Q: How does Yokohama contribute to the long-term strategies of companies?

JG: The mining industry likes to plan ahead with yearly quotes and contracts. With the downturn the market has gone through over the past years, a huge number of operations and projects have slowed down or even stopped altogether, particularly in open-pit mines that require bigger tires. Coal, for example, is almost nonexistent in Mexico now. The prices of minerals dictate production levels in Mexican mines. Mining companies are always looking to lower their expenses and increase their production rates.

We continue to excel in underground mines and ports, where our products perform particularly well, and these segments are currently the main focus for the group in Mexico. We have introduced three new radial tire sizes for these markets in Mexico during the past 12 months. Considering the tough landscape, companies cannot afford to be left without products and are keen to find the best price. Mining companies like long-term strategies. We have an engineering team that supports the sale of the product and we are conscious of how our tires perform. Our main focus, above increasing sales, is to make sure our customers are aware of proper tire management and accessories. They can tell the difference with a better-managed tire because it lowers tire expenses.

Q: How does Yokohama overcome the fact that Mexican companies tend to choose cheaper services and products? 

GN: There are always challenges when entering a country. We overcome this issue by offering mining companies packages that are paired with engineering services. We are out to sell small numbers that are high in quality to ensure that customers return time and time again. We want to build a network of trusting customers so that when the prices drop they continue to buy our products because they know that we can help them lower their tire expenses. This is a strategy that we believe will pay off in the long- term. We only sell tires to customers that can benefit from the solutions we can offer them. We also have a channel of distributors in Mexico that we hand pick to make sure they represent our brand well.

We continue to perceive Mexico as having huge potential for us as it is an important part of the global mining industry. The prices of metals are improving and mining companies are continuing to upgrade their production levels. In Mexico, we are focused on growing at a cautious pace as the quality and performance of our products are essential. Our tires have proven to be a high-quality product. We want to be very careful to introduce products that will be functional and long-lasting by taking careful steps in the market. It can be frustrating to operate at such a slow pace but we have to be careful considering the tough spot the industry is now emerging from.

Q: What are the company accomplishments in the last 12 months?

GN: Over the past 12 months we have been helping customers improve their production rates per hour. We also introduced new products for underground operations, with three new sizes for underground mine tires. We plan to introduce underground radial mining tires that can bear larger loads and withstand longer distances but this product is not in the Mexican market yet. We believe that there is a customer for every type of tire. We like to focus on targeted niches and penetrate markets that require the specific tires we offer. We have had great success with our bias tires in the past, and we still produce top-quality bias tires but we are now placing more of our focus on radial tires because we believe therein lies the greater demand.