Falken Tire Corporation (FTC) Announces Changes to North America Business Units

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., Dec. 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- FTC announces today that, as a result of the dissolution of the alliance between Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. (SRI) and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, SRI's North America business units will be realigned as a part of a long term strategy to further strengthen its competitive position in North America.

In the first step of this realignment, which will occur on January 1, 2016, Falken Tire Corporation (FTC) will be changing its name to Sumitomo Rubber North America, Inc. (SRNA). The second step, which is planned to occur by the end of March, 2016, will be the change in name of Goodyear Dunlop Tire North America, Ltd. (GDTNA) to Sumitomo Rubber USA, LLC (SRUSA).  At that same time, responsibility for sales of Dunlop branded Light Vehicle tires to Japanese OEMs and sales of Dunlop Motorcycle Tires will transfer from GDTNA/SRUSA to SRNA.

Under the new corporate structure, SRNA will operate three separate sales divisions.

1. Dunlop Motorcycle Tire, located in Tonawanda, New York, will be responsible for Dunlop Motorcycle sales to both the Original Equipment and Replacement markets.
2. Falken Tire Corporation, located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, will be responsible for Replacement sales of Falken, Ohtsu, and Private Branded products for the Light Vehicle and Commercial markets.
3. SRNA OE sales, located in Detroit, Michigan, will be responsible for Dunlop branded Light Vehicle tires for Japanese OEMs, and Falken branded OE sales for all North America OE customers.

SRNA will provide centralized Administrative and Logistics support to all three Sales divisions.

In addition to the realignment of North America business units, SRNA will also take over Sales and Distribution responsibility for the Caribbean and Mexico.  This transition is expected to occur during the 1^st quarter of 2016.

Richard Smallwood, current CEO & President of Falken Tire Corporation, will become CEO & President of SRNA.

"The dissolution of the alliance between SRI and Goodyear will provide us the opportunity to quickly and dramatically enhance our service levels to our customers in North America," stated GDTNA Chairman& CEO, Kenji Onga. "We now have local manufacturing, test facilities, and enhanced technical capabilities, all of which will help us better meet our customers' needs." 

"Having gained a manufacturing facility, test track, and enhanced technical resources, coupled with our new multi-year sponsorship agreement with Major League Baseball and 8 new product lines, we feel very confident in our ability to provide our customers the tools they need to profitably grow their business over the long term," stated Richard Smallwood.

Headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California, Sumitomo Rubber North America, Inc. (SRNA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. SRNA is part of the Sumitomo Rubber Industries Group, with a long history of delivering high quality, high value products for cars, light trucks, and commercial applications of all sizes. SRNA markets multiple tire brands such as Falken Tires, Ohtsu, and Dunlop Motorcycle Tires, in different automotive, commercial and motorcycle segments.

Contact:
Ron Eagle, R&R Partners
(702) 318-4287
[email protected]

SOURCE Falken Tire Corporation