IRVINE, Calif. — Manu Veeravalli has founded General Trading International Inc. (GTI) of Irvine to distribute Royal-brand solid industrial tires — produced in India by Royal Tyres Pvt. Ltd. — exclusively in the U.S.
"I have just introduced the Royal tire brand from India to the U.S. market this year. My company is based in Southern California and is warehousing and distributing currently in the West," Mr. Veeravalli said.
"We hope to establish ourselves in this vital market over the course of the year and grow into a national distributor,"
He said the disruptions in imports from China and the general supply chain issues during the pandemic opened up opportunities for alternate sources of tires.
"I think the market has become a lot more receptive to Indian products and anything that provides a more efficient solution," he said.
GTI plans to establish a foothold on the West Coast before expanding to the rest of North America. Mr. Veeravalli said he has warehousing in Santa Ana, Calif., recently received his first commercial container of tires and has commenced distribution and marketing efforts.
He will be distributing Royal-brand industrial, forklift and skid-steer solid tires, either with or without rims. He said he is working on offering a line of non-static industrial tires.
Speaking on behalf of Royal tires, he said, "What separates us from everyone else is that we are market-responsive and we've had feedback from the customers and we're actually implementing those immediately into our tires. And I think people really appreciate that."
Chennai, India-based Royal Tyres was established in 1992 by M. Mani as a manufacturer of solid tires, smooth press-on tires, etc.