BOULDER CITY, Nev. (Jan. 4, 2011)—Polyurethane tire developer Amerityre Corp. is targeting the lawn and garden, materials-handling and hardware industries for growth as it strives to turn a profit for the first time in its 15-year history.
Among the firm's goals for fiscal 2011 is to develop the Amerityre brand as a leading quality brand in the materials-handling industry, including establishing a limited distribution network comprising franchisees, independent forklift dealers and tire dealers, according to President and CEO Michael Kapral. He spoke to shareholders attending Amerityre's annual meeting Dec. 1 at company headquarters in Boulder City.
Among the firm's goals is a transition from a research/development-oriented structure to a manufacturing organization, the executives said.
Kapral and outgoing Chairman Louis Haynie told shareholders to expect a 22-percent increase in sales for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, despite a 19-percent dip in sales in the firm's first quarter.
For the fiscal year ended June 30, Amerityre reported a net loss of $1.4 million on sales of $3.7 million, and in the quarter ended Sept. 30 the net loss was $303,013 on sales of $917,416. Collectively, Amerityre has reported $60.3 million in net losses over 15 years of business on about $21.3 million in sales.
Amerityre said it is going after a “substantial piece” of the North American market for industrial tires, which it estimated to be worth about $270 million, or roughly one-quarter of the global market.
Part of its strategy includes the introduction of tires made with a proprietary urethane formulation Amerityre is calling Kryon, which it claims is designed to carry heavy materials-handling loads in high duty-cycle forklift applications.
Amerityre actually launched this material two years ago in partnership with K-2 Industrial Tire Inc. but the Amerityre company now intends to make and sell its own line of forklift tires based on the Kryon development in addition to supplying K-2.
The company did not release specific formulation or performance data relating to the Kryon material/products, saying only independent testing has shown it “performed significantly better than rubber.”
Amerityre Chairman Tim Ryan said recently the company intends to go to market with about 30 of the most popular press-on sizes and designs in the Kryon material and add a line of pneumatic-shaped tires as well. Amerityre calculates press-on tires account for about 70 percent of demand.
The company is making upgrades at its Boulder City plant to accommodate larger sizes.