A true tire show

Tire companies, dealers get serious at SEMA Show

By: Mike Manges

At first glance, it would have been tempting to define the Tires, Wheels & Equipment section of last month’s Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show by who was not there.

Foot traffic was down substantially. The Big Three tire manufacturers —

Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC, Michelin North America Inc. and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. — did not have a flag brand presence at the event. (However, Goodyear set up a booth for its Dunlop brand and Michelin was represented by its Tire Centers LLC subsidiary.)

While conspicuous, their absences opened up unprecedented opportunities for second- and third-tier tire manufacturers, many of whom capitalized on the situation by significantly expanding their booth space and using the show as a vehicle to introduce new tires.

The strategy evidently struck a chord with tire dealers and distributors. 

Several manufacturers reported that even though traffic was clearly down versus previous shows, the quality of the conversations they had with buyers was refreshingly high.

Fuel-efficient tires, winter tires, ultra-high performance tires, rugged light truck tires, touring tires — all were put on pedestals (and in some cases, old-fashioned tire racks) and were carefully scrutinized by serious, business-focused buyers.

Here’s a look at the tires we found while scouring the SEMA Show floor: 

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Related Topics: Bridgestone, CTNA, Dunlop, Duro, Falken, Goodyear, Hankook, Hercules, Maxxis, Nexen, Nitto, Pirelli, SEMA, SURE Tire, Tireco, Vogue, Vredestein, Yokohama

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