DENVER, CO (BRAIN) — Alex Rims — one of the most successful original equipment suppliers to come out of Taiwan in the last two decades — is now looking to expand sales in the aftermarket in North America and Europe.
The company has set up a sales office in Colorado to serve North America and one in Germany to serve Europe. Its initial focus is on sales of its A-Class dirt jumping and free ride rims and wheels, but the company also is offering a wide range of rims and wheels for everything from BMX to 88 millimeter deep carbon road wheels.
"They see a lot of opportunity in the aftermarket wheel segment of the industry and they realize they need to maybe change their game plan to go after that part of the industry," said Chris Olivier, who is heading up the Denver office. Olivier has a background in enduro and free ride racing, as does Hendrik Tafel, who is heading up the European office.
Olivier said the market is already very interested in the company's AXT3 all-mountain/enduro wheel. "It has a tubeless unique extrusion rim, straight pull spokes and it's just ridiculusly rigid," he said. The AXT3 is currently available in 26-inch but will be out in 650b and 29er soon, he said.
Alex is looking to expand its distribution. Currently its products are available in the U.S. from SBS, QBP, Action, Wilson, J&B and APlus, and in Canada from Damour, Cycles Lambert and NORCO, although not all its distributors carry the company's wheels. Olivier said Alex will have a presence at many expos, competitions and consumer events this summer.
Dr. Alex Chen founded Alex Rims in 1992 in Tainan City, a rural farming area in southern Taiwan. Its triple-wall BMX rims were an early OE favorite. The company mixes its own aluminum alloys and does its own extrusions and wheel building in its factory in Tainan. All of its aftermarket products are made there; the company also has some OE rims made in China.
More information: www.alexrims.com and www.aclass-wheels.com.
