Thailand-based Vee Rubber Corp. said it has seen good growth in the products it has introduced in North America in the past three years. Business has been so good, in fact, that the company has purchased a new warehouse in Atlanta. The renovated 60,000 sq. ft. facility will house motorcycle, ATV and some passenger car tires, plus a tech center, when it opens in early 2011.
Three new tires are joining the product line in the coming year. The first is the Traimate 341, a radial trailer tire with long-life compound, which will be introduced in ST225/75 R15 and ST235/80 R16 sizes. Next is the silica-containing Winter Season IV passenger/light truck snow tire, the fourth refinement of this model, which features reinforced stud holes and a tread design optimized for good performance in snow.
Vitorn Sukanjanapong, Vee Rubber Corp.’s managing director, is most proud of the new ultra high performance version of the Vitron asymmetrical-tread tire. With wider blocks and more siping, the new Z-rated tire is in testing now with introductory sizes slated for availability by summer 2011. The tire’s “dual nature technology” allows it to be mounted with either of its distinctive sides outboard; one side offers greater dry cornering performance, while the other features more grooves and sipes for enhanced wet and snow performance. The new Vitron ZR is intended to build on the record of the present H/V model, which has been “a big success,” according to Patrick Hyland, sales and marketing manager, based in Vee Rubber’s Chino, Calif. office. “We’ve had a positive response from dealers, and customers love it for its wet braking and acceleration capability.
