NAMA is adding a fourth production partner in Southeast Asia for the Nama-brand passenger and light truck tire product range it's selling in the U.S.

The contract manufacturer is adding production in Thailand, but declined to identify the company it's partnering with for the expanded product range, which the firm expects to have available before year-end.

The expanded range eventually will encompass 150 SKUs in high-performance passenger and a range of light truck/SUV tires in all-terrain, rugged-terrain and highway-terrain styles, Nama said.

Regarding the pending increase in U.S. import duties on consumer tires from Thailand and Vietnam, the company, through its Nama Tires Inc. subsidiary in Monterey Park, Calif., said it plans to pay any antidumping duties that will come into play.

This decision will make Nama Tires the "importer of record" and by using DDP (delivered duty-paid) shipping, it will assume the potential risks associated with transporting goods until the buyers receive them.

The elevated antidumping duties are scheduled to be 13.3% to 22.2%, depending on manufacturer, for products from Thailand.

Taking these actions will allow Nama to keep prices competitive, the company said, 10% to 20% lower than major competitors' prices.

Adding a fourth production partner will involve procuring 300 tire molds in two phases to cover the 150 SKUs, the company said, representing an investment of about $5 million.

The SKUs will include: 82 UHP sizes covering rim diameters of 15 to 28 inches; 73 H/T tire sizes, covering rim diameters of 15 to 22 inches; six M/T tire sizes covering 18- to 20-inch diameters; and 12 R/T sizes covering 18- to 20-inch diameters.

Nama also recently started shipping 19.5- and 24-inch medium truck tires produced in Vietnam.

The news comes from Tire Business https://www.tirebusiness.com/news/nama-adding-fourth-southeast-asian-site-expanded-product-range?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D15929893026877597643912000161224883704%7CMCORGID%3D138FFF2554E6E7220A4C98C6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1622517825&CSAuthResp=1%3A%3A6837%3A23%3A24%3Asuccess%3A217B1F93A71486E44C085F3462C92423