Tube & Solid Tire Ltd. has rebranded and is dba Dobermann North America. And the company is in expansion mode, with the second of two new warehouses set to begin shipping products to tire dealers later this month.
Tony Garrett, vice president of operations, told MTD that the new warehouses — in Davenport, Iowa, and Greenville, S.C. — both represent new markets.
“We have decided to expand due to the recent challenges of high freight costs, freight carrier issues and demand on quicker turnaround times from our customer base. In addition, we believe that we can add business in each new market by being closer to those areas.”
The Davenport location is open for business, and has 20,000 square feet, but Garrett notes it is outfitted with tall, five-shelf racks that reach to the ceilings, which “should provide us a stocking opportunity of $3 million in inventory.” The Greenville location is adding inventory to its 40,000 square-foot space, and should hold between $5-6 million in inventory, he said. The Greenville warehouse will start shipping later in June.
Both sites will eventually stock the company’s full product offerings, which include K9 tires for lawn and garden, ATVs and UTVs, skid steer, forklift and construction applications, as well as bias farm tires, bias trailer tires and radial and all-steel trailer tires.
The warehouses will also include the Dobermann lineup of solid forklift tires, solid skid steer tires and solid OTR assemblies, as well as butyl and natural rubber tubes.
Garrett said both warehouses provide expansion opportunities in surrounding states.
“We believe that the new Davenport market location will provide an opportunity to serve a broader area in the Midwest, which will include Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota, for example — areas where the company can see new growth.
“As far as (the) Greenville market, we will be able to extend into Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland (and) Pennsylvania, which are new growth opportunities.
“Market conditions are excellent for our K9 and Dobermann product lines because of rural areas that have a need for our specialty tire/tube solutions.”
Previously, customers in any of those markets would have been served by the company’s existing warehouse in San Antonio, Texas. (The company has a fourth warehouse in Hialeh, Fl.) Garrett said. “Our main concern from new customers would be shipping lead times and freight minimum requirements.”
Dobermann North America is part of Covencaucho, a manufacturing company based in Venezuela that Garrett said just celebrated its 60th anniversary. The parent company manufactures retreads for the South American market and has a combination of 30 retail and commercial outlets in Venezuela.
Garrett said the company’s K9 line of products has growth in recent years to represent more than 50% of overall sales.
“We have focused our sales efforts in recent years for the agricultural market to achieve growth. I think over time we want to stock the popular SKUs in all of our lines and streamline our inventory to achieve better, faster turns of the lineup.
“I see ATV/UTV as (a) real focus because of how many areas are legalizing (in-town, on-street use.) We have a special heavy duty run-flat ATV tire that has been a fantastic tire for our customers since we introduced it. The goal is to market it and get the word out to more dealers and end users so they can benefit from that technology.
“In regards to inner tubes, we have always had the strongest warranty in the business and our warranty ratio is less than 0.10%,” Garrett said.
As for the current market, Garrett said business has picked up since the middle of March.
“Our 2024 plan is to make sure we serve our existing customers even better and create new opportunities for new customers by the efficiency of our warehouses, which are equipped with WMS real-time technology. The time and effort are critical to (make) our inventory ordering, receiving and shipping so streamlined that it will be a huge sales advantage.”
