IN THIS ISSUE - - Fleet first

VOLUME 3 ISSUE 1 APRIL 2006IN THIS ISSUE - Fleet First – thewidest range oftire services onthe market GoodyearDunlop winsEurope’s largesttruck tire deal TIP – more thanjust trailer hire Goodyear withRenault on theLisbon – DakarRally Direct Shipmentfor betterservice tocustomers Your free cutoutRenaultKerax

V OLUME 3 I SSUE 1T RUC K T I RE N EWSPAGE 2Europe’s Most Comprehensive Fleet ServiceGoodyear Dunlop has launched Fleet First - abrand new name in truck and coach tire supportand service. Fleet First is a comprehensiveprogram that encompasses the widest range ofservices and products available to European fleetcustomers.Fleet First incorporates and enhances existingservices, including:-· TruckForce· ServiceLine 24h· Mobility· FleetOnlineSolutions· Next TreadFleet First will be used as a platform for theintroduction of new services in the future. WithFleet First, Goodyear Dunlop is able to present tothe European truck and coach industry a packageof services which it is able to tailor to eachindividual customer’s needs.“Fleet First is a fleet management tool kit,” saidPietro Saletta Marketing Director Truck TiresEurope. “Until now, each of the services we offeredhas been marketed as a separate tool rather thanthem all being integrated and presented together asa tool kit, with the added benefits that offers.“We believe that we offer customers, in particularcommercial vehicle fleet operators, the best rangeof tire support services available in Europe. Manytruck fleets are changing their approach to fleetmanagement with regard to tires. They want toaccurately budget for their tires. They need asupplier that can take care of all aspects from theOE fitment thru regrooving and retreading toreplacements, as well as one that offers fullroadside support across the continent, 24/7. Notonly that, they want one invoice per month, theability to access their key performance indicators atany time and a ‘one stop shop’. Fleet First does allthat.”TruckForce is Goodyear Dunlop’s pan-Europeanservice network of approved tire service providers.With over 1,550 workshops covering the whole ofEurope, TruckForce provides operators withassured service on all major routes. Each locationprovides trained personnel and the equipmentnecessary to do any job.ServiceLine24h provides roadside assistance 24/7and covers the whole of Europe. The multi-lingualcontrol center speaks 11 languages. With itsunique mapping system and intimate knowledge oftruck tires and the service providers, it ensuresminimum downtime in any situation. It alsoprovides the operator with the ability to monitor avehicle’s situation via the Internet usingRoadsideAssistanceSolutions. This gives ‘real time’information on the call-out, from the moment thedriver calls the special number to the sign-off of therepair. The operator can track the progress of eachelement of the repair which helps with planning,particularly on vehicles with timed deliveries.Mobility is the most recently introducedenhancement to Goodyear Dunlop’s commercialvehicle services. For a small annual subscription, itprovides cost-free tire-related roadside assistanceacross 32 European countries for trucks andtrailers. It also includes other back-up servicesincluding tele-routing, traffic information, atranslation service and free driver accommodation.FleetOnlineSolutions is Goodyear Dunlop’s fleetmanagement system. Via the internet, it links tireservice providers directly to fleet customers’ fleetcontract information. This enables work to becarried out at TruckForce workshops acrossEurope which exactly meets the customers’specifications at agreed prices and without thelengthy delays that obtaining guarantees ofpayment can often involve. It also providescustomers with on-line tire managementinformation and can massively reduce the amountof paperwork and invoices that fleets regularly face.Next Tread is the name for all Goodyear andDunlop retreads. Covering hundreds of sizes andpatterns, Next Tread products meet the exactingstandards expected of new tires and help reduceoperating costs and waste.

V OLUME 3 I SSUE 1T RUC K T I RE N EWSPAGE 3“Goodyear Dunlop Wins Europe’s Biggest Truck Tire Deal”Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe has signed a contractto supply tires to trailer rental company TIP TrailerServices, which is believed to be Europe’s largesttruck tire deal. With over 70,000 trailers based atover 100 locations in 21 countries, TIP TrailerServices, part of the Equipment Services Europegroup of GE, has one of the largest fleets in Europe.The contract covers the supply and management ofGoodyear and Dunlop tires on all trailers in the fleet.This means that Goodyear Dunlop will supply thecompany with approximately 90,000 tires per year.TIP Trailer Services has its Europeanheadquarters in Amsterdam, TheNetherlands. It offers financing andasset management solutions forbusinesses, in the form of leasing, rentaland sales of trailers and tankers for roadand inter-modal transport. TIP TrailerServices’ tire policy means that all newtrailers and tankers will be supplied withGoodyear or Dunlop tires as originalequipment fitment. All new replacementtires will also be Goodyear or Dunlop andretreads will be Next Tread, theGoodyear Dunlop brand.The basis for the new business isFleetOnlineSolutions, which is GoodyearDunlop’s fleet management system. Viathe internet, it links tire service providersdirectly to TIP’s f leet contractinformation. This enables work to be carried out atTruckForce workshops across Europe which exactlymeets TIP Trailer Services’ specifications, at agreedprices and without the lengthy delays that obtainingguarantees of payment can often involve. It alsoprovides on-line tire management information to bothparties and will massively reduce the paperwork.Paul BeadleTruckForce, with 1,550 plus workshops strategicallycovering the whole of Europe was crucial, in theagreement as the service provider. Also crucial wasServiceLine24h, which provides roadside assistance24/7 and also covers the whole of Europe. It ensuresminimum downtime in any situation and provides TIPTrailer Services with the ability to monitor a vehicle’ss i t u a t i o n v i a t h e I n t e r n e t u s i n gRoadsideAssistanceSolutions. This gives ‘real time’information on the call-out, from the moment the driverreports the incident to the sign-off of the repair. In thisway, the progress of each element of therepair can be tracked by TIP TrailerServices thus helping planning,particularly on vehicles on timeddeliveries.“We are absolutely delighted to havebeen chosen by TIP as its tire supplier”,said Henry Johnson, Managing DirectorTruck Tires Europe. “In particular, it isthe hard work we have done indeveloping our systems and network thatis highlighted by this success. By this Iespecially mean FleetOnlineSolutionsand TruckForce of which we are veryproud. Today in the truck tire world it isnot enough to have the best tires; youmust also be able to deliver the bestservice and systems.”Added Paul Beadle, Operations DirectorEurope, TIP Trailer Services : “With our passion forimprovement, allied with the products andinfrastructure of Goodyear Dunlop, we will deliver realtimedata, historical analysis and managementreporting that will enable us and our customers tobetter manage our businesses. This is a realpartnership.”

V OLUME 3 I SSUE 1T RUC K T I RE N EWSA profile of TIP Trailer ServicesPAGE 4TIP Trailer Services, part of the Equipment ServicesEurope group of GE, gives logistics customersrental, maintenance and funding solutions. Headquarteredin Amsterdam, TIP Trailer Services hasover 100 branches in 21 countries across Europe –with ongoing expansion in progress.Having over 70,000 units on the roadmakes TIP Trailer Services an industryleader, with one of the largest and mostdiverse trailer fleets in Europe.TIP is part of the General Electric Corporationwhich is a US $145 billion globalbusiness employing over 300,000 people.One of the six core business areasin which GE operates in the Industrial segment isEquipment Services – focused on helping businessesmanage, finance and operate a wide varietyof commercial vehicles, trucks, trailers, railcars,tankers, plant hire and modular buildings. TIPTrailer Services is a part of that group and coversthe whole of Western Europe as well as the CzechRepublic, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Romania andSlovakia.The leasing side provides best practice leasing solutionswith many years experience to back it. TIP isprobably best known for trailer rental, which rangesfrom a single day’s spot hire to a fully supportedcontract hire package. Another option is sale andleaseback. This allows balance sheet restructuringby a company selling its trailers to TIP and thenleasing them back. Last is purchase option.TIP offers nine basic types of trailer for highway andintermodal use, including flats, tilts, double deckers,skeletals, curtainsiders, reefers and tankers. Therange of tankers is highly specialized, covering liquidADR and foodstuffs tankers, tipping and nontippingpowder silos, vacuum waste tankers, intermodalliquid and powder tanks and even gully emptiers.Supporting its operations and customers, TIP has acomprehensive range of services. These include a24/7 emergency service, which can provide replacementtrailers as well as full maintenance andrepair support. Within this are trailer washingservices, regulatory inspections and testing.Storage, with a wide range of trailerunits for use as storage facilities includingcold storage, and moving bill-boards, usingtrailers to promote products and servicesare further services provided.TIP’s latest news is the creation of a new regionwithin its Central Europe region. The new region,will comprise Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakiaand Romania. "We are very excited about thecreation of the Eastern Europe region in our organization,"said Bob Fast, CEO TIP Trailer Services: " It iscrucial that we have the capacity to react quickly to ourcustomers’ needs, and in this new organization, ourteam will be able to make decisions and meet our customers’requirements even more quickly than before."Eastern Europe is part of the Central Region, which includednot only the Eastern European countries, butthe German speaking countries as well. The region isnow split into two: Central Europe: Germany, Austriaand Switzerland and Eastern Europe: Poland, Hungary,Czech Republic, Slovakia and RomaniaBob Fast concludes: "Eastern Europe offers tremendousgrowth opportunities for us and by investing inpeople and resources in Eastern Europe, we are provingthat we are committed to our customers - and potentialcustomers - in this region."Daimler-Chrysler and Germany top in 2005New truck registrations (3.5 tonnes and above) for 2005 show that Daimler-Chrysler, or to be more precise, MercedesBenz was the clear leading manufacturer in Western Europe with just over 82,000 registrations. With amarket share of 22.9%, the German manufacturer was ahead of Fiat (predominately Iveco) with 16%, MAN with14%. DAF (11.9%), Renault (10.4%), Volvo (10.4%) and Scania (9.2%) made up the rest of main players.The EU and EFTA market for commercial vehicles of over 3.5 tonnes rose by 6.4% in 2005 with Germany theclear leader as in 2004, with just under 97,000 registrations. The UK remained second, with close to 60,000, butwith France almost catching them; the French market being particularly strong during the year. The ranking forthe other top markets remained the same, with Spain 4 th , Italy 5 th , Netherlands 6 th , Belgium 7 th , Austria 8 th , Norway9 th , with the exception of Denmark which just overtook Sweden into 10 th place.The markets with the biggest swings were Luxembourg, which had an increase of 37.1% - albeit to a market sizeof 1,423, Denmark 28.4%, Ireland 19.1%, Belgium 17.4% and France 17.3%. The negative swingers wereGreece with -17.5%, Finland -12.7% and Austria -8%.This year up to the end of February, the EU and EFTA market has dropped by almost 6%. The larger marketsshowing the greatest negative swings are Austria, Belgium, Denmark and France, with drops of between about27% and 25%. Positive trends of around 17% - 20% took place in Norway, Greece and Ireland and trends of over10% were seen in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Portugal.

V OLUME 3 I SSUE 1T RUC K T I RE N EWSPAGE 5Goodyear on the Lisbon – Dakar RallyThe 2006 Lisbon – Dakar Rally, which at one timewas the Paris – Dakar Rally, lived up to its reputationas being one of the toughest motorsport events in theworld. Starting on January 1, the competitors in cars,trucks and on motorcycles suffered the extremes ofheat and terrain on their two-week and 9,000 kilometermarathon.A record 240 motorcycles, 188 cars, 80 trucks and240 support vehicles departed from Lisbon. Twoweeks of physical and mental torture later and acrossthe finishing line in Dakar, on the Senegal coast,passed 93 motorcycles, 68 cars and 33 trucks.Running in parallel with the entrants, Renault Truckssupplied two Renault Kerax service trucks, one ofwhich was shod with Goodyear Offroad ORD tires. Effectivelyworkshops on wheels and run by a team of sixpeople, these 6x6 trucks followed the event, stoppingat each stage’s service area. Not only were they helpingthe other Renaults but also supporting any vehiclethat hit problems en route.Twelve Kerax trucks were involved in the rally in theT4 category for trucks over 3.5 tonnes built for roughterrain as standard. Of those, eight were racing ofwhich three made it to the end. There was havoc inthis year’s race in terms of pull-outs and technicalproblems for every competitor in all categories. Proudof their achievement, the survivors mounted the LacRose podium. The end was time for some well-earnedrest for the teams in the 100 service cars and as manytrucks. For over nearly three weeks, these men andwomen have worked day and night to repair the damagecaused by increasingly long and arduous routes.For the two Renault Truck support teams, the adventureended with hours and hours of sleep to catch upon, but heads full of memories and endless stories.The 2006 Dakar was faithful to the rally’s tradition ofadventure, joy and difficulties and the Dakar myth liveson…

Build your own Renault Kerax Lisbon – Dakar Truck

V OLUME 3 I SSUE 1T RUC K T I RE N EWSPAGE 7Centralized Logistics Improves ServiceGoodyear and Dunlop truck tire customers acrossEurope will benefit from a major improvement inservice through the direct delivery of products fromthe plants in Germany and Luxembourg. The benefitswill come from reliable on-time deliveries, a vitalelement of successful tire management planning.Goodyear began piloting direct shipment in Francelast September. The current phase sees the introductionof the Nordic countries, Switzerland andAustria. The UK, Spain and Portugal will follow next,with Italy, Greece and Ireland completing the project.The Benelux countries have been served direct fromLuxembourg and Germany for about five years. Bythe final quarter of 2006, three quarters of all deliveriesacross Europe will be made by direct shipment.Tires are transported from distribution centers inColmar Berg, Luxembourg and Wittlich, Germany.The two are adjacent to the Goodyear and Dunlopmain European truck tire manufacturing plants andtheir central position in Europe makes them ideallylocated for a hub operation. In this respect, becausethey are only 80 kms apart and the products manufacturedat the two locations, they are treated as onedistribution point. This means that it’s often possiblefor one truck to load at both locations for the samedelivery. The completion of the brand new state-ofthe-artdistribution center in Wittlich last year was akey element in the project.The system is simple. The dealer orders tires in thelocal ordering system. Provided a minimum quantityis ordered, these are delivered from Luxembourgand/or Wittlich direct to the dealer’s premises. Priorto the project’s inception, the dealer’s order wouldhave been put together with other orders, creating alarge stock order. That would have been subsequentlydelivered to the distribution center in thatcountry or region. The dealer’s part of that largeshipment would have been separated out and reloadedonto another vehicle for delivery to the dealerwhich took longer and cost more.The reduction in the logistics’ costs achieved by directshipment is significant and is a key part of thecompany’s marketing strategy. The key concept ofNEWS AND INFORMATION FROM GOODYEAR DUNLOP TIRES EUROPEPublished by – Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe B.V., Park Lane, Culliganlaan 2A, B-1831Diegem, BelgiumEditor – Pietro Saletta Marketing Director Truck Tires EuropePhone: +32 (0)2 761 18 43 Telefax: +32 (0)2 761 18 95 Email: TruckTireNews@goodyear.comWebsites – www.goodyear.com – www.dunlop-tires.comthe project is not only to speed up delivery but alsoto be reliable. It is vital in the truck business to deliverthe tires a customer has ordered on the promiseddate. A VOR (Vehicle Off the Road) orderingsystem for urgently required tires is also available.“This is a team effort involving the customers, dealersand our production facilities,” said Behcet Toker,manager, product supply for commercial tires in EUand EEMEA. for Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe.“With truck tires, because of efficient tire managementprograms, forward planning is more achievablethan with most other types of tire. This means thatmany of those tires we supply can be pre-orderedand we can guarantee their delivery. Typically, thedealer pre-orders tires to be available on the date thecustomer wants them fitted, ensuring minimum vehicledown-time. This means he is able to offer thecustomer a better service.“Direct Shipment not only means that our distributioncosts are lower but it also helps forward planning atthe production plants. It is important to rememberthat there are far more truck tire sizes produced todaythan there were only a few years ago and themarket has become far more sophisticated. This enhancementenables us to provide tires on time withoutthe need for large quantities to be stored in manylocations.”A number of transport companies are used to offerthe best possible service in each country. Transportcompanies involved include Wallenborn, EwalsCargo Care, Trossen, Greif, Lies, Bourin, Breger,Lentz, DHL Danzas, Eddie Stobart, DFDS, Euroute,Norfolkline, Schenker, Fixmer and Geest. Typically,a truck will carry between 200 and 220 tires. Ideallya delivery will consist of up to three drops, whichmeans orders of about 60 to 70 tires per dealer.However, there is a minimum order size of 20tires provided the accompanying orders are sufficient.If a single order is not large enough then itis delivered via the distribution center for thatmarket, a system which is called ‘cross docking’.The distribution centers in Luxembourg and Wittlichcurrently operate five days a week on a twoshift basis.Produced for Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe B.V. by Chantry Communications, Silverstone, UK