TBC Brands and executive vice president of TBC Corporation is set to retire effective 30 June 2021. Under his leadership, TBC Brands has become one of the largest distributors of proprietary brand tyres in North America. Geoff Doster will succeed Krcelic to lead TBC Brands as senior vice president of sales. His responsibilities will be expanded to include oversight of TBC Brands operations, customer service, commercial truck tyre sales and equipment and non-tyre sales.
BA Bush & Son Ltd has recently moved into new head offices in Horncastle as part of planned expansion. According to the company, the new offices provide not only more space but also a large meeting and conference room and more opportunity for the team to work together across sales, marketing, and finance once Covid-19 regulations permit.
Almost a year after Jürgen Titz announced his departure from Goodyear after more than 22 years of service, he is back in the tyre industry. The experienced manager, who most recently served as Goodyear’s managing director consumer Europe Central and chairman of Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany, has now taken on a partnership role within the tyre trade.
BA Bush & Son Ltd has become the exclusive UK distributor of Ascenso tyres. With the first container having already arrived in the UK and a significant ‘stocking up’ programme underway, BA Bush reports that new sizes are set to be introduced each month. BA Bush will sell Ascenso tyres predominantly through its trade business BAB Distribution but will also stock Ascenso tyres through their Bush Tyres retail branches.
As the April edition of Tyres & Accessories went to press, the story of the Ever Given – the 400-metre long container ship that got wedged in the Suez canal – was getting a surprising amount of news coverage. The spectacle of a ship the length of four football pitches was enough to capture the attention of many. For others, the anecdotes of tenacious tug pilots and plucky digger drivers trying to free the gargantuan vessel from its unscheduled moorings did the trick. But for those in the tyre trade – and hundreds of other lines of work connected with global logistics – there were solid business reasons for their interest. “How many boxes have you got on the Ever Given?”, one tyre wholesaler asked. “It’s times like this…”, the other comically replied leaving the rest of his reply to the imagination.
Halfords’ recent acquisition of Universal Tyres follows the acquisition of McConnechy’s Tyre Service Ltd for £8.5 million and Tyres on the Drive for £746,000 back in November 2019. The combination of the McConnechy’s and Universal purchases means Halfords now owns two of the three founding firms of ULM Services Ltd, a fleet servicing business that Universal establishing in partnership with McConnechy’s and Lodge tyres back in 2017. At the same time, Universal runs its own tyre wholesale business. So, what does the latest acquisition mean for the Universal Tyre Wholesale operation? And how was McConnechy’s commercial business folded into Halfords? For that matter, how will the businesses be integrated in general? And what does this all mean for ULM?
Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS) reports that it is offers a “gripping” SUV proposition for retail customers in 2021, with a range of new products available to its tyre retailer network. According to the company, MTS supplies SUV tyres to over 6,000 customers, including a national network of over 250 independent 4×4 and SUV tyre specialists. Changes include new upgraded patterns, helping to bolster MTS’s range of SUV tyres – for both for on and off-road usage.
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has approved Global Automotive Investments Holding BV’s acquisition of PBG BV (Pon Tyre Group). The ACM reached its decision on 10 March after determining that the wholesale tyre market will remain sufficiently competitive following the takeover.
At the start of 2021 Grupo Andrés, started work on the construction its new headquarters. According to the company the new facilities will result in “a significant improvement in distribution” due to the “robotization of the logistics process and a notable streamlining of work and the flow of orders”.
Spring is on its way, and independent tyre distribution firm Vimexa says it has a wide range of products available to customers. Managing director Rutger Veerman confirms that a number of brands are available, and as 85 per cent of the tyres that Vimexa supplies are premium products, import uncertainties won’t be an issue. But options also exist for customers shopping for budget tyres.
Kirkby Tyres
Tyre Industry Publications Ltd
Micheldever Tyre Services
Fintyre
BA Bush
Ascenso
Copernicus Sentinel; Pierre Markuse; CC-BY-2.0
Halfords
MTS
Grupo Andres