Kenda will help welcome back fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers for two years.
The 2013-14 National Basketball Association season has begun, and Kenda U.S.A. is in the thick of the action.
Kenda recently signed on to become an official partner of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the next two seasons.
"North Gateway Tire, part of the Dunlap & Kyle group, and the community around Cleveland have been large supporters of Kenda, and we want to make sure to thank them by supporting their community," says Eric Yang, Kenda's automotive marketing manager. "The Cavs have a great core of young players, and we will be a force to reckon with in the upcoming season."
The Cavs open the season against the Brooklyn Nets tonight (Oct. 30) at Quicken Loans Areana ("The Q") at 7 p.m. EST.
For the next two seasons, Kenda will welcome fans back to The Q as presenting game sponsor for the home opener. This year, in celebration of the home opener, all fans will receive a Cavaliers 2013-2014 magnet schedule, which will be presented by Kenda tires.
Kenda also is an official partner of the Houston Rockets. Kenda signed a multi-year extension of their corporate partnership with the team last year. As a result, Kenda will remain an official partner of the Rockets through the end of the 2014-15 NBA season.
Kenda officials and guests recently traveled to Taiwan to attend the NBA Global Games. The exhibition game between the Rockets and Indiana Pacers featured Rockets guard Jeremy Lin, whose parents emigrated from Taiwan to the United States in the 1970's. Lin and the Rockets defeated the Pacers 107-98 at Taipei Arena.
The Kenda contingent also was treated to a private meet and greet with Lin at the Okura Prestige Hotel in Taipei. Lin entertained the guests by sharing some of his memories of Taiwan during his childhood.
More than 325 million people watched Rockets game broadcasts worldwide during the 2012-13 NBA season across all networks, according to Kenda, which also has a strong relationship in Texas with Hesselbein Tire Southwest Inc. (Hesselbein, a division of Dunlap & Kyle Co. Inc., opened a new warehouse in Houston early 2013.)
"We try to give back to the communities that support us most, and the Rockets relationship has definitely embodied this philosophy," says Yang.
The Cincinnati Reds Major League Baseball team and the Columbus Blue Jackets National Hockey League team round out the list of professional sports teams that Kenda currently sponsors.
Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. is based in Taiwan. American Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd., which also does business as Kenda U.S.A., is the domestic marketing arm of Kenda Rubber.
