PANAMA CITY, Panama—Panamanian commercial tire distributor Duratread has struck a deal with Danang Rubber J.S.C. (DRC) of Vietnam to be DRC's sales and marketing agent in the Spanish-speaking nations of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The companies disclosed their partnership during the recent Latin America & Caribbean Tyre Expo in Panama City. To effect the deal, Duratread has established a regional office and warehousing in Panama City.
The deal covers both DRC-branded two-wheeler (bicycle, scooter, motorbikes) and smaller-sized OTR tires and Duratread-branded OTR tires for construction, mining, port, industrial and agricultural vehicles, Duratread said. It further cements a relationship between Duratread and DRC that dates to 2006 and follows the recent inauguration of DRC's steel radial truck tire factory in Da Nang, Vietnam.
That plant will have an annual capacity of 600,000 tires once fully operational, Duratread said.
Duratread has been marketing its own brand of OTR tires sourced from tire makers in China and Vietnam since 2006. The corporate entity is Team Group Inc., but the business operates as Duratread. Laurence Turnbull, formerly a sales/marketing executive with Continental A.G. in Latin America, is the firm's general manager.
Besides OTR tires, Duratread is the Latin American agent for Translogik Ltd.'s iTrack Asset Management System for off-road vehicles.