The Rubber Manufacturers Association has a new name – the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA). As part of its rebranding, the USTMA also unveiled a newly designed website www.USTires.org.
“[Our new name] more accurately reflects who we are, where we do it and what we stand for,” Anne Forristall Luke, USTMA president and CEO told Tire Review.
“In order to belong to the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association you must be a company that manufacturers tires in the United States. At this point in our history we thought it was time for our name to accurately reflect who we are and what we do. Also it’s a great opportunity for us to do a better job of communicating with folks, the terrific story the U.S. tire manufacturing industry has to tell.”
The association has been working on rebranding efforts for several months with consultation from its board of directors, Forristall Luke said.
“Doing something like this is really a significant undertaking,” she shared. “It’s a lot more then a new logo and a new name. Really it is a strategic communications platform for telling our story to all our key stake holders to consumers to policy makers that regulate our industry to our member companies and their employees too.”
The USTMA’s mission is “to strengthen the reputation and competitiveness of the U.S. tire manufacturing industry.” The rebranding isn’t a change in mission focus, Forristall Luke said.
“Our mission is reenergized. It is a reflection of our ongoing commitment and dedication to making safe, sustainable tires… that continues to be the bedrock of our mission,” she shared. “This is an opportunity for us to reenergize that focus among our member companies, their employees and all of our key stake holders.”
Tire manufacturing within the United States continues to grow. When Forristall Luke started in January 2016 with RMA there were just eight member companies. Today the USTMA has 10 member companies, with a predicated 12 to 13 total members within the next couple years.
Membership in the USTMA continues to grow as more and more tire manufacturers are building plants within the U.S.
Emphasizing the role the tire industry plays in the U.S. economy and job creation, USTMA also released a new economic impact study as part of its rebranding announcement.
Highlights of the study include:
• The U.S. tire manufacturing industry is a $148.4 billion dollar industry.
• The U.S. tire manufacturing industry is responsible for more than 737,000 jobs in the US.
• The U.S. tire manufacturing industry directly supports more than 284,000 U.S. jobs through manufacturing, distribution and retailing, and is responsible for more than 450,000 additional U.S. jobs in supplier and induced activities.
The USTMA will still operate from the same location it did when it operated as the RMA. The association’s address is:
1400 K Street, NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20005
202.682.4800
[email protected]
