TBC acquires rights to Interstate tire brand

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida – TBC Corp. has acquired global marketing rights to the Interstate tire brand from Interstate Tire & Rubber, which was declared "insolvent" in late 2017 by a Dutch court.

TBC said it intends to keep marketing the brand internationally with no immediate plans to offer it in the US.

Delft, Netherlands-based Interstate Tire has been marketing the Interstate brand since 1972, offering passenger, light and medium truck tire lines. Interstate tires in the past were sourced both from China and from Taiwan, the latter via Nankang Rubber Tire Corp., the Dutch company said in 2017.

TBC has hired Theo de Vries, director of marketing and sales at Interstate Tires since 2005 and a 22-year company veteran, to be its international sales and marketing manager. He will continue to be based in the Netherlands.

"We've had the opportunity to work with the Interstate Tires team for the last 10 years and we are excited about the opportunity to take the brand to the next level," Marty Krcelic, executive vice-president at TBC, said in a prepared statement.

It's unclear what's happened or is happening with the Interstate Tire physical assets.

TBC has taken over management of the Interstate website, interstate-tires.com and also lists the Interstate brand on its TBC International website.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but court documents related to Interstate's bankruptcy filing show Interstate owed TBC nearly $1.75 million for various services rendered.