Chinese tires made an impact in Las Vegas

I thought there were a lot of Chinese tire companies at last year's Global Tire Expo. This year, they almost seem to be taking over the show.

There were more than 90 Chinese tire companies exhibiting at the 2013 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) Show in Las Vegas Nov. 5-8. And that doesn't include Taiwanese tire companies such as Cheng Shin Rubber Ind. Co. Ltd., which produces the Maxxis brand.

They were sprinkled throughout the two floors of the Global Tire Expo, although they were concentrated in the back of the ground floor and the back of the second floor.

The top Chinese companies -- the ones that have been building brand awareness in the United States for many years -- had large booths: Double Coin Holdings Ltd./ China Manufacturers Alliance LLC (Double Coin, Warrior); Qingdao Sentury Tire Co. Ltd./Sentury Tire Americas (Delinte and Landsail); Aeolus Tire Co. Ltd./Alliance Tire Americas Inc. (Aeolus). Triangle Tyre Co. Ltd. and Qingdao Horizon Tire Co. Ltd., two of the largest tire manufacturers in China, each made a big splash on the trade show floor as well.

There were plenty of new passenger and light truck tires from China. This is not surprising, given that the tariff on consumer tire imports from China, first implemented in 2009, was officially removed on Sept. 26, 2012. Also, since low-cost passenger radials aren't manufactured in the U.S., tire dealers need to buy them from somewhere.

Here are just a few examples of some of the lesser-known Chinese tire manufacturers that were grouped together on the upper floor; note that many are based in the major manufacturing center of Qingdao, located on the northeastern coast. Also note that almost every type of tire was available.

* Aufine Group Co. Ltd., Qingdao (passenger, SUV, light truck, truck).

* Dongying Fangxing Rubber Co. Ltd./ Guangrao City (truck, small OTR).

* Fullrun Tyre Corp. Ltd., Qingdao (passenger, light truck, truck, OTR).

* Harvest Tyre & Wheel Co. Ltd., Qingdao (radial and bias truck, industrial, OTR).

* Kinforest Tyre Co. Ltd., Guangzhou (passenger, UHP, radial truck).

* Qingdao Harvest Industrial Co. Ltd., Qindao (radial and bias truck).

* Qingdao Lakesea Tyre Co. Ltd., Weihai (passenger, light truck, radial and bias truck).

* Sunitrac Tire Co. Ltd., Qingdao (passenger, radial truck).

* Top Tyre Industry Co. Ltd./Marvemax, Qingdao (radial truck).

* Volo Tire & Industrial Ltd., Hefei (passenger).

One of the exhibitors buried on the second floor told me he is looking forward to moving to the ground floor next year. The Chinese companies are making their move.