ORLANDO, Fla.—China Manufacturers Alliance L.L.C. (CMA), the U.S. subsidiary of China's Double Coin Holdings Ltd., officially launched the entry-level Duraturn lines of consumer and commercial tires Aug. 20 at the 2014 International Tire Exhibition & Conference (ITEC) in Orlando.
The new brand, when all sizes and models are available, will include high-performance/touring sizes, a sport truck line, an all-terrain highway design, trailer tire and winter products. In commercial tires, Monrovia, Calif.-based CMA is offering Duraturn tires in steer, drive, trailer, mixed service and off-highway sizes.
“Duraturn products have the pedigree of developing diverse and comprehensive lines of high quality, competitively priced tires for both dealers and end-users,” said CMA Vice President Aaron Murphy at a press briefing at the company's booth on the ITEC Tire Dealers/Auto Service trade show floor. “We are very pleased to add the brand to the CMA family, and we anticipate that our dealers will be very pleased by its diverse product offerings.”
The tires are produced for CMA by China's Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Group Rubber Co. Ltd. CMA is the exclusive marketer/distributor/importer of Duraturn products in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Central America, Mr. Murphy said. The commercial brand also is being programmed into the European Union through some partners with which CMA is working, he said.
CMA “soft launched” the Duraturn commercial products about a year ago and the consumer line at the beginning of this year.
All through 2013, CMA has been working with the factory to develop different Duraturn consumer products for the North American market, said Ken Coltrane, vice president of consumer tires for CMA.
In launching the Duraturn consumer products, CMA is using the slogan, “Extraordinary Tires at Any Price.”
“Basically what that means is we're targeting the entry-level market, but we've designed these tires with UTQG ratings, tread design, aesthetics, if you will, and deep tread depths, in some cases, to really give value to the tire,” he said, “so that a tire dealer can position it just about anywhere he'd like in his product screen and hopefully make a higher profit on the tire.”
The Duraturn consumer lineup consists of the Mozzo touring, an all-season, high-performance/touring tire currently available in 13 SKUs, with a total of 17 sizes offered by the end of October, Mr. Coltrane said. This will grow into a complete touring line with more than 30 SKUs in the future.
The Mozzo HP/touring brand is being offered in T-, H-, V-speed ratings, 11/32nds-inch tread depth and has a UTQG rating of 560.
“A lot of what we see coming in at the entry-level is coming in at 10/32nds,” Mr. Coltrane said. “So this is something we have done to give more value to the tire.”
Also available is the Duraturn ST radial trailer tire in a complete size range including 235/85R16 12-ply.
“What we're putting together at the Duraturn factory is a complete program,” Mr. Coltrane said.
CMA also is offering the all-season Mozzo STX sport truck tire in 20- to 26-inch rim diameters, a 460 AA UTQG rating and 11/32nds inch tread depth. The line currently consists of 10 SKUs, which will be expanded to 18 by the end of the year.
“This is a true, M&S all-season design,” Mr. Coltrane said. “So we think this will be real attractive to the consumers out there.”
CMA also plans to introduce an ultra-high-performance tire called the Mozzo Sport that will come online by year-end. It will have 18 SKUs and a 500AA UTQG rating.
In the light truck/SUV segment, CMA has plans to introduce a Duraturn line under the Travia line that will consist of highway, all-terrain and mud-terrain models. These tires will launch during 2015, with the highway version coming first. All of these tires will begin with 20 SKUs with room to grow from there, Mr. Coltrane said.
CMA also is developing studdable and studdless Duraturn winter tires, with planned availability for the 2015 winter season.
“By the end of 2015, we will have developed all of the product lines that are planned for the Duraturn consumer program, and when it's all said and done, we expect to have 230-plus SKUs throughout the program,” he said.
“Combine that with what we offer in the truck tire side and it's a total program, perfect for wholesalers, product lines that are really designed for the retailers to position well in their screens.”
In the commercial segment, CMA is offering a full lineup of Duraturn TBR tires for steer, drive, trailer, mixed service and specialty items. Size coverage includes 85 SKUs including three Duraturn tires that have met the requirements for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) SmartWay Technology Program for low-rolling-resistance applications.
These include the Duraturn DS28 in the steer position, the DA20 all-position tire that is SmartWay verified in both steer and drive positions and the DT22 trailer tire.
“Being a part of the EPA SmartWay program is our overall commitment to reducing emissions and providing our customers with optimum fuel savings,” Mr. Murphy said.
“In addition, it shows the technological advances that Duraturn tires exhibit and we are working to release additional models into this line-up.”