Bob Bissler

Senior Editor

Bob Bissler is Modern Tire Dealer's senior editor. He began his interest in the automotive industry as a teenager helping his brother work on drag race cars, and after high school he worked in his other brother's body shop.

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Mike Manges

Senior Editor

Mike Manges is Modern Tire Dealer's senior editor. He is a three-time International Automotive Media Association award winner and holds a Gold Award from the Association of Automotive Publication Editors. He also edits MTD's acclaimed Commercial Tire Dealer section, as well as The Kovach Tire Report, MTD's sister publication. Mike has traveled the world -- including Asia, Europe and North America -- in pursuit of stories.

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Chinese tiremakers made bold statement at Global Expo

By: Mike Manges

ZC Rubber went all out with its Global Tire Expo display.

This year's Global Tire Expo truly was a Global Tire Expo. For proof, just look at the sheer number of companies from China that exhibited at the event.

The ground floor of the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, where the Global Tire Expo was held, is divided into two parts, an upper level and a lower level.

While walking through the lower level of the South Hall, I counted the following Chinese tiremakers: Shandong Hengfeng Rubber & Plastic Co. Ltd., Sonny Tyres, Yongtai Group, Unicorn Tire, Shanghai Huaxiang Solid Tyre Co. Ltd., ZC Rubber, Koryo Tyres Ltd., Sailun, Shandong Wanda Tyre Co. Ltd., Shongtai Group Co. Ltd., Hongyu Group Co. Ltd., Jiangsu General Science Technology Co. Ltd. (best name of the bunch, in my opinion!), Shifeng Juxing Tyre Co., Shanghai Huaxiang Solid Tyre Co., Xingyuan Group, Horizon Tyre Inc., Shandong Dawang Jintao Group Ltd., Crown Tyre, and Jinyu Tyres.

Quite a few of these companies had fairly big, elaborate booths that in some cases were comparable to larger, more well-established tire manufacturers' booths, a striking contrast to three or four years ago, when a cramped, decidedly unexciting, 10-by-eight-foot booth seemed to be de rigeour for the average Chinese SEMA Show exhibitor.

It's a noteworthy development, particularly given the fact that the government's Chinese tire tariffs will, in all likelihood, remain in place for the next two years. Equally noteworthy is the fact that the aforementioned Chinese tire companies decided to take their message (and products) straight to the tire dealer via the show, rather than working through stateside representatives and/or brokers.

Chinese tiremakers certainly made a statement at this month's Global Tire Expo.

Related Topics: 2010 Global Tire Expo - Powered by TIA, Chinese tires, Commercial Tires, Consumer Tires, SEMA Show