Russia's Nizhnekamsk opens U.S. marketing office

MIAMI (Nov. 15)—Russian tire maker JSC Nizhnekamsk plans to start selling Kama-brand farm and off-the-road tires throughout the western Hemisphere through an independent marketing company, Kama Interamerica Ltd. of Miami. Nizhnekamsk is completing tests on its tires now to ensure their compatibility with U.S. Department of Transportation standards, according to Michael C. Fabre and Luis Arevalo, vice presidents of Kama Interamerica. Sales of a limited range of bias-ply and radial off-the-road tires in the U.S. and Canada are expected to start in January 2003, Fabre said. Initially sales will be container-load only, F.O.B., Fabre said, although warehousing may be set up eventually. Sales already have started to selected Latin American countries. Nizhnekamsk is considered the 23rd-largest tire maker worldwide, with production expected to exceed 20 million tires next year, Kama Interamerica said.