By buying into Northeast, Greatoo not only gains greater access to the U.S. market, but it also joins up with a mold maker that focuses on the high-end of the tire market, he said.
“In the past, Greatoo sold some molds over here, but customers were saying it was better to have someone over here to help with repair and service,” said Mr. Hood, who is now based in Akron. “That is why we came together.”
Mr. Hood said the two mold makers approached each other and share the same business philosophies. “That is why we came together so quickly,” he said. “We want to be the No. 1 tire mold maker in the world.”
Mr. Hood said Greatoo has capacity to make 10,000 molds a year at its two plants in China. A factory in Tamil Nadu, India, can make 1,000 molds a year, but an expansion under way there will double capacity to 2,000 molds.
After buying into Northeast Tire Mold, Greatoo kept the management team at Northeast largely intact, including President Christopher Sipe and Vice President Michael Christie. Mr. Hood said some senior staff did choose to retire.
Northeast has been strong in North America, Mr. Hood said, and will look to export molds to South America from the Akron facility.
“They were limited by capacity in the past,” he said. “Sometimes when a customer wanted a mold, they couldn't deliver because of its size. Now they have the financial backing from us. We want to triple their capacity and even more. That will allow them to provide better service to the customers.”
There also will be opportunities to work together. Greatoo is building a high-tech mold shop at its facilities in China that will use the same programming, machinery and tooling package that Northeast will use, Mr. Hood said.
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This article appeared on rubbernews.com, the website of Rubber & Plastics News, an Akron-based sister publication of Tire Business