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IAA REVIEW
Hämmerling Launches Pan-European Athos Service Network
German tyre wholesaler Hämmerling - The Tyre Company GmbH, used the opportunity offered by the IAA Exhibition in Hanover to announce the launch of a new pan-European service
fleets are therefore putting pressure on tyre companies, not only to provide a breakdown service, but a regular tyre service too. The ATHOS Service network solves this issue, but also goes
the service sends an invoice for the work plus the tyres and spare parts for a fixed price to service headquarters. From here this is automatically forwarded with a service fee to the distributor who
Hämmerling’s internet portal. Founded in 1979, Hämmerling is now one of the biggest European tyre wholesalers as well as being a prominent retreader and supplier of truck wheels. The company’s product range includes a wide range of budget and premium branded passenger car, truck, motorcycle, off-road, AS and EM tyres, including the private branded ATHOS range of truck tyres, TALAS steel-disk truck wheels and retreaded tyres from Hämmerling’s own production.
The ATHOS range of truck tyres, manufactured in Asia, is TüV tested and monitored as well being manufactured on retreadable 1A premium casings. The tyres are produced with green oil and are claimed to offer significant fuel saving properties. The brand recently was the winner of a wide-ranging tyre benchmark test ordered by German company HG-Logistic GmbH. Carried out by independent consulting team “Die Flottenberater” (The Fleet ASdvisors) and their technology partners tec4U Ingenieurgesellschaft, the test compared over seventy tyres from a ATHOS, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Dunlop and Pirelli. According to Hämmerling, ATHOS won the test due to its exceptional price-performance relationship.
During the IAA Show, Hämmerling launched two new sizes in the ATHOS range, a 445/45 R 19.5 and 275/17 R 22.5.
network for its ATHOS truck and bus tyre brand.
The "ATHOS Service Network" is a 24 hour service aimed at rental fleets, transport companies and manufacturers of trucks and commercial vehicles across 24 European countries. According to Managing Director Ralf Hämmerling, the new ATHOS network is unique due to the fact that customers can access standard prices across Europe. Tyre changes and breakdown service will be handled as far as possible by affiliated European ATHOS dealers. If these are not in the vicinity or available, an established service organisation will step in. In the UK this is handled by the UK agent for the ATHOS brand, Philip White Tyres and their network of customers.
Says Hämmerling; “The creation of the ATHOS Service network is important because it’s a big challenge for hauliers if they have a breakdown when they are out of their own country. They invariably end up having to pay cash for repairs. Rental companies and international
even further in that the system doesn’t just cover tyres but also small repairs such as brakes.“ Rental fleets, transport companies and manufacturers of commercial vehicles that „want to use the ATHOS Service Network“ simply contact a nearby ATHOS dealer, register online on a special user interface and then receive a service card with the service hotline number. If registered customers need ATHOS tyres and it is not possible to handle the order through the local workshop, the next available ATHOS dealer can be contacted through the hotline. If no suitable ATHOS partner is available, the order is forwarded to a pan-European service organisation.
In the event of a breakdown the driver receives a text message with the expected time of arrival of the service vehicle as soon as the hotline has clarified who will be responsible for providing the service. Communication is ensured by multilingual staff. When the tyres have been changed or the breakdown rectified, the company providing
originally registered the respective company in the network. The advantage for customers is that although they have made use of the service in a different country, the invoice is always received from the local workshop - with the same, previously known prices in all countries at all times. Information on this process and examples of how calculations work are available on
22 Commercial Tyre Business