Prinx Chengshan Tire North America adds four to staff

LOS ANGELES — Prinx Chengshan Tire North America Inc. (PCTNA), a subsidiary of China's Prinx Chengshan Shandong Tire Co., has bolstered its accounting, marketing and sales departments, hiring four individuals.

Nicole Moore has been named director of marketing, tasked with overseeing growth strategy and executing brand advertising and marketing activities for both the U.S. and Canada markets.

Moore has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, including 10 in the tire industry. PCTNA said she has extensive background in B2B marketing, product marketing, communications and event management.

She most recently was senior marketing manager for Midas International and as a marketing manager for TBC Brands, as the marketing lead for its portfolio of wholesale tire brands. Prior to joining TBC Corp, she also held various marketing roles of increasing responsibility at a publishing company and law firms in New York.

Ken Coltrane, vice president of marketing and product development, said Moore "will play a key role in delivering the total value proposition of our brand, products and services to our retailers and consumers, including social media, communications, and managing industry events."

Kevin Aftanas has been named regional sales manager for the eastern region at PCTNA. The company said he will play a crucial role in continuing to introduce the Fortune tire brand of passenger, light truck, medium truck and specialty trailer tires and programs to distributors and dealers.

Aftanas has more than 18 years of tire industry experience including positions held with Bridgestone Americas, Hankook Tire America and Michelin North America Inc., among other tire service and solution companies.

"Kevin's knowledge of the market will help to drive the Fortune brand forward," Pete Salvan, vice president of sales, said.

Finally, Kevin Chen has been named accounting manager, and Kelly Peng has been hired as a staff accountant. Both bring a "strong audit and accounting background to the team," the company said, adding the pair is "dedicated to improving internal procedures to reach key financial initiatives."

Prinx Chengshan President Samuel Felberbaum said it is "an incredibly exciting time for the company, and we are committed to investing in talent, innovative products, and tools to grow our customers' businesses as we continue to demonstrate the value and benefits of the Fortune tire brand across North America."

Earlier this year, PCTNA announced it was offering five sizes of its Fortune-brand all-weather commercial light truck tire, the Tormenta LMD FSR103, which was designed for commercial vans and multi-purpose vehicles that transport heavy loads.