Chch importer defends tyres

Press, 1 September 1989, Page 7

Chch importer defends tyres

By

CLARE BARRY

The owner of a Christchurch business which imports used tyres from Japan says tyres can be in bad condition no matter where they come from. The owner of Economy Tyres, Mr Kevin Moreton, was concerned at an article in “The Press” about a tyre fitter who had come across badly weathered tyres on a Japanese imported car. The tyres were on the car when it arrived in New Zealand, whereas Mr Moreton imports used tyres separately, which go through a cleaning and safety-checking process.

He imports about 900 tyres every six weeks through a wholesaler, and said any damaged tyres were thrown out. Mr Moreton said he believed the Japanese tyre business suffered from the same misconceptions as Japanese imported cars often did. He said he began his business because he saw an opportunity to supply cheaper tyres to the lower end of the market. The import of used Japanese cars had helped the imported tyre business because local producers could not match Japanese brand names and tread patterns.