Zafco Fzco., a Dubai-based global distributor of tires, batteries and lubricants, has acquired the Zeetex brand from S&H Tires B.V., a Dutch company that helped create the brand six years ago.
Zafco, represented in the U.S. by Doral, Fla.-based ZTI Tires Inc., becomes the sole distributor globally for the brand, which is used for tires, batteries and lubricants.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Zafco intends to capitalize on the brand's equity primarily in Europe, where it is sold in 21 countries, said CEO K.V. Gopiraj.
“We plan to quadruple our current revenue in the next four years and are confident that we will be able to achieve this target” he said, without disclosing the brand's sales.
“We see immense potential in the European market, despite recent qualms about the instability of the economy,” he said. “This takeover is in line with our goal to become a $1 billion company in the next few years and we have ambitious plans for Zeetex, as we turn it into a truly global brand.”
Zafco said it will continue to undertake research and development to introduce a wider range of products suitable to European driving conditions.
Zafco said it plans to launch a new premium product, ZT 1000, early in 2012.
North America is one of six “focus” markets Zafco will concentrate on for growing the Zeetex tires, batteries and lubricants brand it now controls worldwide, the company said, noting it intends to invest “heavily to improve our existing distribution infrastructure and bolster sales growth” in the targeted markets.
Globally, Zafco handles more than a dozen tire brands in various markets, including Accelera, Double Coin, Dunlop, Hankook, Ling Long, MRF, Otani, Pirelli, Roadstone, Siam and Sumitomo.
ZTI, established in 1998 to serve customers throughout North and South America, handles the Accelera and Zeetex brands.
Indonesia's P.T. Elangperdana Tbk. makes the Zeetex-brand tire line, which covers passenger, light truck, medium truck and OTR, according to information from ZTI Tires.