GRI names Doornbos director of North America

RALEIGH, N.C.—Specialty tire manufacturer Global Rubber Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. (GRI) has hired tire industry veteran Ydo Doornbos to be its director of North America. He joined the company on April 29.

Doornbos has spent 29 years in the industry, most recently acting as vice president, business development at American Pacific Industries (API), a private-brand tire distributor. There, GRI said, his vision and business acumen promoted API's growth and expansion in the automotive and commercial tire sectors.

Doornbos spent over 26 years with Trelleborg Wheel Systems, where he worked extensively with materials-handling and agriculture tires, two key sectors for Colombo, Sri Lanka-based GRI.

Doornbos replaces Mike Conner in the position. Conner now will focus on growth initiatives in materials-handling, original-equipment and strategic business development for GRI, according to Saanya Subasinghe, GRI's marketing director.

"Mike has done a lot of work establishing the team in North America," she said.

Doornbos, who will be based in Massachusetts, will focus his efforts on expanding and driving "GRI's success in delivering sustainable agriculture, material handling and construction tires" in North America.

"Ydo's extensive industry knowledge and leadership will be invaluable as we strengthen our presence in North America. We are delighted to have him on board," GRI Managing Director Prabhash Subasinghe said.

Subasinghe said she had met Doornbos several times across the globe. "It was the right fit for us," she said.

"With Barry (Guildford) coming on board (as global commercial director, effective March 1), we were kind of looking at the growth opportunities in North America," Subasinghe said.

"(Doornbus) is huge part of that plan for us. We will continue to invest in growing the team, making sure we're making the right decision and focusing on North America.

"This is why welcome Ydo on board. He's a good leader who will help us take that growth journey."

Doornbos started his career in the tire industry in 1995 with a six-month internship at Monarch Industrial Tires in the USA. He later joined TWS as the regional sales and operations manager in Europe for the Monarch brand.

Later, he was promoted to marketing manager Europe for the TWS Industrial Tires division.

Doornbos returned to the U.S. in 2005, where he was director of marketing, customer service and original equipment manufacturing sales at TWS. He then was named managing director and product area president for industrial and construction tires.

GRI said that over the course of 13 years, he led strategic initiatives that enhanced product integration and service excellence. In 2019, Ydo was named regional president, North and Central America, agriculture/material handling/construction, steering the company "through unprecedented challenges posed by the global pandemic," GRI said.

He joined API in 2022.

Doornbos said he's "thrilled to join GRI, a company synonymous with excellence and innovation in the tire industry. I look forward to leveraging my experience to drive growth and success in North America."

GRI has seven U.S.-based employees, including four sales manager. The company said it will look to add more position as the company grows in the U.S."

"We hope to grow the team as we focus more on North America," Saanya Subasinghe said.

GRI operates in 13 countries and has sales in more than 70 countries.