Starco brings heavy, FLT tyres to Essen

It has been interesting to watch Starco’s progression as a company through its presence at the last few Reifen shows. The Starco stands at each exhibition have reflected the Danish company’s expansion from a small tyre specialist through to an agricultural tyre and wheel supplier and maker and then to a manufacturer of industrial tyres. At Reifen 2014, Starco was intent on doing business.

“Our Reifen stand has been designed as a conference space for clients,” group marketing manager Brian Lorentzen told Tyres & Accessories. “This approach worked well. Two years ago we announced our entry into the tractor radial market and the stand placed a corresponding emphasis on products. We’re still promoting products at our stand, however we also see the importance of providing an area where we can hold meetings.”

Amongst the products Starco chose to display this year were examples of the ranges produced in its solid tyre factory in Sri Lanka – all “serious industrial products,” comments Lorentzen. These include the Tusker and Unicorn lines; the Tusker brand was launched in 2006 and initially outsourced, however since the Starco plant in Sri Lanka entered service in 2012 all Tusker tyres have been produced there. The 2012-launched Unicorn economy range is also manufactured in Sri Lanka.

Henno Plaggenborg, Starco’s recently-appointed heavy and industrial tyre segment business development manager also attended Reifen 2014, where he introduced himself to OEM and aftermarket customers. With over 25 years of experience in development and sales of tyres for forklift trucks and other heavy industrial machinery, Plaggenborg is now tasked with further developing the growing market for Starco FLT and heavy-duty industrial tyres.

During Reifen 2014, Lorentzen mentioned that Starco was gearing up to further its global web platform, and the following week the company added four additional local websites to its online presence. New sites for Poland, South Africa, Sweden and France are now live, and Lorentzen says Starco will add further sites in the coming months.