NEWSThe NTDA continues to grow

“MCS is another extremely forward thinking organisation”. said Stefan Hay: “Again we are very pleased that MCS will be at Brityrex, but also that the MCS team has embraced NTDA membership wholeheartedly demonstrated by the fact that they will, this year, be sponsoring one of the Tyre Industry Awards at our Annual Dinner”.

In serving the tyre industry the company provides its services to more than 20 major importers, managing the customs clearance and delivery of containers to well over a hundred tyre warehouses and depots throughout the UK and Ireland. With a wealth of shipping experience and a thorough understanding of the logistical demands of wholesaling, MCS argues that effective freight management is a hugely important consideration for tyre importers in today’s market.

Rob Shelley said: “We are very proud to have been approved for NTDA membership and very much look forward to even closer ties with the tyre industry’’.

Another recent addition to the NTDA and TyreLink is Horndean Tyres of Waterlooville, Hampshire. Founded by Ron Michie in 1980, Horndean Tyres remains a privately owned, family run business, with a strong focus on offering its customers the highest levels of service and quality while still offering value for money. It has a large fitting depot and a fleet of Mobile fitting units.

Dave Parker, General Manager at Horndean said: “At Horndean Tyres, we pride ourselves in delivering the highest quality of service to our customers at all times and believe that joining the industry’s leading trade association, the NTDA, is further evidence of our commitment to business excellence”.

Horndean tyres has a long future ahead of it, thanks to the firm foundations and principles set out over 30 years ago and is exactly the type of company the NTDA wants to represent.

The NTDA welcomes all of its new members and looks forward to seeing them at Brityrex, the Annual Dinner and to a long and mutually beneficial relationship thereafter.

After the widely reported busy start to the year, membership growth has continued over the summer and some of the latest companies to join, add further diversity to the Association’s growing portfolio of member expertise:

New member Sigmavision is a dedicated manufacturer and integrator of machine vision systems. It designs, assembles and supplies a full range of laser and LED based sensors and systems with task specific software for inspection, measurement and control applications with a particular focus on the tyre and rubber industries. Its industrial solutions enable material convertors and rubber and tyre manufacturers to improve process capability, eliminate waste and maximise bottom line benefits.

NTDA Director Stefan Hay said: “Sigmavision is at the forefront of innovation in tread reading technology and it’s all designed and manufactured here in the UK! I was extremely pleased when Sigmavision joined the NTDA and delighted when Dr. Andrew Pryce of Sigmavision agreed to speak at the Brityrex 2014 Tyre Talk Workshops”.

The latest development from Sigmavision, the patent protected range of TreadReader tyre measurement devices, allows fast and accurate tread depth and tyre wear measurement in situ, when tyres are mounted on a vehicle.

Dr. Andrew Pryce (pictured) said: “I am very grateful to NTDA for the invite to attend Brityrex this year and to speak about technology innovations for tyre measurement. I look forward to showing that

cost effective measurement solutions now exist to deliver operational improvements for fleet operators and revenue earning opportunities for garages and workshops. Moreover, with widespread use, we have the prospect of improving road safety and the one in eight vehicles currently on Britain’s roads with at least one illegal tyre”.

The NTDA team is also very excited about new member Suffolk-based freight forwarder Maritime Cargo Services (MCS) which is one of the UK’s leading independent family-owned freight-forwarding agents, having been founded by CEO Rob Shelley more than 20 years ago.

Freight Forwarding AgentsMaritime Cargo Services

www.ntda.co.uk NEWS

Director’s comment - Tyre pressure tragedies It seems that not a day goes by, where we don’t see reports on the findings of inquests into the tragic deaths of motorists resulting from under- or over-inflated tyres.

Like Peter Enright, 29, who was killed when his MR2 span out of control on the A1(M) and crashed through the central reservation in February 2013.

The inquest heard that Peter had bought the car the previous day from his uncle, Michael Enright, who had inflated the tyres using a pump without a gauge. The accident investigator said: “One tyre had 65psi, another 26psi, another 37psi, the fourth tyre was deflated by the collision and could not be checked.”

According to Toyota, the correct pressure is 30psi, and the engineer said: “65psi would make the car handle as if on ice.”

Then there’s the tragedy of model and hairdresser Yasmin Richards, 21, who died on the A46 on her way to work in Bath in November 2013. The investigation found that the back tyres were just over half the recommended 26psi, one front tyre was inflated to 19psi instead of 30psi, the other front tyre burst on impact. It also found the two front tyres and the back offside tyres were worn below the legal limit of 1.6mm of tread across the central three quarters of the tyres.

Investigating Officer PC Chambers said: “the low pressure would have created significant understeer, which would have impeded Yasmin regaining control. He added that low tread would have been less effective on the damp road surface.

Another case was that of 51 year old Michael Bray who died in December 2013 on the M5. Michael was passing in front of a lorry on the carriageway, when all of a sudden, his front tyre burst; he lost control of his vehicle; drove off the road and smashed into some trees.

After further investigation into the case, the investigators are now considering the fact that the tyre in question could have been underinflated. Earlier it had been assumed that the cause of the accident was tyre puncture.

Whether male or female, young or old, experienced or inexperienced drivers, it is evidently clear, that motorists simply do not seem to understand the life-saving importance of correct tyre pressure and regular checks and maintenance and there have been numerous tyre pressure related accidents during 2014.

Combine this with ongoing factors such as 54.5% of drivers aged from 18 to 24 admitting they know very little about tyres and certainly can’t change one and the many motorists who do pump up their tyres, but use home inflation devices or those on petrol forecourts which are invariably not correctly calibrated, and we have a serious problem.

Naturally, the NTDA will campaign and continue to drive home messages of good tyre maintenance and encourage motorists to have their tyres checked by its members, the professionals, and aligned organisations such as TYRESAFE are also having an impact, but when it comes to safety we all have a role to play – after all, when did you last check your tyre pressure?

The 85th NTDA Annual Dinner, which is being held at the Hilton Deansgate, Manchester, England on Wednesday 8th October 2014, and which will host the inaugural Tyre Industry Awards, is officially SOLD OUT. NTDA Director Stefan Hay said: “We have been inundated with people who want to attend the dinner, with a month to go, we are fully booked with a record 530 guests confirmed and now a waiting list of people, who have left it too late and will be left disappointed as we really can’t accommodate them. We could have quite realistically sold more than 600 tickets this year.” The Association reports that there has also been huge interest for the Tyre Industry Awards with well over 12,000 votes having now been cast on the NTDA website.

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