Maxam Tire opens Latin America branch in Panama

By Bruce Davis, Tire Business staff

PANAMA CITY, Panama — China's Sailun Group has established a joint venture in Panama City to oversee its Maxam OTR tire brand throughout Latin America.

The joint venture, involving Sailun's Maxam Tire International Ltd. unit and Grupo Sailun Latin America of Miami, is taking over sales and distribution responsibility for the Maxam range throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean, said Milton Lopez, technical director, commercial for the new company, Maxam Tire Latam L.L.C.

Previously, Maxam Tire International handled these responsibilities from its offices in Europe, according to Martin West, managing director of Solihull, England-based Maxam Tire.

“We've found the right partner close to the end-user,” Mr. West said during the recent Latin American & Caribbean Tyre Expo, which took place in Panama City.  “We've known Gus (Lima, CEO of Grupo Sailun Latin America) for a long time from the Sailun side.”

Besides the Panama headquarters, Maxam Tire Latam has established offices in Brazil and Chile, Mr. Lopez said.

The new venture partners did not disclose their sales expectations for the region.

The establishment of Maxam Tire Latam coincides with the expansion of the brand's range to 57-inch sizes. In addition, Sailun is developing 63-inch OTR tires for the Maxam brand and expects to have the market ready by year-end or early in 2017, according to Marco Zigni, president of Grupo Sailun Latin America.

Sailun produces OTR tires at plants in China and Vietnam.

Earlier this year, Maxam's Danvers, Mass.-based Tire North America Inc. unit disclosed it is opening distribution warehouses in Long Beach, Calif., and Memphis, Tenn., to support a growing dealer network throughout the U.S.