Safety depends on the quality of tyres

The fleet sector is of strategic importance for market leader Abroncs Trade House. Sales director Árpád Tiszay told Trade magazin that Hungary’s most modern tyre service centres, a large stock of tyres and a comprehensive logistics background make Abroncs Trade House the ideal partner for fleet management companies, multinational companies and small businesses as well. In the high season they can take care of more than 1,500 cars a day, and from this volume they can do 300 on the spot. At the moment they sell the tyres of more than 30 manufacturers and have more than 400,000 tyres in stock. In the last 3 years Abroncs invested HUF 3 billion in building a so-called tyre hotel, a 120,000-tyre capacity storage centre in Baj.

Safe tyres that grip to the road even when it is wet can prevent or reduce financial loss. Besides, used tyres need to be disposed of safely and cost-efficiently. Mr Tiszay revealed that in Hungary 3 million used tyres must be collected every year. Abroncs collects 300 tons of used tyres from partners every month. These days there are also puncture-resistant tyres available: by using these one can safely drive 50-80 kilometres after a puncture has occurred. In line with a European Parliament regulation, as of 1 November 2014 new vehicles must be equipped with a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS). This increases passenger safety and prevents accidents. The sales director is of the opinion that the price of tyres will grow, because raw material costs have increased.

_{Árpád Tiszay
commercial manager
Abroncs Kereskedőház}

_{Kannan Prabhakar
managing director
Apollo Tyres Hungary}

_{Kőszegi Zoltán
director of sales
Michelin Hungária}

Kannan Prabhakar, managing director of Apollo Tyres Hungary Kft. talked to us about their Hungarian investment project. The new Apollo Tyres factory in Gyöngyöshalász manufactures Apollo and Vredestein tyres for the European market. The company also wants to become the tyre supplier of major car manufacturers, and the Hungarian investment will play a strategic role in this. In the first phase the new factory manufactures 5.5 million tyres a year for passenger cars and lorries, and 675,000 tyres for buses and trucks. At the moment Apollo Tyres employs more than 400 people in Gyöngyöshalász. Apollo Tyres has set the objective of having 800 reseller partners by 2020 all over Europe. Apollo Tyres is really proud of their dual training programme, within the framework of which they cooperate with two secondary schools in Heves County and the University of Miskolc. The company has contributed to preserving the natural treasures of the Bükk National Park. They also built a playroom in the Bugát Pál Hospital in Gyöngyös.

Zoltán Kőszegi, sales manager for truck tyres at Michelin Hungária Kft. called our attention to the fact that the Michelin tyres that they sell offer the same top quality for a long period of time. They can provide all types of vehicles with tyres. The company’s services and applications make it possible for partners to concentrate on their transportation work only. They serve the biggest fleets with Michelin Solutions: a comprehensive tyre management service in which customers don’t pay for the tyre as such, but for the number of kilometres they ran, and this fee includes all tyre-related costs. Registered partners get access to the company’s OnCall assistance service, which is available 7 days a week all over Europe. Michelin is the first truck tyre manufacturer to make tyres – Michelin X LINE ENERGY tyres – with an AAA energy efficiency label. Compared with a truck that use BBA tyres, 1 litre of fuel can be saved per 100km buy using AAA tyres. This also means 26.6g lower CO2 emission per kilometre. In the first life cycle of a truck tyre HUF 500, 000 can be saved on fuel this way.