Euro Tyre Sales and Triangle is an enduring partnership
Euro Tyre Sales has had a strong business relationship with Triangle Tyre dating back to 2001, when the Co. Cavan based distributor first introduced the brand to Ireland, writes Eoin Cuttle.
The relationship has gone from strength to strength over the past seven years, since the Chinese manufacturer opened its European headquarters in Milan, Italy back in 2017.
Described as “not a client relationship, but a partnership”, business between Euro Tyre Sales and Triangle Tyre continues to blossom, helped by the renewal of the majority of Triangle’s car, van, 4×4 and SUV portfolio over recent times.
Triangle Tyre has achieved significant product developments in all segments of the market, with new product launches in the HP, SUV and 4×4 segments in recent years, including the high-performance EffeXSport TH202 which was shown to media and distributors 12 months ago during a track day on the world-famous Hungaroring, located just outside Budapest in Hungary.
At The Tire Cologne 2024, the Tyre Trade Journal sat down with Paddy Greenan, owner of Euro Tyre Sales; Steve Eke, sales director at Triangle Tyre; and Angelo Giannangeli, European marketing director, Triangle Tyre, to learn a little more about this enduring partnership.
Triangle Tyre and the importance of the Irish market
For Triangle, Euro Tyre Sales and Ireland represents around 3.5 per cent of the European market share, which, according to Steve Eke, is much higher than even the UK: “I thinks its fair to say that the Irish market is probably one of the highest percentage share markets that Triangle Tyre has, certainly within Europe,” he said.
“Whether it’s the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, Euro Tyre Sales has become synonymous with the Triangle Tyre brand. What Euro Tyre Sales and Triangle have built together over the past 20+ years is not a client relationship, but a partnership, and long may that continue,” Steve added.
Paddy Greenan said that the timing of the Triangle brand being introduced to Ireland helped to give it an edge over other Chinese competitors that were later introduced here: “Ireland is a small market that I would say has about 45 different tyre brands being sold – which is extraordinary!
“Euro Tyre Sales has been selling Triangle products here since 2001, meaning we were able to establish the brand before the Irish market became saturated with other Chinese brands, for example. Euro Tyre Sales consistently sells Triangle products to the retail trade across the island of Ireland. They are repeating their orders month on month, so on that basis, Triangle is accepted as a well-proven and reasonably priced brand within the Irish market.”
Paddy continued: “When Euro Tyre Sales introduced Triangle in Ireland back in 2001, it was all TBR at the time. Unfortunately, as time progressed the European Union introduced the anti-dumping levy on truck tyres from China, which really dampened the TBR volumes that were growing at the time. Euro Tyre Sales was selling around 10,000 TBR tyres per annum before the levy.
“In 2005 Triangle came along with its PCR range, which gradually grew even though Chinese car tyres were not as accepted here then as they are now.
“And then Triangle followed up with OTR in around 2008. This segment of tyre was very new to Euro Tyre Sales at this time, but we were very lucky that we had an employee who was an expert in the OTR business, having previously spent many years with Bridgestone. I believe his knowledge helped to establish Triangle’s OTR product range in Ireland.”
Angelo Giannangeli went on to explain just how important opening the European HQ in 2017 has proven to be for Triangle: “Before the European office opened up we were selling around 350,000 tyres in Europe per year. Now, just over six years later we are aiming to sell over four million tyres, which is a big growth! But at the same time, keeping up with such growth requires improved services and activities, and it’s one of the reasons why our European team has grown from two people to eight – which is probably still not enough!”
Speaking on the OTR segment, Angelo added: “Through an unparalleled commitment to quality and innovation, world-class research and development and state-of- the-art production facilities, Triangle Tyre has continued on its growth path and it is now the fourth largest manufacturer of OTR tyres globally, holding a double-digit of the European OTR market. Triangle has an impressive list of Original Equipment fitments from leading machinery manufacturers including Caterpillar, Volvo, Hyundai, Komatsu and Hitachi, demonstrating full confidence in brand’s reliability.”
Paddy concluded by stating that Triangle Tyre is “first class” when it comes to taking care of its Irish distributor in Euro Tyre Sales. “Whether it’s the European office, UK office, or the Chinese office, Triangle Tyre is second to none when it comes to corresponding quickly, regardless of how small the issue may seem. Triangle Tyre is an extremely well run company, and I am proud of the enduring partnership we have built,” Paddy said.