NDI supplying globally from Chinese operation

It makes no sense at all for a distributor to ship Chinese-made tyres to Europe and then re-export them around the world, and for this very reason Danish tyre and wheel supplier NDI (Nordisk Dæk Import A/S) recently decided to establish a local operation in China. NDI China was established in May 2012 with the signing of a cooperative agreement between NDI and the local government in Beiguan, Jiaozhou City, which is located near the major port of Qingdao.

Heading up NDI China is general manager Gregers Lindvig, a fluent Chinese speaker who relocated with his family to Qingdao to take on the role. During the CITExpo show he told Tyres & Accessories that the operation’s main initial function is to simplify and quicken the shipping process by exporting NDI’s Chinese-manufactured products directly to global customers. “We’re the only company doing it this way,” Lindvig comments.

Tyres awaiting export are housed in NDI China’s 8,000 square metre warehouse in Qingdao. The warehouse is located in a bonded area. “This means there are no duties on raw materials if tyres are re-exported,” explains Lindvig. “Our warehouse must be located in a bonded area, otherwise we must pay domestic prices. We were able to be set up within a bonded area as we are committed to investing in China – we are looking at investing US$5 to $10 million in China in the short term.”

A key product handled by NDI China is the Danish company’s Nordexx private brand. Lindvig shares that NDI is currently looking for new partners outside of Europe for the brand: “At the moment we are mainly focusing on South and Middle America. Our next focus after that will be Africa.” As for the Chinese market, this isn’t a priority at NDI China for the time being. “The Chinese domestic market is huge, but there are many players,” says Lindvig. “We’d have to give it careful analysis before doing anything with it.”