Pirelli expanding in Central America

PANAMA CITY, Panama (July 24, 2014) — Pirelli Pneus Ltda. launched the company's 01 Series line of medium truck tires to the Central American and Caribbean tire markets during the Latin American & Caribbean Tyre Expo in Panama City, along with new cyber technology that can provide real-time tire performance data to trucking fleets.

In addition, the company has opened a sales office in Panama to better serve the Central American and Caribbean tire markets.

“Our target is to be closer to the markets,” said Marcelo Natalini, director of Central America, Caribbean and Mercosur for Pirelli Pneus.

The Panama office opened two months ago and is led by Guillermo Ruiz, who serves as sale manager Central America and Caribbean.

The Central American market is different than the Latin American market, Mr. Natalini said. “It's a tougher market here,” he said. “All the big companies are here and the China brands.

“For us to understand the market is a goal. We couldn't do that from Brazil,” where Pirelli Pneus is headquartered.

Another goal, he added, is to develop the correct products and price for the market.

The company also has plans to open another sales office in the South American region in the near future.

Pirelli introduced the 01 Series of truck tires for the Central American and Caribbean markets and displayed the tires at the Latin American Tyre show.

The tires will replace the 85 Series of truck tires, which are slowly being phased out, Mr. Natalini said.

The line consists of six products that address different segments of the market. In addition, they have been designed using new technologies giving improved performance characteristics vs. the 85 Series products, Mr. Natalini said.

These include 15-percent better rolling resistance, 30-percent better retreadability, 25-percent more durability and a 25-percent improvement in noise reduction.

To help fleets obtain better information about the performance of the tires on their vehicles, Pirelli also showcased its new chip technology that can applied to the inside of the tires. The chip can provide real-time information through satellite communication or with a hand reader to fleets on tire temperature, pressure, revolutions and truck location.

Pirelli is launching this concept in the Central American region and has been testing the product on fleets in Brazil for the past two years.