The annual Tyre and Fast Fit (TAFF) awards took place on Wednesday May 2nd at Manchester’s Palace Hotel, with stand-up comedy from Stan Boardman and six prestigious awards announced by the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA). The awards were established by the NTDA in 2005 to recognise excellence within the tyre industry…and they have quickly become the most highly recognised honour for UK tyre suppliers.

This year’s ceremony was sponsored by Renault UK and took place alongside the Brityrex International exhibition. The categories for the 2007 TAFF awards included Tyre Manufacturer of the Year, Tyre and Aftermarket Equipment Supplier of the Year, and Wholesaler of the Year, as well as dedicated awards for Industry Advertising Campaign, Environment, and Product Innovation.

The competition was fierce in the category for the 2007 Tyre Manufacturer of the Year, with Bridgestone UK Ltd, Michelin Tyre Plc, Continental Tyre Group Ltd, Goodyear/Dunlop Tyres Ltd, and Kumho Tyre pitted against one another for the title. Bridgestone have been nominated three times for this award in previous years, but it was ‘third time lucky’ for the company who finally took the 2007 title. The NTDA claimed that the award was a testament to the successes the company has achieved within the industry, such as their commitment to tyre safety and the ‘Think before you Drive’ campaign.

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Michelin tyres won two awards in the 2006 Greenfleet Awards ceremony. The 7th annual Greenfleet Awards were held in the Emirates stadium, recently home to Arsenal football club, on October 11th. The Greenfleet Awards give recognition to companies and authorities paramount in developing innovations that half reduce the affect of transport on the environment. Tiff Needell, the racing driver and television presenter, presented the 25 awards in various categories.

Michelin, the tyre manufacturer based in Stoke-on-Trent, won the award for Industry Innovation. Greenfleet also recognised Michelin with the prestigious award of Tyre Manufacturer of the Year. Michelin was awarded Tyre Manufacterer of the Year ahead of the runner-up company, Bandvulc Tyres.

The Greenfleet Industry Innovation Prize, was awarded to Michelin for its “green tyre”. Michelin brought the Green Tyre onto the market in 1992 as an innovation due to its silica-based tread compound. The silica-based tread compound improves fuel efficiency and consumption by reducing rolling resistance. Michelin created the Green Tyre to deform to the road; the tyre reduces resistance to the road and increases the surface area of the contact patch.

Improvement has continued to be made since the Michelin Green Tyre was first on the market. The latest product from Michelin is the Primacy HP tyre, which has a higher endurance ability and reduces fuel consumption by 2%. By reducing fuel consumption, the Primacy HP tyre not only saves money for the fleet operator but also helps reduce raw material consumption through fuel efficiency and increased endurance.

Tyre tests conducted in Germany proved that the Primacy HP tyre from Michelin provides up to 54% better mileage and 25% longer tread life. With these statistics in mind, the Michelin advertising campaign boasts that Michelin tyres have the capacity to last “a distance of more than once around the Earth”.

As well as being a winner at the Greenfleet awards, Michelin also sponsered the award for Car Manufacturer of the year. PSA Peugeot Citroen won the award for Car Manufacturer of the year for its dedication to the environmental issue through the use of vegetable oil as biofuel.

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[The Independent On Sunday, 15 Oct 2006]