Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Rubber News
  • European Rubber Journal
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • Current Issue
  • BEST PLACES TO WORK
  • News
    • MID YEAR REPORT
    • TIRE MAKERS
    • HUMANITARIAN
    • COMMERCIAL TIRE
    • GOVERNMENT & LAW
    • MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
    • OBITUARIES
    • OPINION
    • SERVICE ZONE
  • ADAS
  • Data
    • DATA STORE
  • Custom
    • SPONSORED CONTENT
  • Events
    • ASK THE EXPERT
    • LIVESTREAMS
    • WEBINARS
    • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
    • RUBBER NEWS EVENTS
  • Resources
    • ADVERTISE
    • AWARDS
    • CLASSIFIEDS
    • DIRECTORY
    • SHOP FLOOR
    • Best Places to Work
    • BALANCING
    • DEMOUNTING
    • SAFETY
    • TIRE REPAIR
    • TPMS
    • TRAINING
    • VEHICLE LIFTING
    • WHEEL TORQUE
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Latin America English
October 23, 2014 02:00 AM

Andellac prez to dealers: Compete on quality not price

Stephen Downer, Special to Tire Business
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Raúl Castillo Arteaga

    MEXICO CITY — The president of Mexico's tire dealers association is urging members to compete on technology and quality rather than price.

    “We have to reinvent the future of the tire business” in Mexico, Raúl Castillo Arteaga said in a telephone interview with Tire Business.

    By competing on price, “we are damaging the market.… We have to start educating the end user,” Mr. Castillo, head of Andellac (Asociación Nacional de Distribuidores de Llantas y Plantas Renovadoras AC), told Tire Business in the interview.

    In a speech at Andellac's 41st annual congress in Cancun in October, Mr. Castillo told delegates to “stop selling tires as though they were commodities.”

    In an official Andellac magazine article, published to coincide with the congress, he wrote that “the information we regularly pass on to our customers, who know little about a tire's features, is based on price….

    “I disagree with those who affirm that…customers make decisions based on price,” he wrote. “They do that when we, whose job it is to act as consultants, fail to offer them any other means of comparison.”

    Tires are not commodities, he continued, but rather are manufactured goods that require a high degree of engineering sophistication.

    There are tire 2,400 distributors across Mexico, he said, adding that outlets and manufacturing plants in the country are “first world, more modern than in most other countries.”

    On other matters, Mr. Castillo said he knew of no other company that was copying Group Michelin's TyrePlus Automotive Service Centers concept in Mexico, and he said he was unconcerned about the increase in tire imports, particularly from Asia, in recent years.

    “The Mexican economy is very open,” he said. “After Chile, it has the largest number of free trade agreements with other countries — 44 in all. There are a lot of imports but also a lot of exports.

    “The (tire) industry in Mexico is very strong.”

    According to Mr. Castillo, the production of tires in Mexico has nearly doubled since 2009 to 25.1 million units in 2013 from 13.8 million.

    Meanwhile, imports rose to 20.1 million units from 11.7 million in the same period while exports increased to 14.1 million units last year from 4.6 million in 2009. Exports to the U.S. alone totaled more than 10 million car and light truck tires last year, according to U.S. Department of Commerce data. Imports from the U.S. were nearly 8 million units.

    The country has nine tire-making facilities, operated by six companies, he said. Bridgestone Corp. has two; JK Tornel S.A. de C.V. three; and Continental A.G., Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Pirelli Tyre S.p.A. and Group Michelin, one each.  

    Together they employ about 16,500 workers. 

    By one measure, the value of Mexican tire market is expected to hit $8 billion by 2018, according to a new market research report, “Mexico Tyre Market Forecast and Opportunities 2018” by TechSci Research.

    The report notes that tire market revenues grew nearly 19 percent annually from 2009-12 as sales of both passenger cars and heavy commercial vehicles grew at double- digit rates the last three years.

    Stephen Downer is a freelance writer for Tire Business based in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

    Related Articles
    Presidente de Andellac a distribuidores: Compitan en calidad no precio
    Presidente de Andellac a distribuidores: Compitan en calidad no precio
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Tire Business would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor Don Detore at [email protected].

    Most Popular
    1
    China's Aeolus Tyre opens Canada sales subsidiary
    2
    FullSpeed hires Laura Sasser to oversee retail stores
    3
    Goodyear tabs distributors for Australia, New Zealand
    4
    Goodyear to cut jobs, divest Asia-Pacific locations
    5
    Canada court rules for Michelin in tire trademark case
    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Newsletter Center

    Staying current is easy with Tire Business delivered straight to your inbox.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Subscribe to Tire Business

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Tire Business is an award-winning publication dedicated to providing the latest news, data and insights into the tire and automotive service industries.

    Reader Services
    • Staff
    • About Us
    • Site Map
    • Industry Sites
    • Order Reprints
    • Customer Service: 877-320-1716
    Partner Sites
    • Rubber News
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Automotive News
    • Plastics News
    • Urethanes Technology
    RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Media Guide
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Classified Rates
    • Digital Edition
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • BEST PLACES TO WORK
    • News
      • MID YEAR REPORT
      • TIRE MAKERS
      • HUMANITARIAN
      • COMMERCIAL TIRE
      • GOVERNMENT & LAW
      • MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
      • OBITUARIES
      • OPINION
      • SERVICE ZONE
    • ADAS
    • Data
      • DATA STORE
    • Custom
      • SPONSORED CONTENT
    • Events
      • ASK THE EXPERT
      • LIVESTREAMS
      • WEBINARS
      • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
      • RUBBER NEWS EVENTS
    • Resources
      • ADVERTISE
      • AWARDS
        • Best Places to Work
      • CLASSIFIEDS
      • DIRECTORY
      • SHOP FLOOR
        • BALANCING
        • DEMOUNTING
        • SAFETY
        • TIRE REPAIR
        • TPMS
        • TRAINING
        • VEHICLE LIFTING
        • WHEEL TORQUE
    • DIGITAL EDITION