Aufine offering more designs

The Aufine Group says it “enjoyed a very active and successful” CITExpo show this year, with a great deal of interest from visitors. Speaking with Tyres & Accessories at the Shanghai show, company general manager David Sun says that although he’d observed signs of the current global economic situation amongst people he’d met during the exhibition, the Aufine team nevertheless met new contacts and held meetings that offer a good chance for new business relationships.

The Qingdao, China-based company produced approximately 4 million truck radials last year and a good selection of the Aufine portfolio was on display at CITExpo, including the ‘Waynner’ truck range. “Waynner means ‘be a winner’,” explains Sun. “The Waynner is a top quality range sold in Europe and Africa.”

A perusal of Aufine’s truck tyre catalogue shows the company’s truck tyre offer to be comprehensive, and David Sun himself confirms that Aufine takes some beating when it comes to its portfolio: “I think we have the most designs for a Chinese tyre maker. We have approximately 12 sizes for each model. Most manufacturers have three or four. I have never found another company that have more designs.”

So far Aufine has introduced eight new patterns and 21 sizes in 2012, including the AF58 – a product the tyre maker says “caught most visitors’ eyes.” Sun says that the company intends to introduce at least two new tyres every month. When the general manager shares information this he is, admittedly, talking about truck tyres. Aufine’s own factory – which has been in operation since 1986 – is exclusively focused on the commercial vehicle segment. The 13 million passenger car radials Aufine sold last year were produced by other manufacturers. But the company plans to change this. “We intend to develop our own all new passenger car ranges,” Sun told Tyres & Accessories. Aufine’s standard, SUV and UHP consumer products will “come soon.”

When asked what he considers the greatest change that Aufine has undergone in recent times, Sun replies that “the biggest change at Aufine in the last few years is not related to our tyres themselves – it is that we need to supply the best brand and service and well as the best tyre. We want to produce and sell tyres that bring the driver enjoyment.”

The general manager reports that Aufine’s main markets at present are Africa, the Middle East, South America and Australia. He describes Europe as being a “difficult” market at the moment. “We want to focus on improving our European market,” he adds.