Watts Tyre Group has launched Interfit, its international service business.
The launch of Interfit serves as a repositioning in the industrial tire service market by formally creating a dedicated, specialist service division, the company says.
Watts Tyre Group service operations throughout Europe will begin the process of rebranding due to be completed by June 2010.
Chief Executive Jean-Paul Mindermann says, “We are very excited by this move. Whilst we are best known in the industry as a leading tire manufacturer and distributor, service has always been an important part of our offering. We have well established high quality service businesses around the world and feel that it is right for us to emphasise that strength. We believe that it is crucial to focus our service operations on customer requirements, key to which is being able to offer a wider range of quality tire brands.
"We will be able to offer customers a wealth of information relating to crucial factors including tire life and performance and end user costs across whole fleets along with a range of key performance indicators and managed service level agreements. Equally, this will allow customers to measure our own performance as a service partner.
"We are investing heavily in state-of-the-art IT systems which will allow Interfit to deliver a level of service new to the industry. We have also created the most comprehensive knowledge base of tire use, wear and replacement based on thousands of customer transactions on thousands of different trucks over the past 15 years. This means that Interfit is uniquely placed to offer customers advice on the right tire for them based on their actual needs.”
Interfit will service the forklift truck market through its depot and mobile press operation acting as a service partner to the OEM dealer networks. Customers will be managed through regional offices in UK, France and Germany where administrative functions and local service desks are based.
Interfit will boast a comprehensive range of products and brands. In addition to the Watts branded tire and wheel products, other leading brands will be available as well as other specialist products.
Strategic Development Director Paul Morey says, “The focus for Interfit is as a service business; to complement our range of service options we will be offering our customers a wider choice of leading tire brands. Customers will benefit from our expertise and ability to select the right tire for their particular application and needs."
