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CHINESE TYRES
Chinese Truck Tyres – The State of Play in the UK
Preparing a feature about Chinese truck tyres is an interesting exercise, because it immediately begs the question; What actually marks out a tyre as being Chinese? Most major tyre manufacturers now have manufacturing plants in China, other private brands designed elsewhere are contract manufactured in China and some of the largest Chinese-owned manufacturers are now looking at manufacturing outside of their domestic market. So is talking about Chinese tyres not largely superfluous? Should we not be talking about world tyres?
Well, in truth, it’s probably a bit early for that, but the point should not be ignored. Tyre manufacturing these days is a global business. Let’s take, for example, the case of GiTi, owners of the GT Radial
too keen on being lumped together with other under the all- encompassing banner of “Chinese tyres”.
And that is the nub of the problem. A large proportion of the market tends not to differentiate between manufacturers from China and associates ever y China-made product with the countless e-mails anyone who has the slightest connection with the tyre industr y receives from brokers selling Chinese tyres as a commodity. People have been put off by a historical bad image, variable quality and the kind of direct marketing style that we are not used to in the west.
However, there is no doubt that the leading China-based tyre manufacturers are now major players in the world market, and it
Global Business Center based in Shanghai.
Of the other leading Chinese brands, Aeolus, Double Coin and Westlake are probably the most prominent. Each of these manufacturers leaves its marketing to major wholesalers. However, in all cases, the wholesaler in question plays an active role in the development of the brand in its area and is not just selling a commodity. In the UK Aeolus is marketed by Kings Road Tyres (in continental Europe by Heuver Banden). It is significant that when KRT appears at the CV Show or Brityrex, it is under the Aeolus banner – heavily branded. In fact, the two companies recently marked ten years of working together, showing that Chinese manufacturers have been active in the UK for a substantial period of time.
According to Tim Bader, KRT Group’s Operations Manager, continuity of supply is a key factor in building customer confidence in new brands. “Chinese manufacturers are enormously ambitious about growing their business in export markets. In
case of Aeolus, working with a partner such as KRT for a long
has given them a detailed understanding of local customer requirements. We have worked closely with Aeolus to develop truck tyres that meet the established needs of UK customers. By producing quality tyres with retreadable casings Aeolus has been able to create a premium quality position in the market at a time when some other Chinese brands are regarded as one-life, throw away products with no residual casing value.”
While Aeolus offers a wide range
that covers most popular applications, KRT also recognise the market demand for even more keenly priced products, which it meets by supplying three other Chinese truck brands in Antyre, Fullrun and Blacklion.
“We supply customers from national fleets running sophisticated tyre management contracts through to price conscious owner-operators, so it’s important that we can offer products to suit every budget, which our multi-brand policy is designed to achieve,” explains Bader.
Double Coin also has strong support from its UK distributor, Kirkby Tyres, who also have a multi- brand approach, selling Double Coin and Sailun through different channels.
The Westlake brand in Europe is handled by the Dubai based Al Dobowi Group, who then appoint sub-dealers for specific regions. In the UK, they have appointed the leading independent retreader Vacu- Lug, as its agent, largely because of the retreader’s ability to provide a complete new tyre and retread service package direct to fleets. Al Dobowi follow a similar strategy with the Linglong brand, which is distributed via the East London based retreader, G&S Tyres, as do Bandvulc, who are the importers of the Boto brand.
This brings us onto the Al Dobowi Group’s other main brand, the private brand Infinity. This is perhaps the leading example of a private tyre brand, developed outside China, but then contract manufactured by one of the major Chinese manufacturers. Other prominent examples of this are the Torque brand (marketed by Treadsetters) and SD International’s
Double Coin is among the leading Chinese truck tyre brands - distributed in the UK by Kirkby Tyres
brand. The company, which is headquartered in Singapore, prefers to define itself as a global tyre manufacturer. The company has a sizeable European management contingent with an extensive R&D and testing facilities in Hannover, Germany and at MIRA in the UK. Unlike most of the Chinese manufacturers they have a locally supported marketing structure that involves direct supply to the trade and does not involve the use of wholesalers. They just happen to have most of their manufacturing facilities in China (they also have a 49% share in the Indonesian manufacturer PT Gadjah Tunggal and recently announced plans for a new tyre plant in South Carolina). Despite all this, many still see GiTi as a Chinese company, a perception, which the company is keen to change.
And they are not alone. There are other manufacturers, much more Chinese than GiTi who are also not
is therefore no surprise that they wish to disassociate themselves from others in the sector who are further down the quality scale.
The way Chinese tyres are marketed in the UK varies widely. Most are sold through the wholesale trade but with var ying levels of marketing support from the wholesalers themselves.
One or two manufacturers have taken GiTi’s lead and established Europe-based marketing offices, staffed with Europeans and charged with developing products and marketing programmes suited to the European market. Sailun is typical of this type of company and it is no surprise to see them developing their market presence. In the UK Sailun truck tyres are distributed by Kirkby Tyres but backed up with Sailun Europe’s marketing support. Another company who have recently announced this kind of strategy is Triangle, who earlier this year announced the formation of a
the time
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