Trimax Tire is on the move. The company, which is owned by Maxion International, is rolling out two new products – its first all-weather offering, plus a dedicated winter tire - this year. The firm also continues to expand existing lines.
Trimax’s new distribution center in Quindao, China, is shipping product. And the company is adding to its U.S. dealer base.
“We need to have distribution in all 50 states,” says Trimax CEO Stanley Wang, who shares more about his company’s plans in this MTD exclusive.
MTD: What are your company's long-term and short-term plans for the U.S. market?
Wang: We have successfully secured Chinese brands that needed representation in the U.S. To do this, we established Trimax Tire in the U.S., which is the importer of record, handling all the logistic needs, plus (Trimax) pays all duties, federal excise tax, tariffs and other taxes.
In turn, Chris Tolbert, (our) director of sales, has hired an experienced team with feet on the ground, expanding distribution.
We are still a small, young company that has many opportunities to grow with current distribution and many areas of open distribution.
MTD: Trimax continues to expand its product offerings across all of its brands, including Farroad, Haida, Saferich, MileKing and Kapsen. Why is it important to maintain a steady cadence of new tire introductions?
Wang: Globally, the U.S. is an important market for replacement tires. We currently do not intend to add any more tire brands. Our goal is to grow the quality tire brands that we represent.
With the Haida brand, we partnered and invested in some of the newer pattern molds – the Haida MT HD869 and Haida UHP HD937. We are also involved with the development of new patterns and sizes.
MTD: What is Trimax's brand strategy in the U.S.? How do you position each of your brands?
Wang: Our market niche is quality opening price point, sold delivered-duty-paid, in a timely manner - less than 90 days. Haida is our flagship go-to, with Farroad, Kapsen, MileKing and Saferich closely behind
MTD: During the 2022 SEMA Show, you mentioned that Trimax's parent company was opening a 100,000-square-foot mixing warehouse in Qingdao, China, that will give Trimax the ability to mix brands in single containers. How is the new distribution center coming along? Has it opened yet? Are you shipping out of it?
Wang: We are now working out of the new, 100,000-square-foot warehouse in Qingdao, China. This has helped us with staging product orders closer to the shipping port to manage much quicker lead time logistics. As time progresses this year, we will move further into mixing distribution needs with multiple product offerings.
MTD: Are you planning any investments in your manufacturing plants this year or next year? If so, are you able to provide details?
Wang: We will continue to invest in molds for new products this year (and) next year if there are tire replacement market needs. Later this year, we will share products introduced at SEMA.
MTD: What is Trimax's distribution strategy in the U.S.? Are you mainly focusing on big wholesale-distributors, retailers or a mix of both? Are there any geographic "white spaces" that you want to fill with new distribution?
Wang: We need to have distribution in all 50 states of the U.S. market. Martin Marquez does very well for us in California. Last year, we added Frank Frattale, an experienced salesperson, for the Southeast and he has added 12 new distributors. This year, we added Edwin Corleto, an experienced salesperson, for the Northeast and he has already added six new distributors.
We focus on a mix of wholesale and retail distribution, which must have warehouses. Some importers have opened warehouses and they end up competing with wholesale distribution. We will continue to expand when we feel it makes good business sense.
MTD: What's your take on the current supply situation?
Wang: The rollercoaster of supply has settled down. Recently, we have seen vessel space cut back, with sea freight pricing slightly increasing. One of the items we take much pride in is (that) many of our distributors have mentioned we have been very consistent and visible, with no surprises.
