KYB’s New Website
KYB’s new site has become interactive and uses video segments to increase interest and usefulness to consumers, service providers and parts distributors.
KYB’s new site has become interactive and uses video segments to increase interest and usefulness to consumers, service providers and parts distributors.
Motorcycle tyre wholesaler Bike Tyrestore (BTS) is once again asking customers for their opinions about its service. BTS conducts the survey every year, asking buyers to rate all aspects of the service it provides on a scale of 1 (abysmal) to 10 (brilliant). All survey forms returned by freepost to the Birmingham based wholesaler, are entered into a draw with the first picked out of the hat winning form’s a Fortnum and Mason Christmas Hamper worth in excess of £150. BTS MD Peter Smith told Tyres & Accessories that performance score rates are generally 9 or 10 and that every year useful ideas and suggestions are picked up from the survey.
Bridgestone Firestone Canada Inc. (BFCA) awarded three scholarships to the winners of its first Safety Scholars video contest, in which drivers ages 16-21 create short auto safety-themed videos. Three grand prize winners were selected from 5 finalists through an online voting process that was open to the general public on www.SafetyScholars.ca. More than 1400 online votes were tallied. The top three winners receive a $5,000 college scholarship and a free set of Bridgestone tyres. This year marked the first time the contest was held in Canada after two successful years in the U.S., the company said. (Tire Review/Akron)
Winter suddenly seems a whole lot closer, and for many of us that means a change to cold weather tyres is just around the corner. Belgium based wholesaler Deldo reminds customers that it now stocks a complete range of winter tyres, including the recently added Rockstone range. Winter sizes for this exclusive brand are available for the coming winter, with summer fitments available in 2009. In total, more than 25 brands of winter tyre in car, van and 4×4 fitments are available from Deldo, including studdable tyres for the dedicated Scandinavian markets.
As part of its continuing quest to educate technicians on the proper safety procedures for servicing tyres, the Tire Industry Association has released a new training program for OTR and earthmover markets. Basic Earthmover Tire Service (ETS) outlines the minimum skills and safety guidelines for servicing one-piece, three-piece, five-piece and double gutter OTR assemblies. Designed as an in-house training program, ETS is comprised of a 3.5-hour video and a 350-page color workbook. Students who successfully complete the final exam and skills demonstration will receive a TIA certificate of completion.
Basic ETS is divided into 15 different modules on subjects ranging from tyre nomenclature and service truck operation to site preparation and hydraulic tools. “Basic ETS is another example of TIA responding to the need for safety training in the tire industry,” remarked TIA Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield. “OTR tyres present unique risks to technicians due to their size and volume of air, and Basic ETS will provide them with valuable information that they can use to protect themselves and others.” (Tire Review/Akron)
Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire has announced the winners of its second Safety Scholars video contest.
Three grand-prize winners, plus one Critics’ Choice winner, were selected from 10 finalists through an online voting process that was open to the general public. BFNAT said that more than 10,000 online votes were collected.
BFNAT said that all four winning videos will be used as public service commercials, and the winners receive a $5,000 college scholarship and a trip to the 2009 Chicago Auto Show.
The winners were:
• Danny Belkin of Rockville, Md., who warned about the dangers of behind-the-wheel cell phone use.
• Ryan Massey, 18, from Laguna Niguel, Calif., used a first-person accident account as the basis for his seat-belt use video.
• Sarah Wilson of Tampa featured a group of teenagers recounting a collision they were involved in as a result of text messaging while driving.
• Critics’ Choice award was given to Angela Roscioli, 17, of Bethlehem, Pa., who contemplated the impact a collision near her home would affect the family of a young woman who was killed. (Tire Review/Akron)
Continental Tire North America has redesigned its General Tire Web site – www.generaltire.com. CTNA said the revised site “supports the revitalisation of the General Tire brand, which includes both its product line as well as the overall look and feel of the brand.” The upgraded site is easy to navigate, CTNA said, and has several new features in addition to the existing tyre selector and dealer locator, tyre registration, educational and customer care links.
Cambridge University PhD researcher Salah Elmonselhy, from the University’s Department of Engineering, has proposed a kind of E-shaped suspension design. The new form of suspension promises to “revolutionise the experience of people who drive heavy goods vehicles” enhancing driver control, improve comfort and increase safety. It is also said to reduce fuel consumption and cut the cost of fitting specialist equipment to vehicles so that they can cope with different loads.
At the moment, commercial and heavy good vehicles need to have their suspension fine-tuned in accordance with the load they are carrying, so that drivers can control them. For example, a vehicle with soft suspension is suitable for light loads, but becomes difficult to control if it has to carry extra weight. On the other hand, giving a vehicle hard suspension can make it easy to handle with a heavy load, but the driver and passengers will be in for a bumpy ride once the load is removed.
Pirelli Tyres has crowned Tyres Northampton as Pirelli Performance Centre (PPC) of the Year for 2007. The award is the culmination of a four month assessment programme which included the PPC technical audit followed by an onsite video “mystery shop.” The PPC technical audit covers a wide spectrum of areas including working practices, standard and maintenance of equipment, housekeeping and tyre/wheel removal procedures. In contrast, the video “mystery shop” focused on the consumer experience and levels of customer service. A tyre dealer gaining PPC status can justifiably claim to be amongst the most professional in the UK as expectations are high and audit standards stringent.
If you talk to car tyres as you amble down the street there’s every chance that all is not right in your life. Let’s face it, chatting with the black round objects is just not the done thing. But if a recently rolled out concept product from mobile phone manufacturer Nokia ever comes to mass market fruition, tyre talk may well become an everyday affair.
Sealey has launched its latest Vehicle Service promotion featuring nearly 400 of the hottest products for the professional Auto Engineer.
The 32 page promotion includes a combination of new and innovative products and incredibly low priced deals, with up to 77 per cent off list prices.
Amongst the many products featured is a new range of EOBD (European On-Board Diagnostics) Code Readers which save time and money by taking the guesswork out of fault-finding and diagnosis.
Also available with 31 per cent off list price is the new VS8192 Colour Video Bore Scope – ideal for internal inspection of cylinder bores, engine components and other machinery/industrial applications.
Michelin North America intends to appeal the decision of a circuit court in the state of Louisiana. A jury awarded 54 year old Drusilla Boudreaux US$32.4 million after deciding Michelin was responsible for a 2002 accident in which she was paralysed. Ms Boudreaux was a passenger in a vehicle that skidded on a wet road, crashed and caught fire. The owner of the vehicle had recently purchased two new BFGoodrich tyres, which were installed on the car’s front axle.
The jury placed responsibility for Ms Boudreaux’s injuries upon the tyremaker as they determined that it had not adequately informed all tyre retailers about the increased danger of aquaplaning should new tyres be fitted to the front axle of a vehicle rather than the rear. The plaintiff’s legal representatives attest that Michelin was aware that fitting new tyres to the front axle increased the risk, but the tyremaker only informed the large US chain Costco of the potential danger. Costco was sent a safety video and policy document. Attorney Carey Wicker told the court “when Costco enforced the policy, they lost two per cent of their sales or about $10 million per year based on sales of 500 million tyres per year.” Wicker further argued that “because of the customer backlash Michelin did not do the video or policy document with anybody else.”
Michelin has decided to evacuate the families of French nationals in its employ in Algeria because of concerns for their safety. The plans for their repatriation from the North African state were made after nine people, including two French nationals, were injured during an attack made upon a convoy of foreign workers in September. A group with al-Qaeda affiliations claimed responsibility for carrying out the attack.
Violence linked to terrorist activities has surged within Algeria this year, with dozens killed by suicide bombings in September alone. Recently al-Qaeda released a video in which second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri called for militant groups in North Africa to “cleanse” their lands of the Spanish and French.
The French tyre major said operations at its Hussein Dey facility in Algiers would continue and that those actually employed at the plant would remain in Algeria.
The future of the UK tyre industry belongs to those who invest in their staff, believes David Boulton from Entyrety. Boulton, technical sales manager for the Birmingham based supplier of tyre and fleet training and support services, is concerned that a lack of investment in training will not only perpetuate existing bad workplace practices, but also will ultimately drag these businesses down.
“It is well known that in certain areas of retailing there is a shortage of good tyre technician/fitters,” comments Boulton, adding that this problem stems from a lack of investment over many years in the people who carry out this function. As a consequence, he believes, in some areas the ‘interface’ between the tyre industry and the public has been found wanting. “There has been some improvement in recent years,” admits Boulton, “but this is only in the businesses who recognise that to safeguard their future they have to invest in their staff and provide training and development schemes. These will be the companies that survive long-term, and those that do not invest could face a bleaker future.”
Rally driver Dave Appleby is set to wow the crowds at the Castle Combe Rallyday on Saturday with an outing for the amazing Aston Martin Rally GT. And Hankook tyres are taking to the Internet to promote their tyres’ grip. Appleby and the car feature on a preview video posted on the You Tube website http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=aMin5vbRO3Y. cja
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