Maxxis rewards leading retailers with Shanghai trip

Maxxis International thanked its top 18 performing retailers of 2010 – the winners of the top prize in the Maxxis Rewards programme – by taking them on a seven-day, all expenses paid trip to China. A mix of culture and business, the visit combined sightseeing visits to major attractions in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Shuzhou with a tour of the Maxxis factory in Kunshan.

“Maxxis is obviously continuing to invest enormously in research and development and I would think the tyres are future proof,” said Derek Campbell of Derek Campbells Exhaust & Tyre Centre in Stockton. “You couldn’t fail to be impressed with the Maxxis facilities and the overall work ethic – the fact that the company chairman lives on site and is at work each day simply speaks for itself.  I have visited tyre factories before, but the whole Maxxis set up seems to me to be ‘something else’.”

Maxxis International’s guests were representatives from those retailers who purchased the most Maxxis tyres based on turnover between 1 January and 30 September 2010. Based at the 5-star Shanghai Marriott Hotel opposite Changfeng Park, which offers excellent facilities along with panoramic views across the city and the Su Zhou River, they took in a good deal of the local culture during three one-day tours of the area.

As Tyres & Accessories reported in January, the Maxxis factory in Kunshan amongst the largest tyre plants in the world and is capable of producing upwards of 46,000 tyres a day. This is planned for expansion during 2011, with the addition of a new 4.5 kilometre test track also pencilled in.

“Our customers found the factory visit really interesting and the standard of the facilities and equipment certainly altered their perceptions of the label ‘made in China’,” said Maxxis International UK’s managing director Derek McMartin, who hosted the trip.

“We always tell retailers about Maxxis International’s investment in some of the most advanced machinery in the world and the visit to the Kunshan plant really helped to reinforce that message and cement some excellent business relationships.”

The Maxxis Rewards initiative returns for 2011 and this time the top prize is a VIP two-centre holiday in Thailand, including a Maxxis factory tour.