Tyre manufacturer Maxxis International thanked its top 18 performing retailers of 2010 – the winners of the top prize in the Maxxis Rewards programme – by taking them on a seven-day, all expenses paid trip to China.
A mix of culture and business, the visit combined sightseeing visits to major attractions in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Shuzhou with a tour of the Maxxis factory in Kunshan and certainly made an impression.
Derek Campbell, from Derek Campbells Exhaust & Tyre Centre in Stockton, spoke for many when he said he has always been confident about selling the Maxxis brand, which offers his customers excellent value, and admitted that the Maxxis Rewards trip had opened his eyes.
“Maxxis is obviously continuing to invest enormously in research and development and I would think the tyres are future proof,” says Mr Campbell.
“You couldn’t fail to be impressed with the Maxxis facilities and the overall work ethic – the fact that the company chairman lives on site and is at work each day simply speaks for itself. I have visited tyre factories before, but the whole Maxxis set up seems to me to be ‘something else’.
“I was blown away by much of what I saw during the Maxxis Rewards trip, and enjoyed both the business aspect and the chance to see some of the important tourist sites. The hospitality and organisation were second to none and for me the trip reinforces the links between Maxxis and my business. It was a totally positive experience!”
Maxxis International’s guests were representatives from those retailers who purchased the most Maxxis tyres based on turnover between January 1 and September 30, 2010. Based at the 5-star Shanghai Marriott Hotel opposite Changfeng Park, which offers excellent facilities along with panoramic views across the city and the Su Zhou River, they took in a good deal of the local culture during three one-day tours of the area.
The tour of Shanghai itself included visits to the Yuyuan Garden, which was established in 1559 and, spreading over five acres, is the largest of Shanghai’s ancient gardens with cliffs, caves, gorges, ponds, pavilions and towers and the Jade Buddha Temple. This dates from 1882 and houses two Buddha statues carved from white jade, along with ancient paintings and Buddhist scriptures, while the Shanghai Museum in People’s Square comprises eleven galleries and three exhibition halls containing ancient Chinese paintings, sculptures, ceramics, coins, bronzes and furniture. Twenty six buildings of different architectural styles make up The Bund, situated on the west bank of the Huangpu River, which offers superb scenic views. The group also found time to fit in some shopping at Nanjing Road – a city landmark for many years with over 600 shops and widely considered the premier commercial street in China.
The highlights of the group’s visit to Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province and its political, economic and cultural centre, included the Lin Yin Temple – one of the ten most renowned Buddhist temples in China – and the tomb of general Yue Fei, famous for his successful wars against the Jin Dynasty (1115 -1234). The retailers also visited the National Team Museum, which covers an area of about 5.4 acres and is the only museum in China dedicated to tea, took a cruise on West Lake, renowned for its beautiful natural scenery and historic relics, and saw many different varieties of fish and flowers at Flower Harbour Park.
In Shuzhou there were sightseeing trips to the Tiger Hill burial site, Cool Mountain Temple and the Ancient City Wall. The retailers also saw the famous Humble Administrator’s Garden, which is the largest of the Chinese classical gardens in the area and generally considered the finest in South China, and the Grand Canal. At 1,764 km in length, it is claimed to be the longest and most significant man-made waterway in ancient China.
The Maxxis factory in Kunshan is one of the largest tyre plants in the world, incorporating a state of the art manufacturing facility capable of producing 46,000 tyres a day plus a new 4.5km test track, and for many of the retailers it was the highlight of the trip.
“Our customers found the factory visit really interesting and the standard of the facilities and equipment certainly altered their perceptions of the label ‘made in China’,” said Maxxis International UK’s managing director Derek McMartin, who hosted the trip.
“We always tell retailers about Maxxis International’s investment in some of the most advanced machinery in the world and the visit to the Kunshan plant really helped to reinforce that message and cement some excellent business relationships.”
The Maxxis Rewards initiative returns for 2011 and this time the top prize is a VIP two-centre holiday in Thailand, including a Maxxis factory tour. Full details of the new Maxxis Rewards programme will be available soon.
Maxxis PCR tyres are available from Grouptyre, the UK’s leading independent tyre wholesaler. For further information, contact Grouptyre on 01928 706166 or visit www.grouptyre.co.uk or www.maxxis.co.uk
