The latest Industry Report issued by Grand View Research, suggests that the Global Automotive Aftermarket is valued at around 390 Billion US Dollars and it’s still growing. The customisation market is driven by the pursuit of car owners to enhance their vehicles in terms of performance and appearance parameters but two brothers from the East Midlands think that custom car fans may be missing a trick.
Words: Amander Meade
Customising your vehicle can make it stand out from the crowd and turn heads with added spoilers, new paint jobs and remodelled suspensions being just the tip of the iceberg. Twenty seven year old twins from Leicestershire, Adam and Tom Gill, realised that tyre walls are an often overlooked opportunity for high performance branding and have set about capturing the market in the UK and beyond with their company – the aptly named Tyre Wall Stickers (www.tyrewallstickers.com).
What exactly does Tyre Wall Stickers offer?
We specialise in the design and manufacture of unique, customisable tyre stickers (or decals) that permanently adhere to tyre sidewalls and various other rubber components. They’re suitable for anything with a tyre – cars, trucks, vans, lorries, quad bikes, motor bikes – you name it.
How did you come up with the idea?
We’re freelance designers and entrepreneurs and we identified a need for more affordable and readily available tyre stickers. We’d seen lots of great examples on YouTube while browsing US motor festival footage and were impressed by the range of tyre stickers they use there. When we tried to get hold of some for ourselves, we discovered they were expensive and tricky to get hold of so the seed of the idea to change that was sown.
How did the products develop?
We began researching materials and after collecting and collating a huge amount of technical data, we eventually tested combinations until we successfully developed our own unique compound. The result was a multi-layered material; the layers are crucial as they prevent the anti-oxidants leaking from the tyre and causing staining from the inside out – ruining the sticker. We worked hard to identify all the potential problems or areas of concern, such as staining and cracking, and we found solutions to make sure our product would be perfect.
Although our company is called Tyre Wall Stickers – the product is not strictly a sticker. It’s a permanent, raised, 1mm rubber decal that adheres to the tyre wall… but that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue so Tyre Wall Stickers was born.
Who uses them and why?
All kinds of car enthusiasts or people who are really wanting to stand out from the crowd. At any show or car meet, you’ll see almost every modification possible on show – often with the exception of the tyres. It’s the final piece in the puzzle and always finishes the look.
Which brands or high profile clients have you worked with?
Fans of ‘The Grand Tour’ (Amazon) might remember the ‘Lochdown’ episode. Filmed during lockdown after the pandemic put paid to plans to film in Russia, Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond were spotted driving around the Highlands in American muscle cars. Our stickers featured on Jeremy Clarkson’s modified Lincoln Continental and we heard that the presenters loved them! We’ve also supplied SEAT, Hankook and Yiannimize.
Other sporting champions and celebrity car lovers are loving the product too - Premier League footballer and Captain of Arsenal Football Club, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang bought a set for his Lamborghini Aventador and 2020 Ferrari Challenge World Champion, professional racing driver Florian Merckx purchased a set of our custom Michelin decals for his Ferrari 488 Pista Piloti Edition. He actually loved the results even more than we loved working with him. His set were fitted by Ferrari technicians in Monaco and he commissioned a professional photographer to take some pictures for us which was awesome.
Can they add value?
We’re not affiliated with any particular tyre manufacturer but we have been involved in all kinds of customisation projects from a James Bond Lotus Esprit replica to classic cars, muscle cars, super cars and everything in between including dailies. In terms of branding it’s a failsafe attention seeker. Our customers are strong advocates of representing the brands that they use, sometimes in an inconspicuous way. Our decals offer the opportunity to give the world notice of your brand of choice. Of course the value to the individual is the expression of their personality.
What’s the process exactly – do you design decals for individual clients?
All we need from a client is their vehicle’s tyre size and their idea. We will provide a full consultation service if they’re undecided and are even able to show them a digital mock-up of how their tyre will look so they can make an informed decision without the guesswork.
Are the decal sets manufactured in the UK?
All design and manufacture is kept in-house in the UK. Even our adhesive gel is made specifically for us here. We feel it’s important that we retain absolute control over quality, service and response.
What is the price of a set?
There’s no one size fits all product as each set is bespoke. We charge from £84.99 for a full set of decals or a custom designed set for £89.99. We offer add on flares and stripes too. Whatever the client can imagine we can produce. We can’t think of any other way to customise a vehicle for this amount of money to get such a powerful visual impact. They’re great value for money.
Who are the customers you’re not reaching?
We’d love to reach more modified car owners. Obviously when events and festivals start to get back to normal we’re planning to attend as many as we can so look out for us.