THE TIRE COLOGNE: Three questions to Yorick M. Lowin

Please introduce yourself shortly.

My name is Yorick M. Lowin, I am forty years old, married, and father of two children. Since January 1, 2017, I am the managing director of the Federal Association of Tire Dealers and Vulkaniseur-Handwerk e. V. (BRV) in Bonn, Germany. In the summer of 2017, when our CEO Peter Hülzer retires after three decades, Hans-Jürgen Drechsler and I will take over the management of our association. Originally, I am a commercial lawyer and have already worked in leading positions for trade associations in other sectors before starting at BRV.

What are your expectations for THE TIRE COLOGNE?

For me, the premiere of the TTC will also be a premiere of a tire industry fair. I expect and believe that the TTC will be the new leading trade fair for the tire industry. The present registration status confirms this expectation. The Koelnmesse has played a key role in this: It has proven in the past that they are capable of continuously developing fairs through its international and professional presence on one of the world's biggest exhibition areas, opening up new markets as well as new target groups.

What future challenges does the BRV currently face?

The future challenges of the BRV arise from the challenges of the industry: The average driving performance of the Germans decreases as a result of a change in mobility, the quality of the product 'tire' is steadily improving, thus the operating life increases. The market is saturated. There is a strong displacement competition. Driven by this insight, companies are trying to specialize or expand their classic service portfolio. Today, the one-stop-service concept is often taken up: In addition to the core business of 'tires', the 'car service' is also a second stand. In turn, car repair shops are increasingly focusing on the 'tire' business segment besides their core business. In my opinion, it’s a very important task of the BRV to accompany and support our current and future members in this change of their service offers while always keeping an eye on our core competency 'tires'.

In your eyes, what are the benefits of a trade fair which is clearly focussing on the tire industry?

Tires are high tech products that are constantly undergoing further development. Also, their handling in terms of montage, maintenance and upkeep is getting more and more demanding. Since tires are safety-relevant components, they have to be absolutely reliable as they bring all elaborated safety features of a car “onto the road”. In that regard, to me, it’s obvious that the tire industry needs THE TIRE COLOGNE as an international platform. For exhibitors and visitors, it will be the new meeting point for driving future directions as well as for discussing the industry’s challenges, trends and best practices.