12.04.07
Sentaida International Announces the Acquisition of ZT Wholesale
St. Louis, MO USA – Sentaida International has purchased the wholesale division of Zisser Tire Company, Inc. The acquisition is limited to the wholesale division of the company.
The company will be headquartered in St. Louis. “Sentaida is very excited to expand our US operation through ZT Wholesale. ZT is the worldwide leader in the UHP market. With the addition of new brands and our aggressive expansion plans, we expect the new operation to deliver even more value to our customers,” Jeff Chen, President of Sentaida International, explains.
The new ZT Wholesale will continue its focus as a specialty distributor of high performance tires. As a result of the acquisition, a wider range of products will also be offered. The new lines include exclusive passenger car, truck (TBR) and off road (OTR) tire programs. The current UHP product range will be expanded to include Ling Long and Yartu performance tires. These will complement ZT’s exclusive brands such as Diamond Back, Lexani and Wanli UHP. All of the exclusive brands are offered on a factory direct basis and exclusive distribution territories are available. Lexani and Diamondback are both distributed worldwide. Major brands will continue to be offered which include Pirelli, Triangle, Toyo, Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop, Kumho, Michelin and more.
Don Mathis is now the general manager for the USA Sentaida operation, as well as ZT Wholesale, overseeing purchasing and managing the expanded sales team. According to Don Mathis, “With our new sales team and expanded product range, ZT will be able to better serve independent tire dealers looking for a competitive source for high performance tires as well as passenger, truck and OTR tires. UHP is the fastest growing part of the market and we are the biggest and fastest growing company in the world that specializes in UHP. Since I joined Zisser Tire in April of 1998, sales have increased from two million dollars per year to over one hundred and thirty million for 2007. Sentaida has assigned me to take this business to the next level, and provided me the tools to do it, both financially and personnel wise. Expect even more announcements about our growth plans in the not to distant future. Stay tuned…”
The company will continue to serve customers from the St. Louis warehouse and the ZT sales team from that location is intact. The current Sentaida warehouse in California will expand to a much larger facility on Jan. 2nd. The new warehouse will better serve the Western states, and it will be run by Aaron Tennison. Mr. Mathis explains, “We have not gotten our fair share of UHP business in the South West for several years. That is changing now. We think Aaron is the TOP GUN for sales in the Western United States. With our buying strength and his sales ability, we plan to create some “tremors” in the Southern California tire market.”