OUR SMALL PART IN THE GOOD FOOD CHAIN

Despite difficult times in many sectors, one area of Ireland's economy is bucking the trend and performing better than ever. Our farming sector is ploughing Ireland's way to recovery. And with  the world's population ever growing; the pressure on food production and ''good food'' production in particular will be with us  to stay. Worldwide there has been a huge move from processed mass produced foods to quality fresh produce and Ireland stands to gain considerably from this. Why? Well because quality food is what we do here. With ample water supplies, good fertile soils and temperate climate, Ireland produces some of the worlds finest food produce.

Kildare is a particularly fertile and productive county. In our immediate area we produce some of the worlds finest beef and lamb. Rapeseed is grown for oil production. Wheat, potatoes and arable crops of all kinds thrive in our limestone rich soils. Our proximity in relation to the capital and port is a significant advantage for Kildare also. Our farms and farmers are busy and productive.

So where do Heffernan Tyres fit in? For over 50 years our business has been closely associated with local primary producers. The modern farmer utilises all up to date technology and machinery to maximise his/her performance and production. Tyres and good tyre advice are all important to keep Tractors, Harvesters and implements on the move. Heffernan tyres in close collaboration with Firestone Agri are providing excellent quality tyre products, technical advice and service back up for Agri Businesses throughout the province.

For instance in the area of pressure maintainance and calculation, our local farmers are using a smart phone App from Firestone to get maximum performance from their tyres. Pressures are all important to minimise fuel usage and provide the right traction in variable conditions. Our staff are well trained and operate on farms via our mobile service which is 24/7 all year round.

We like good news stories at Heffernan Tyres. Positive news which indicates that the country is moving forward are welcome here. Our local farmers are part of that good news story. Long may it continue. We will be right there with them.

HEFFERNAN TYRES. PART OF A GREAT COMMUNITY!

ST. BRIGIDS ON ST PATRICKS NIGHT

As we have written here before; Kildare is a thriving community of people who genuinely love and feel proud of their town. There is always something going on, in the planning or the imagination of people who want to make things happen. Heffernan Tyres are proudly , smack bang in the middle of it all.

In 2013 we have  renewed our sponsorship with the the Cill Dara Rugby club and recently kitted out the U13s in Kildare AFC soccer club. There is some great budding talent there and we are so happy to be associated with the lads over there.

KILDARE AFC U13 LADS IN THEIR NEW KIT.

Local Arts Community Culture Kildare (LARK) was set up 6 years ago to showcase the talents of people from Kildare Town. The group has embarked on Musicals, Christmas Variety shows, Street Pageants and Photographic Exhibitions; with great community spirit. previous productions have included a staging of the musical  ANNIE last year which was a major success. However, starting tonight (Mar 19th) at the Moat Theatre Naas, LARK will stage it's most adventurous production to date. An extravaganza of film backdrop, lighting, special effects and of course song and dance has been months in preparation. Our CEO Thomas has been in the thick of it as Chairman and when the curtain closes tonight (19th March) on the Wizard of OZ, we expect a collective sigh of relief and a smile of satisfaction that a job has been well done. Because that's how we do in things in Kildare.

Best of luck to all the production team and cast for tonight and the week ahead. We look forward to reading the reviews and hearing the applause.

MOAT THEATRE NAAS TONIGHT TUESDAY 19th MARCH THROUGH TO SATURDAY 23rd MARCH.

And so as 2013 progresses, Heffernan Tyres remains at the centre of our local community in Kildare. We know that putting back is all important where relationships with our loyal customers are concerned. But mostly it's about community building, friendship and making our town and County a great place to live in.

Come out and visit us. We're sure you'll agree.

POTHOLE SEASON 2013

Ok we've all seen the video of the Corkman having a jacuzzi in a pothole. It's our understanding that the famous hole was caused by a burst water main and has since been repaired.
However this year we are seeing terrible damage to our roads. A combination of wet weather and neglect due to road maintainance cutbacks have left many of the country's roads in third world conditions.
Kildare, being a relatively flat county has an extensive network of secondary roads. Combine the aforementioned factors with a busy sand, gravel and cement industry and the result is road damage.
This year we are seeing a huge surge in damage to tyres and wheels as a result of pothole damage.

As pictured above, potholes will often just appear as puddles on the road. The first the motorist knows of it's depth is that horrible clunk on impact as the wheel strikes the pothole's edge.
Even at moderate speed, the result is all too often ''pinch rupture'' which put simply is a sidewall gash caused by the tyre being pinched between the pothole edge and the metal of the car wheel. The result is rapid deflation and immediate unrepairabilty of the tyre. This is often accompanied by wheel damage. Alloy wheels are often buckled or cracked by the impact. The bad news for the motorist on say a 5 Series BMW would be about €600 for a replacement runflat tyre and 17'' Alloy rim. Plus €50 for alignment which is always required after such an impact. All Bad News!!!!

ROBERT SZMIDOWSKI

The good news is that we have Robert Szmidoski working for us. Robert is Polish has been with us for more than five years. He is a skilled welder and tradesman and puts his hands to repairing almost anything.

Robert has a great success rate at repairing bent or cracked alloys and has saved many of our customers a lot of money with his repairs. This year he has been very busy. Pothole damage is never good news. Robert, however will take some of the pain out of it for our customers.

FIFTY SHADES OF .......................................BLACK

Ok! So what have tyres got to do with boring books? Easy; they're both boring! Or are they?
Well there's the the history of tyres that we've written about here on a few occasions. There's the marketing history which is as old as marketing itself is as a science. There's the R&D that has taken hard solid bands on trams and waggons to air filled constructions that can carry Tonnes of weight. And of course there's the mobility that they have given to us. But what are tyres actually made of?

If you've ever wondered why Bibendum is white when he's actually constructed of tyres? The answer is simple. When he was originally designed in the1890's, tyres were made of rubber. Rubber or Latex as harvested from the South American rubber tree(Hevea tree) is a milky white sap when harvested. It changes in consistency when mixed with water and other compounds and becomes elastic in texture.
With the development of rubber tyres for waggons and trams, the value of rubber  as a commodity soared. What followed was orgy of greed, slavery and destruction meted out to the South American Indians. As a people they were facing extinction at the hands of the so called rubber barons until Hevea seeds were transported to other tropical regions to be cultivated in plantations.

With the development of pneumatic tyres for bicycles in the 1880's, Carbon Black was added to improve the durability, then fabrics for support. Radial tyres (from 1946) required large proportions of steel chord for support. Oil, Hydrocarbons, Sulphur, all make up the modern tyre. In fact, these days most car tyres will typically be made up of about 20% natural rubber. The remainder being made up of the above mix and this lovely cocktail of ingredients.

The result of this is that prices of tyres are sensitive to a whole range of commodities on global markets. Natural rubber is sold by the Pound on stock exchanges and it's production can be seriously effected by weather, Tsunamis, floods , etc. Oil and steel prices change dramatically on a week to week basis.
The most recent spikes in prices and shortages of some sizes was caused by problems of supply where rubber was concerned. This appears to have stabilised and prices of tyres now seem to have reached a level where they will hopefully sit for a while.
At Heffernan Tyres, we are multi brand and so are not dependant on any one supplier. This enables us to shop around for the best value and price on premium tyres. we then purchase in bulk which again improves our price. This enables us to pass on the best possible price to our customers. And there's nothing boring about that.

SOMETIMES IT JUST GETS SILLIER AND SILLIER!

IRISH GOVERNMENT JOB CREATION POLICY.

Heffernan Tyres have been aware for some time of an ''imbalance'' in the system where legitimate tyre businesses and Government agencies are concerned. We've written about it here on a number of occasions. We see it in the approach to the sale of second hand tyres, illegal dumping and VAT fraud to name but a few areas.

We have also on a number of occasions in the past year , interviewed men for positions as Breakdown drivers for our business who had tried to start their own businesses. Some had failed or were struggling to make it work. On closer inspection, we found that a number of these men had been given financial assistance from The Department Of Social Protection to start up Truck Mobile service businesses. Sounds reasonable enough until you look at a number of factors. These men had,

• No insurance for the dangerous type of work they were doing.
• No Public Liability Insurance.
• Insufficient equipment to do their job safely.
• None of the overheads that a business such as ours has.

Yet the Department in it's wisdom sees fit to put these men into opposition against us in order to massage the unemployment register numbers. There is no doubt that some of these operators have taken work off businesses such as ours before going bang. Then there's the lost VAT, tax, PRSI,etc. But wait, it gets sillier!

An article appeared in the Irish Tyre Trade Journal last week reporting ,

''that the Department of Social Protection is purchasing workshop equipment (workshops lifts, compressors, tyre changers, wheel balancers etc.), for social welfare recipients  to help set them up in business in direct competition to existing businesses in the sector.

A number of reputable workshop equipment suppliers that do not wish to be named have confirmed to TyreTrade.ie that they have been paid by the Department of Social Protection for equipment that was purchased on behalf social welfare recipients.
It has also been alleged though not confirmed, that some of the equipment which has been purchased with government funds, has been shipped overseas.''

The Representative body for the Irish Tyre Industry, ITIA, has responded with concern and will hopefully be verifying the details with a view to action in the coming weeks.

We are all in favour of job creation. But job creation means creation of sustainable jobs not quick fixes that jeopardises legitimate business. Our business makes significant tax contributions to the government. The least we expect in return is a level playing field. We are not getting it.

''If you always do what you've always done, You'll always get what you've always got''

''If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got''

DEBRA SEARLE MBE

One of my personal favourite sayings. Logical and to the point. I originally thought it was coined by Transatlantic solo rower Debra Searle, but have since seen the saying attributed to everyone from Henry Ford to Socrates. No matter! The saying is as relevant in business as it is in life.

No matter how good we are at anything there is room for improvement and we will not improve unless we tweak, change or totally overhaul the way that we have previously done things.

New year is traditionally the time of year that we make resolutions to be better than we have been. Whether by being fitter, healthier, nicer. The gyms and sports clubs do well out of it as do the smoking replacements and the clean living books.

In business we have an opportunity to look at the year that was 2012. To evaluate where we got it right or wrong and to make changes accordingly. Were there opportunities missed or not maximised? Are there areas of our service that we can improve on?

We will be doing this at Heffernan Tyres this week. Setting our direction for 2013 and ensuring the continued success of our business. We will almost certainly be broadening our service offer and growing our business significantly in 2013. We will be confident that we can achieve growth by being adventurous, trying new things and building on the services where we are already successful.
It is often prudent to change by increments. The famous JND(just noticeable difference). And just like our friend Monsieur Bibendum, in time you look back and hardly recognise yourself. Happy New Year!

CONTINENTAL. '' THE WORLD AT THEIR FEET ''

With the successful conclusion  of Euro 2012 this year it seems right and fitting that Continental Tyre Group continues it's growing relationship with the beautiful game. They have successfully signed a contract as sponsor and official tyre for Brazil 2014. Not only has the partnership been a success for both parties to date but some of the associated ad campaigns have been awarded for their inventiveness also. The ''Don't miss the Big Game''campaign for South Africa 2010 was well recognised for it's contribution to the tournament and included a competition to find Britain's best football fan as well as a generous donation to the Black Rhino Conservation Fund. In general, Continental have proved an excellent ''fit'' as a football sponsor. No controversies or health contradictions. Just a strong corporate brand with a great product and a commitment to energy conservation.

This successful partnership for Brazil 2014 will cap off what has been a very successful year for the German manufacturer. From September Continental AG has been listed in the top Deutshe Borse segment again, having returned to the category of most valuable companies in Germany after four dynamic years of growth and capital investment. The company is now turning over in excess of €30 billion and employs over 170,000 people worldwide. These figures represent a massive turnaround for the company given the scepticism surrounding their takeover by AG Schaeffler at the start of the financial crisis in 2008.
Excellent product innovations in recent years backed by creative product releases and marketing strategies would suggest that Continental has many more good years ahead. Their R&D is the amongst the best in the industry and new technologies around energy saving such as ''Black Chilli'' technology have enhanced the company's environmental reputation.

On a local level, We at Heffernan Tyres have had an excellent year with Continental Tyre Group.

In May 2012 ,our MD, Thomas Heffernan attended the official launch of the new Conti Premium Contact 5 in Barcelona. The presentation at the launch has been dubbed ''the best tyre presentation ever'' by the automotive media.

Continental sponsored several Irish initiatives in 2012 including Irish Car of the year 2013 and Irish tyre retailer of the year. We expect further initiatives in the coming years. 

Our Continental team consisting of Lucy Edwards, Georgina Twohig and Darren Meikle have worked closely with us in 2012 and we look forward to growing our business with them in 2013.

In retail, being the best requires having the best merchandise available for your customers. And at the moment Continental tyres are ticking all the boxes that we require at Heffernan Tyres.