RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — Giti Tire USA L.L.C. is adding a range of 11 "Cross Regional" and "Cross Urban" truck tires, designed for fleets that perform a combination of long haul, regional and urban runs to its portfolio of GT Radial-branded commercial tires.
The new products replace the brand's previous urban and regional lines and will complement the company's existing ranges of ultra-wide-base Giti-brand long-haul truck tires.
The new lines were developed for U.S. roads and highways through a collaborative effort of Giti's five global research and development centers, including the Chester, S.C., facility and are being produced at Giti's P.T. Gajah Tunggal affiliate in Indonesia.
"The trend toward consumers wanting goods immediately is changing distribution and haul lengths. More fleets are performing a combination of long haul, regional and urban runs," Matthew Hanchana, senior sales technical and commercial marketing manager for Giti Tire USA, said.
"The tread patterns and compounding innovations in our new Cross Regional and Cross Urban product lines are designed to operate efficiently in all of these applications."
At the same time, this broad-based rollout of GT Radial-branded products is a reversal of sorts of a strategy Giti announced three years ago to start phasing out the GT Radial brand in favor of Giti-branded products in the commercial sector.
According to Mr. Hanchana, Giti has since found that greater brand recognition can be achieved with a brand alignment of GT Radial-branded passenger, light truck and commercial truck tires, especially in the U.S.
"GT Radial branding for our commercial truck tires aligns with naming of our extensive passenger and light truck tire products produced in both the U.S.A. and Indonesia," Armand Allaire, executive vice president of commercial tire sales, said.
"Together, this orientation will boost brand recognition for all our products,"
The launch comprises five Cross Regional tires and four Cross Urban tires now, Giti said, with two more lines on tap for later this year.
The Cross Regional products are SmartWay verified with optimized tread wear for combined regional and long-haul operations; typically, 70% to 80% on highway and 20% to 30% on regional roads, Giti said
The new Cross Regional products are:
- GSR135FE steer/all-position tire in five sizes: 11R22.5, 295/75R22.5, 255/70R22.5, 11R24.5, and 285/75R24.5;
- GDR33FE closed-shoulder drive tire in four sizes: 11R22.5, 295/75R22.5, 11R24.5 and 285/75R24.5;
- GDR688 open-shoulder drive tire in four sizes: 11R22.5, 295/75R22.5, 11R24.5 and 285/75R24.5;
- GTR750 FE trailer tire in the four sizes: 11R22.5, 295/75R22.5, 11R24.5 and 285/75R24.5;
- GTR955 trailer tire in the two sizes: 215/75R17.5 and 235/75R17.5.
All sizes carry a ply rating of 16.
