Quality tires for the road, for work and play
Incorporated in 1976, Greenball Corporation began as in importer and wholesaler of industrial tires from Taiwan.
History
When Greenball Corporation incorporated in 1976, US tire manufacturers were struggling with rising labor and material costs. As a result, US tire companies focused more energy on the more profitable tire segments. This situation provided an opportunity for Asian manufacturers to enter the US market. Greenball immediately targeted the specialty tire category, which included bicycle, wheelbarrow, motorcycle/scooter, and lawn & garden tires.
In the 1980's, market demand for automobile tires grew tremendously. US manufacturers focused more of their R&D and marketing into this segment. Asian manufacturers continued to focus on niches that weren't as important to US companies, while expanding into additional segments. These segments included designing and importing tires for trailers, forklifts, and ATVs. Greenball Corporation expanded its wholesale business into these areas, seeing an opportunity to design and import quality, competitively priced tires to the US.
In the early 1990's, OE manufacturers in the US began to require tire suppliers to supply both tire and wheel assemblies. Greenball sourced wheels in both Asia and the US. Greenball also expanded into trailer manufacturing, which included cargo, horse and utility trailers. In order to provide a full range of services to this industry, Greenball developed a full line of radial and conventional bias tires. At this time, also realized that there was a tremendous market opportunity in the OTR segment. As a result, Greenball designed and also introduced to the US market a line of large-sized OTR tires.
Operations
Greenball has steadily grown over the years. As our sales have grown, our need for space has also grown. Here is a timeline, starting with our smallest office:
- 1976: Began operations in a 2,300 square foot office and warehouse unit
- 1978: Moved into a 7,000 square foot building
- 1980: Relocated into a 13,500 sq. foot building
- 1982: Expanded to an adjacent 24,000 sq. ft. facility
- 1985: Moved to 50,000 sq. ft. building
- 1990: Expanded into our current 78,400 sq. ft. location
Greenball also expanded at out of Los Angeles. It opened satellite distribution centers in other major markets in the US for the purpose of developing a nationwide distribution network.
- April 1986: Opened a distribution center in Waycross, Georgia
- May 1986: Its York, Pennsylvania branch opened
- October 1993: Opened in Elkhart, Indiana
- November 1994: Portland, Oregon opened (closed since Sept/1999)
- January 1996: Lakeland, Florida became its second facility in the Southeast
- February 1997: Memphis, Tennessee provided better service and support to the South and Midwest
- July 2000: Chambersburg, Pennsylvania opened for better service to the East Coast
- November 2002: Ontario, Ohio is the latest facility
Greenball opened its doors with a crew of 3 people in 1976. Additional people have been added throughout the years. Today, our team of over 150 stands ready to serve our customers.
Supply Sources
From 1976 to 1993, Greenball Corporation sourced their tires through a single vendor. Cheng Shin Rubber Co. in Taiwan exported and exclusively manufactured Greenball tire designs. In 1993, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Inc. became a reliable domestic source. After 1994, Greenball has developed a stable of ten (10) supply sources to meet the evolving and growing needs of the company.
Greenball now sources different categories of products from different manufacturers, depending on the vendor's facilities and capabilities. Today, many tire industry experts agree that our Towmaster program is one of the few comprehensive and complete special tire programs available in the market place.
Our vendors can be located in China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, and India. Chris and Jenny visit each factory on a yearly basis to monitor quality control. Oftentimes at US trade shows, other vendors collaborate with Greenball to display their products at our booths. |
