CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. — Hixih Rubber Industry Group Co. Ltd. has a new majority shareholder as well as new direction.
The company that markets truck/bus tires under the Hixih brand name is now a subsidiary of Zenith Technology Inc., a San Mateo, Calif.-based entity that operates as heyglobal.com.
It's been about a year since private-equity-backed Zenith purchased 51% of Hixih Rubber, according to former Hixih General Manager Kyle Dou, now an adviser to Hey.global, a business-to-business cross-border platform that sells a variety of products, from household goods to furniture, electronics and automotive.
Dou said the platform, similar to Chinese e-commerce platform alibaba.com, already has 10,000 users, all small business owners across the globe. He said the platform supports automatic payment terms, a benefit for small business.
The companies are in the integration process, Dou said, but Hixih products, including its Forceland-brand passenger and light truck tires, can be ordered on heyglobal.com as part of its automotive offerings.
Currently, Heyglobal offers tires and wheels under its automotive selections, with the Forceland brand serving as its tire offering. The company is seeking new suppliers and other items, both big and small, to add to its automotive portfolio.
"It was a perfect fit for both companies," Dou told Tire Business. "We saw the same vision together. It's been a lot of fun. The chemistry for both companies is there, and with the infrastructure that Zenith has in place, it will assist Hixih and help it to a much larger scale."
Hixih products can be ordered by container, shipped directly from the factory, or in smaller quantities, with two-day shipping. Some products are shipped from the 150,000-square-foot Hixih warehouse in City of Industry or from the 100,000-square-foot Zenith warehouse in Atlanta.
"Since we've joined forces, the (Hixih) growth has been phenomenal," Dou said, including 40% growth since the merger. "Users seem to love the easy interface. And the company is making many updates as they grow," he said, including tracking of shipments.
Zenith founder Brenda Wang serves as general manager of Hixih.
Dou said as of May, Hixih started taking orders for the Roadclaw line of tires, with 291 SKUs available, including passenger and light truck products, as well as run-flats, electric vehicle tires and winter offerings. Delivery is currently underway.
Any dealer interested in carrying the products should create an account on the Heyglobal website.
Dou said Heygobal has the infrastructure and capability to grow Hixih five times faster than it could have grown previously.
"We're excited to use this platform and see what we can do together," Dou said.
Founded in 1989 as a producer of conveyor belts and other industrial rubber goods, Hixih added tires to its product mix in 2005 and now produces tires through its Shenzhou Tyre and Tongli Tire Co Ltd. subsidiaries.
