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COMPANY NEWS
market can be usefully split into three areas – customer- owned fleets, fleets who have agreed PPV or PPK agreements and rental/leasing/contract hire fleets. In the spot rental segment the trend in the past
grow the market and to retain the company’s position of strength by focussing on delivering what it knows it can deliver.
With this in mind Tattersall draws attention to a change in
ATS Euromaster’s job is to help the customer get the last bit of life from its tyres. We focus on showing customers how to use their asset with optimum efficiency – whether to retread the tyres and, if so, whether to use the manufacturer or an independent retreader – whether to have the tyres regrooved – whether there is anything else that can be done to extend tyre life, like turning the tyres on the rim, putting them on different positions etc. Tyre casings and their management are also critical. We focus on the need to manage them as an asset. “ Tattersall sees the development of technology as the next big change in the business. “We are at the start of a technological revolution,” he says. “As the internet evolves, we will be able to do more.” The first of a number of technologies introduced by ATS Euromaster is the company’s Fleetsure – Fleet Inspection system, introduced last May. The FleetSure tool includes a PDA and an electronic tread depth gauge aimed at increasing the accuracy and speed of regular tyre condition and wear checks.
FleetSure uses Bluetooth technology to send tread depth readings to the handheld PDA.
pressure reports to help maximise tyre safety, performance and fuel efficiency. Another tool aimed at helping fleet managers handle their tyre assets more efficiently is the company’s Service Value Calculator (SVC), which can be programmed with specific information about a customer’s operation, and then measures the financial benefits available through regrooving, retreading, pressure optimisation and general tyre husbandry, such as turning tyres on the rim and twinning.
The SVC takes data regarding fleet size, annual mileage, tyre costs, fuel price and current tyre condition – identified during a preliminar y ATS Euromaster fleet inspection – to generate a bespoke cost savings report for each individual fleet.
It then displays this information across a comprehensive 10-page tyre savings report measuring the financial impact of ever y area of professional tyre management, with a summar y listing the
total potential annual savings achievable across an entire fleet when the tyres are monitored and serviced by ATS Euromaster. This enables customers to see the direct benefits of each tyre servicing activity, whilst factoring in associated costs, such as regrooving charges.
During the CV Show, ATS Euromaster will be focusing heavily on their service to van fleets. According to Simon Tattersall, product and product information will be on display as well as interactive screens to display marketing and service initiatives to customers who are attending the show. Says Tattersall; “We will have a comprehensive display of our products and services at the CV Show. However, the main benefit offered by the ATS Euromaster stand is that it offers a golden opportunity for fleets to spend a few moments with our team of tyre experts, regardless of whether they are currently ATS Euromaster customers.”
has been towards budget tyres, the sector being very price driven. However, more recently the market has moved back towards mid-range and premium tyres due to the fact that fleets have discovered that the cost of operation is higher with budget tyres. Some of this move, says Tattersall, is down to tyre labelling and the additional information now available to operators about a tyre’s performance capabilities. “There is currently an increased focus on controlling the cost of operation of van tyres,” he
says. “This is due to the fact that the cost of operating a large van is not so different from operating a rigid truck or a tractor unit.”
Driver training is also becoming more important and there is an increased awareness of the need to get drivers to understand the need to manage tyres as an asset. As a result more fleets are looking to handing over the management of the asset completely to companies like ATS Euromaster. “This,” says Tattersall, “is a new development in the van market but we expect this trend to become increasingly prevalent.”
In the CV sector ATS Euromaster’s overall aim is to
the dynamic of the whole market – a trend towards multi- vehicle fleets – especially local council fleets which have a diverse range of vehicles from JCBs to grass cutters. “Often these fleets are taken over by fleet management companies who are looking for a service that covers the whole spectrum,” he says. “At ATS Euromaster we are able to cope with this and provide a one- stop-shop that can cover the
14 Commercial Tyre Business
whole market.”
Tattersall also talks eloquently about the increasing need for fleets to focus on the life management of tyres. “Fleets don’t want to fit more tyres than they need to,” he says, “so
From there, data can be sent via 3G connection to ATS Euromaster’s servers, where experts analyse the findings and determine if any servicing is required. FleetSure is also able to compile detailed tyre