ZC Rubber buying fellow Chinese OTR tire maker TUTRIC

HANGZHOU, China — Zhongce Rubber Group (ZC Rubber), China's largest tire maker and No. 9 worldwide, is acquiring Tianjin United Tire & Rubber International Co (TUTRIC) as part of its global expansion strategy.

Based in port city of Tianjin, in northeastern China, TUTRIC manufactures the Tianli tire brand and will be integrated as Zhongce Rubber (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., upon completion of the acquisition, set for April 1, ZC Rubber said.

The deal is valued at $200 million, and ZC Rubber said it plans to invest over $100 million in TUTRIC's facilities over the coming five years, in a bid to boost the business' annual revenue sevenfold to $700 million.

Claiming to be "one of the largest suppliers of off-road (OTR) tires in the world," Hangzhou-based ZC Rubber offers a range of products for wheeled loaders, articulated and rigid dump trucks, port applications, underground mines, as well as industrial and forklift operations.

With the acquisition, the group expects to further strengthen its offering by adding agricultural tires to its portfolio.

Established in 1985 in a partnership with Canada's United Tire & Rubber Co., TUTRIC's factory in Tianjin has the capacity to manufacture over 200,000 farm, earthmover and industrial tires a year.

"TUTRIC is the most professional special tire manufacturer in China producing from 6-inch to 63-inch tires with more than 2,000 SKU in off-highway application," ZC Rubber (Tianjin) Co. President Henry Shen said.

"Zhongce now has one of the largest ranges of agricultural and OTR tires available to our customers," he added.

According to the company statement, Zhongce Rubber is aiming for the Tianjin plant to become "the second-largest OTR factory in Asia."

"Zhongce has large ambitions with plans to be in the top three global OTR tire manufacturers soon," ZC Rubber President Shen Jinrong added.

ZC Rubber reported sales in 2020 of nearly $3.9 billion, good for the No. 9 ranking on Tire Business' Global Tire Ranking last year. TUTRIC's annual sales are estimated at $100 million.

ZC Rubber is represented in the U.S. by its import/distribution subsidiary ZC Rubber Americas in Walnut, Calif.

China Manufacturers Association (CMA) last year secured the secured North American rights to the Tianli brand, and later struck a distribution deal for the brand with Independent Tire Dealer Group. ZC RUbber management has assured CMA that this arrangement will continue under the new ownership structure.

Prior to that, TUTRIC had suspended shipments of the Tianli brand to the U.S. due to the elevated import duties imposed then on Chinese products, CMA said.

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Story includes complementary reporting by European Rubber Journal