Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/762675
MTD December 2016 2016 SEMA Show completely mobile with a 12-volt baery, according to Ernie Diaz, wheel service technician. e balancer accommodates up to a 30-inch rim diameter and 52-inch wheel diameter and can be used in closed vans, trailers, or inside low-volume shops. Armstrong Tire returns The Armstrong brand is back with a new lineup of 10 medium truck tires for various applications. Mariam Zafar is helping relaunch the brand as marketing director, and Carl Casalbore is president and chief operating officer of Armstrong Tire Inc., a subsidiary of Zafco Trading LLC. e tires feature rhino-emblazoned sidewalls, and five of the offerings are SmartWay-verified. e Armstrong website promises passenger and light truck tire offerings are "coming soon." A redesigned Maxxis Razr MT Maxxis International showcased its redesigned Razr MT as the company's booth highlighted all the fun available in the great outdoors. Ritche Tay, senior marketing specialist for the company's automotive tire division, said the flagship mud terrain tire has a new tread design and new off-road compound. e paern features deeply sculpted center blocks to maximize mud traction, and stone and mud ejectors improve the self-cleaning performance and minimize rock retention. e armor sidewall helps with traction and puncture resistance. Hankook sees opportunities in 2017 Hankook Tire America Corp. again focused its floor space at the 2016 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show on the Laufenn value brand, and for the record Shawn Denlein, senior vice president of sales, said the brand is meeting sales volume and point-of-sale goals. "Dealer and consumer feedback is great in terms of the quality of the product. e positioning of the brand is exactly where we want it to be. Our whole goal was to use Laufenn and then Hankook would move up to a premium brand, and the strategy's definitely worked." During an interview with Denlein and Jae Bum Park, senior vice president of marketing, the pair provided an update on Hankook's first U.S. plant, which Park said will open in early 2017. e first phase is expected to reach full capacity – 5.5 million tires – in October 2017. e second phase will double that capacity for the replacement and original equipment markets. ere's room for at least two more phases of construction at the 469-acre site in Clarksville, Tenn. In October Hankook executives in Korea (see related story on page 58) said the company next needed to focus on its commercial truck and light truck tire offerings. Could those production lines find a home in Tennessee? Park said, "It is not decided yet. Aer we complete the second phase of construction, then we'll make a decision. e first two (phases) are definitely passenger." But Hankook does expect to be aggressive in marketing its commercial truck products in 2017. Denlein said, " We have a national account program now. It opens up a lot more opportunity for fleet business, and we've doubled the size of our sales force in the last two years. We're really looking forward to next year because we have a lot of the infrastructure in place which we haven't had before on the TBR side." With passenger tires, Hankook isn't looking to disrupt its distribution channel. ere are no plans for the company to sell tires online directly to consumers. "We have been focusing on our dealers. We will continue to do business with them," Park said. "ere's no plans to do any kind of online marketing of the brand," Denlein said, and that applies to both Hankook- and Laufenn-branded products. "Our growth with Hankook has been with the independent dealer." ■ The week in numbers How many people were in Las Vegas for Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week? This year more than 157,962 attended the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show and the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX). Here's the breakdown from SEMA Public Relations Director Della Domingo and Auto Care As- sociation Senior Vice President Rich White. 157,962: Total attendees at the SEMA Show and AAPEX 67,827: Buyers at both shows 2,325: SEMA Show exhibitors 2,259: AAPEX exhibitors 3,600: Registered media 1,180,000: Square footage of SEMA Show exhibit space Jae Bum Park, left, and Shawn Den- lein say Hankook's team approach to sports marketing is paying off. The tread pattern of the refreshed Maxxis Razr MT is designed to perform and to keep road noise in check. The ADH is one of three new premium truck tires from Armstrong Tire Inc. Mariam Zafar is marketing director. 32