WALWIJK, Netherlands — Magna Tyres Group has added a pair of veteran sales executives to its U.S. sales team as it strives to keep up with increasing demand for its range of OTR, industrial and truck/bus tires.
The new sales executives are David Haldane and Andrew Whiteman, who will cover the West Coast and Florida markets, respectively.
Haldane brings over 30 years tire industry experience to his job at Magna Tyres, most recently with Sailun Tires. He also has worked with Linglong Americas Inc., Nexen Tire U.S.A., Oriente Tire, ITA-Itochu Tire America and TCi Tire Centers L.L.C.
Magna said his "experience and unique market insight" makes Halldane the right person to grow the Magna Tyres presence on the West Coast. He will work out of Magna's Ontario, Calif., office.
Whiteman brings 19 years of tire and automotive industry experience to Magna, where he'll be dealing with customers in Florida and surrounding regions.
Originally from the Caribbean, Andrew has spent most of his working career in the English-speaking regions of Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago and Suriname.
He started his career in 2003 with Michelin North America and then worked for a series of BMW dealerships before landing at T&T Tires, a Trinidadian dealership. He was with Advance Tire Wholesale until recently. He has experience in both commercial and technical positions in truck/bus and OTR tires.
Due to both his product knowledge and experience in the Caribbean area, Magna Tyres feels Whiteman is the perfect fit to expand Magna's activities in Florida and its broader surrounding region.
Both Haldane and Whiteman will focus their efforts on growing long-term relationships with customers and retail partners, Magna Tyres said. They will report to U.S. Sales Director JD Lewis.
Walwijk-based Magna Tyres — a contract manufacturer that sources most of its products from third-party tire makers in China, Thailand and Vietnam and China — moved its U.S. headquarters to Ontario in August 2020. The company also has limited production for certain types and sizes in Hardenberg, Netherlands.
