History

In the Seventies’ (1970’s) there were seven or eight tire manufacturers in the USA who produced various kinds of tires, including specialty tires. Labor cost in USA during that time, increased every year, which then boosted the cost of the products. At this key point in time, Asian countries began to develop their industries, and first started to get into low cost products such as bicycle tires, wheelbarrow tires, motorcycle/scooter tires and lawn & garden tires.

During these days, Greenball Corporation played a significant role as importer in bringing more and more of the above mentioned products from Asia into the US market. US manufacturers did not seem to be competitive; their prices were not at a stage to compete with the Asian manufacturers; as a result, the American producers began exiting this field of these specialty tires.

As the auto industry grew and advanced rapidly in the late 80’s, market demand for auto tires surged. US manufacturers then switched their focus to auto tire production. Asian manufacturers found it feasible to get into these markets for conventional tires such as trailer tires, forklift tires and ATV tires at this time. Among several importers, Greenball again played an integral role in getting these tires developed in Asia and then introducing them to the US. This was a major source of Greenball’s growth for Greenball’s second decade of business.

Around the early 90’s, the OE manufacturers in the US market began requiring that tire suppliers supply them tire and wheel assemblies. Greenball started to source wheels (as well as tires) from Asia. GBC also developed a domestic wheel source to accommodate the more time sensitive cases as well. The availability of wheels helped Greenball to expand our business into the “trailer manufacturing” field, such as cargo trailers, horse trailers, and utility trailers on a national level. This trailer market uses radial special trailer tires as well as conventional bias tires. It was necessary for Greenball to have this line of products in order to provide a full range of services to this industry. Consequently, the “trailer” line led Greenball to deal with large-sized tire manufacturers; this, in turn, allowed Greenball to further add larger size tires (such as farm equipment or OTR tires) into our product line.

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Operations

The growth of Greenball Corporation has been slow but steady. As demand grew for our products, so did our inventory, staff, and need for space. Starting from the smallest office:

(Headquarter)
• 1976: Began with a 2,300 square foot unit for office and warehouse
• 1978: Moved to a 7,000 square foot building
• 1980: Again moved into a 13,500 sq. foot building
• 1982: Expanded to adjacent unit for total of 24,000 sq. ft.
• 1985: Moved to 50,000 sq. ft. building
• 1990: Final move to current location of 78.400 sq. ft.

Greenball not only grew and expanded at its home base in Los Angeles, it also established satellite distribution centers in other major markets in the U.S. for the purpose of completing a nationwide distribution network.

• April 1986: Opened Waycross, Georgia distribution center
• May 1986: York, Pennsylvania branch opened
• October 1993: Elkhart, Indiana opened
• November 1994: Portland, Oregon (closed since Sept/1999)
• January 1996: Lakeland, Florida
• February 1997: Memphis, Tennessee
• July 2000: Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
• November 2002: Ontario, Ohio

Greenball started with a mere crew of 3 people in 1976. Additional staffs were brought in as needed during the course of expansion. At the present time, 150+ employees stand ready to serve our customers.

Supply Sources

From 1976, when Greenball Corp. first began, to 1993, Greenball Corporation dealt with a single source as the vendor; that vendor was Cheng Shin Rubber Co. in Taiwan. In 1993, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Inc. was added as a domestic source. After 1994, responding to evolving needs of the company, Greenball developed more than ten (10) supply sources over the next few years.

Greenball now sources different categories of products from different manufacturers, depending on the vendor’s facilities set-up and its capabilities. Today, many well-seasoned people in the tire industry 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 various major cities in China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, and India. Chris and Jenny visit the factories and offices on a yearly basis to observe the facilities. Oftentimes for trade shows in the US, vendors collaborate with Greenball to display their products at our booths.