Peter Gibbons is stepping down as chief executive officer of TireHub, the US-based tyre distributor jointly founded by Bridgestone Americas and The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Ted Becker, TireHub’s vice-president of sales and marketing, will become interim chief executive officer once Gibbons leaves the company in mid-November to pursue a new career opportunity.
In order to support its ambition of becoming a true Nordic tyre & wheel specialist, independent tyre distribution firm Vimexa has become a corresponding member of the STRO (Scandinavian Tire and Rim Organization) in Sweden. Announcing Vimexa’s STRO membership, managing director Rutger Veerman said “we have realised strong growth in the Nordic (and Baltic) region during the last five years, and with our hub in Helsinki the logistics is optimal.”
Wholesaler RH Claydon Ltd. began construction work on its new depot in Carlisle this week. The facility is located within the Kingmoor Park Enterprise Zone and includes a 30,000 square foot warehouse as well as purpose-built office space.
Peter van ‘t Hof, founder of Dutch tyre wholesaler Tyre Trading International (TTI), passed away on 6 August 2021, aged 72. Van ‘t Hof founded the Numansdorp-based wholesale business in 1988, continuing a family connection to the tyre and automotive sector that dates back to 1924. He handed over management of TTI to son Peter-Alexander in 2006.
National Tyre & Wheel Limited (NTAW), the largest independent tyre and wheel wholesaler in Australia and New Zealand, has made several changes to its leadership team. The company states that these and other appointments made over the past year will help it “set a new benchmark in customer experience” that will “underwrite further growth.”
TireHub, the USA-based national tyre distributor jointly by Bridgestone Americas and The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, is now three years old. Reporting the company’s experiences over the past 12 months, chief executive officer Peter Gibbons says that even though TireHub began its third year in the middle of a global pandemic, it nevertheless ended 2020 with “significant gains” compared with the industry, which was down overall.
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.
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