TEQUESTA, Fla. — Independent Tire Dealers Group L.L.C. (ITDG) and China Manufacturers Alliance (CMA) have formed a partnership that provides ITDG's members with access to the full range of Double Coin's premium truck/bus, OTR and industrial tires, as well as the Tianli brand of agricultural, forestry and construction tires.
CMA secured North American rights to the Tianli brand — produced by Tianjin United Tire & Rubber International Co. Ltd. (TUTRIC) of Tianjin, China — earlier this year.
- This story appears in the July 20 print edition of Tire Business.
ITDG President and CEO Dave Marks said the new partnership with CMA continues the group's tradition of "providing our members with strong programs that add value to their business."
Tequesta-based ITDG comprises dozens of member companies controlling over 780 retail points of sales across the U.S.
Tim Phillips, vice president of marketing and operations for CMA — the Monrovia, Calif.-based U.S. sales subsidiary of China's Double Coin Group — stressed that the bulk of the "competitively priced" Double Coin-branded tires available to the ITDG members are produced at the company's 3-year-old factory in Rayong, Thailand, and thus not subject to the elevated U.S. import duties on products from China.
"We have not experienced any shipping delays from our Thailand manufacturing facility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and our tires are readily available from several of our U.S.-based warehouses for ITDG members," Mr. Phillips said.
Regarding the Tianli-brand product, Mr. Marks said ITDG members "strive to add value in everything that we do. ... Our members can now provide their customers with a wide selection of tough and dependable tires that will get the job done right."
Mr. Phillips added: "Through this partnership, we will offer ITDG members the opportunity to increase their value and profitability by adding Tianli's high-quality and durable tires to their inventory."
Mr. Phillips added that TUTRIC has not experienced any shipping delays due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tianli agricultural product range covers radial and bias-ply tractor, flotation, implement and specialty R2 and R3 tires; the forestry ranges comprises tires for skidders, harvesters and forwarders; and the construction line includes industrial/lift, port, mining, skid steer, backhoe and OTR tires, CMA said.
The brand also complements the Double Coin portfolio with products not available in that brand's portfolio, such as agriculture/forestry, bias construction and radial OTR above 25-inch rim diameters, CMA said.