At a recent event, MTD had the opportunity to talk with Tom Brackin, CEO of American Omni Trading Co. (AOT), and his son, AOT President Chris Brackin, as well as Tom’s wife, Kathy, who is the company’s credit manager, about AOT’s strategies and success for the past 34 years.
The family-run company currently employs 64 people, with its headquarters in Katy, Texas. The company has 18 people, including engineers, in its China office that opened in 2006.
“Our success is directly related to the team that we’ve put together over the years, as well as the incredible support of the manufacturers we use, along with our great customers,” said Tom. He did not say what the company’s current sales volume was, but did say AOT is importing 1,000 containers per month.
Chris said his father understands how to work with people. “He met people on the floor of shows and factories and kept in touch with them and today, they have worked their way to the top of their companies.”
In fact, it was a chance meeting at the Singapore Trade Show in 1993 when Tom first met Jane Vongsariyavanich, current CEO of Deestone Tire, who was just starting her career at the time. The two kept in touch and in 1994, Deestone signed an agreement with AOT to sell its tires.
As with many companies, AOT made numerous changes to navigate its way through the pandemic. Tom said the company switched to a hybrid work strategy. “We put our trust in our team that they would work and they delivered.”
Another key component was listening to customers. Kathy said this required flexibility on the credit side as supply-chain issues, as well as tariff fluctuations, were constant issues.
Tom was quick to point out that “tariffs are not going away. They have been very helpful in allowing the majors (tire manufacturers) to maintain their higher prices.”
Looking toward the future, Chris said the company is going to be moving into other segments for growth through diversification. He declined to say what areas the company is looking at right now.
Chris also said AOT continues to automate and look for efficiency in everything that it does.
The company’s Logistic Management System (LMS) now allows for customers to track where their tires are at in the distribution process on a day-to-day basis, from the time they are on the boat until they arrive at the customer’s door.
From a product portfolio standpoint, Chris said the company is researching an electric vehicle tire line, but does not have a timeframe for it. AOT does have plans to introduce nine new tire lines, with some lines coming this year and the rest slated for the first quarter of 2025.
In addition to its Thunderer and Americus tire lines, AOT currently distributes the Vercelli, Venezia, Deestone, Crop Max, Nutech, Omni-Cargo, Lancaster and Transmax tire lines.
Tom said there are no plans to sell the company.
“My goal is to continue to build AOT, along with mentoring my son. We believe in relationships and having a high level of transparency and honesty. That means everything to us.”
Along those lines, the company will be celebrating its 35th anniversary in business next year and Tom, while not being specific, said he has big plans he is putting in place for celebrating that achievement.
