HINKUS

What HINKUS does

HINKUS AS is an Estonian capital-owned tire retail and automotive service company established in 1991 and headquartered in Tartu, Estonia. The company operates physical workshops at Sepa 22 in Tartu (with separate bays for passenger cars/vans and for trucks/industrial machines) and at Jaama 77c in Põlva, plus a sales representation office in Kiili (Tallinn area). Its product catalog spans 482 SKUs covering summer and winter tires for passenger cars and 4x4/SUVs, truck tires, motorcycle tires, special-purpose industrial and agricultural tires, retreaded tires, rims (steel, aluminum, truck, ATV), tire accessories, batteries, oils (CASTROL, EUROL), filters, and related automotive supplies from brands including MICHELIN, GOODYEAR, BRIDGESTONE, CONTINENTAL, and NOKIAN.

The company's business model combines one-time retail sales (tires, rims, accessories) with professional service fees (installation, balancing, seasonal storage, tire repair, nitrogen tire filling at €4-€7 per wheel, and wheel restoration including sandblasting, painting, and lacquering). HINKUS positions itself as one of the largest authorized dealers in Estonia for the MICHELIN, GOODYEAR, and BRIDGESTONE groups, and it owns subsidiary SEPA REHV OÜ, which since 2001 has retreaded truck tires under a MICHELIN license, producing RECAMIC and NEWLIFE branded retreaded tires and holding an estimated 20% of Estonia's truck tire retreading market. Customers reach HINKUS through direct walk-in retail at its workshops, an online appointment booking system for tire changes, and an online rim search tool; marketing relies on promotional discounts of up to 40% on tires, 30% on batteries, and 25% on wheels.

Name

HINKUS

Legal name

HINKUS AS

Website

https://hinkus.ee

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HINKUS is an Estonian tire retailer and automotive service provider operating workshops in Tartu and Põlva with a Tallinn-area sales office, serving individual vehicle owners, commercial fleets, and agricultural customers with new and retreaded tires, rims, and related services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tire Retail and Automotive Services

NAICS

Tire Dealers (441340), Tire Dealers (44134), Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers (423130)

SIC

Wholesale-Motor Vehicle Supplies & New Parts (5013)

akta.pro primary industry

Tire & Wheel Services (Mount/Balance/Alignment) (TLAKAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wheel Services (Mount/Balance, Alignment, Rotation) (TLAKADAF), Tire Retreading & Casing Management (TLAKADAE), Specialty Tires (OTR, Industrial, Agricultural, Mining, Aviation, Marine) (TLAKADAJ)

Keywords

• Tire retail sales
• Automotive tire service
• Tire installation repair
• Tire retreading services
• Wheel rim restoration

Headquarters

HQ city

Tartu

HQ country

Estonia

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tire Sales: Retail sale of new tires for passenger cars, trucks, motorcycles, buses, tractors, and industrial machines. Products include summer, winter, and all-season tires from major brands including MICHELIN, GOODYEAR, BRIDGESTONE, CONTINENTAL, and NOKIAN.
2. Wheel/Rim Sales: Sale of new and restored wheels and rims for various vehicle types, including aluminum rims. Restoration services include sandblasting, painting, lacquering, and polishing of both cast and steel rims.
3. Service Fees: Fees for tire installation, balancing, seasonal storage, and repair services. Includes nitrogen tire filling service (€4 per wheel for passenger cars, €7 per wheel for trucks).
4. Automotive Accessories: Sale of batteries, oils (CASTROL, EUROL), filters, windshield cleaners, and window wash fluid.
5. Tire Retreading: Truck tire retreading services through subsidiary SEPA REHV OÜ under MICHELIN license, producing RECAMIC and NEWLIFE branded retreaded tires.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

HINKUS is a tire retailer and automotive service provider operating physical workshops in Tartu and Põlva, Estonia. It sells new tires, wheels/rims, and automotive accessories (batteries, oils, filters, wipers) from major brands including MICHELIN, GOODYEAR, BRIDGESTONE, CONTINENTAL, and NOKIAN. The company delivers installation, balancing, seasonal storage, tire repair, nitrogen tire filling, wheel sandblasting and painting, and truck tire retreading through its MICHELIN-licensed subsidiary SEPA REHV OÜ. Customers can browse a 482-item online catalog and book service appointments via the company website.

Product overview

HINKUS AS is an Estonian tire company operating since 1991 with workshops in Tartu and Põlva and a sales representative in Tallinn. The company offers a broad tire assortment for passenger cars, trucks, buses, tractors, motorcycles, and industrial machines, along with rims, wheel accessories, batteries, oils, and filters. Service offerings include tire installation and balancing, seasonal tire storage, tire repair, nitrogen tire filling, wheel cleaning, painting, and rim repair. The subsidiary SEPA REHV OÜ retreads truck tires under MICHELIN license, producing RECAMIC and NEWLIFE branded retreaded tires that hold 20% of Estonia's truck tire retreading market. The product portfolio spans 482 catalog items including summer and winter tires for passenger cars and 4x4 vehicles, truck tires, special-purpose tires, retreaded tires, motorcycle tires, truck and passenger car rims (including aluminum and ATV rims), tire accessories, and truck spare parts. Online services include rim search by vehicle make and online appointment booking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RECAMIC: Truck tire retreading brand produced by SEPA REHV OÜ under MICHELIN license
• NEWLIFE

Products and services

• Tire Sales (passenger car, SUV/4x4, truck, motorcycle, bus, tractor, special-purpose)
• Wheel and Rim Sales (truck, passenger car, aluminum, ATV)
• Automotive Parts and Accessories
• Tire Retreading Services (RECAMIC and NEWLIFE)
• Nitrogen Tire Filling Service
• Passenger Car Wheel Cleaning, Restoration, and Rim Stretch Repair
• Tire Installation, Balancing, Repair, and Seasonal Storage

Quantifiable outcome

• Tire lifespan increases up to 25% with nitrogen filling
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• MICHELIN (License Agreement - SEPA REHV OÜ)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2001SEPA REHV OÜ, a subsidiary of AS HINKUS, operates under MICHELIN license since 2001 to retread (protekteerida) truck tires. Products are sold under RECAMIC and NEWLIFE brands.
• MICHELIN Group (MICHELIN, KLEBER, BFGOODRICH, KORMORAN)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHINKUS AS is one of the largest retail distributors of MICHELIN Group products in Estonia, including MICHELIN, KLEBER, BFGOODRICH, and KORMORAN tire brands.
• GOODYEAR Group (GOODYEAR, DUNLOP, FULDA, SAVA)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHINKUS AS is one of the largest retail distributors of GOODYEAR Group products in Estonia, including GOODYEAR, DUNLOP, FULDA, and SAVA tire brands.
• BRIDGESTONE Group (BRIDGESTONE, FIRESTONE)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHINKUS AS is one of the largest retail distributors of BRIDGESTONE Group products in Estonia, including BRIDGESTONE and FIRESTONE tire brands.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Kwik-Fit: Large European tire-fitment and automotive-service chain. Comparable as an established incumbent in the tire retail/services space operating a multi-bay workshop model across multiple vehicle categories.
• Point S: International tire and auto-service dealer cooperative with extensive European workshop network. Comparable as a broader incumbent offering multi-brand tire retail, fitting, and maintenance services across multiple vehicle categories in European markets.
• FirstStop: European truck and commercial-vehicle tire network focused on fleet servicing, including retreading. Comparable for HINKUS's truck and fleet service line of business and SEPA REHV's MICHELIN-licensed retreading activity.

Regional players

• Rehvimeister: Estonian tire specialist retail chain with multi-location workshops and online booking. Comparable as a domestic direct peer serving the same Estonian consumer and small-fleet segments with tire sales, mounting, and seasonal storage services.
• Rehvikaubad: Estonian online and in-store tire retailer offering multi-brand tire sales, fitting, and storage services. Comparable as a direct domestic competitor to HINKUS operating in the same Estonian tire aftermarket with multi-brand tire offerings and similar end-customer base.
• Tallinna Rehvikeskus: Tallinn-area tire service specialist offering multi-brand tire sales, fitting, and repair services. Comparable as a domestic Estonian peer targeting the same consumer and small-fleet segments, with strongest overlap in the Tallinn market.

Direct peers

• Euromaster: Pan-European tire and automotive-service chain (Michelin-owned) with Estonian workshop presence. Comparable as both a peer in the tire retail/service category and as a fellow MICHELIN-affiliated distributor competing in the same Estonian market.

Emerging players

• SEPA REHV OÜ: HINKUS's own wholly-owned subsidiary and a focused retreader of truck tires under MICHELIN license. Listed as an internal-benchmark peer for evaluating the retreading leg of the business alongside external Estonian retreaders.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hinkus-llt

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HINKUS