The following was e-mailed to all members of TRIB last week by association president Bob Majewski.

To All TRIB Members and Colleagues in the Retread and Repair Industries:
 
Over the last several weeks, I have been calling around talking to many retreaders, vendors, and tire dealers trying to get the DOT codes figured out for the government. We have found that we now have 757 current DOT codes that are being used by retreaders, repair shops and manufacturers of different products related to retreading in the United States. While doing this, I realized how many retreaders do not financially support TRIB.
 
I have been in this industry for more than 47 years and cannot believe people in these companies do not see the benefits of this association that defends our industry. TRIB is inexpensive to join, with most members paying only $350 in annual dues. Some members give more just because of the savings and value TRIB has added to our industry. I believe most companies treat this as an expense to the plant but should also consider it a sales tool for the sales department. Today, many of your employees do not see or hear about the benefits TRIB provides because they do not have access to the website or are not included on our email distribution lists.

Here are just a few of the benefits TRIB provides:
1. Newly redesigned informational website (how many people use this in your business?)            
a. DOT Code lookup.            
b. Answers to many everyday questions for sales and shop needs            
c. Online store with new products coming soon. (sales and plant needs)            
d. Latest industry news (sales and plant)            
e. Resources like recommended links, videos and training info, retread tire buyers guide, etc.(s/p)            
f. Government studies for Rubber on the Road, DOT required markings, etc. (s/p)            
g. Many others too numerous to list

2. Attending, exhibiting, and speaking at trucking, tire and government trade shows that deal with our customers and showing them the many benefits of retreading such as:            
a. Environmental savings            
b. Cost savings (sales)            
c. Reduction of the use of natural resources such as oil            
d. Defending any and all complaints about retreading and rubber on the road (sales and plant)            
e. Providing industry information like the “Recommended Practices for Tire Retreading & Tire Repairing” and many other informative information packets (plant)            
f. Showing various retreading processes at shows and answering questions about manufacturing technology and systems.            
g. Sending feedback to supporters for new or added sales prospect leads.            
h. Educating users about the importance of proper air pressure through a “Guess the Pressure” contest with a thumper compared to real reading with air gauge.            
i. TMC SuperTech competition and other tradeshows for the appearance of Retreads compared to new tires (sales)

3. Attending and presenting at fact-finding meetings for future business for the Retread Industry:            
a. Testifying at the U.S. International Trade Commission on the remanufacturing of products, how retreading has fit into this category for years, and outlining the importance of retreading to the transportation industry.            
b. Presenting to the Defense Logistics Agency to fight for the use of Retreads on more government equipment with less red tape and prohibitively expensive tire testing requirements to meet CATL (which replaced QPLC).

4. With TRIB’s “Spot the Retread” contest, people are more pleased than ever with the quality and appearance of the tires and it is great to see how they struggle picking out the retreads from the new tires. We had more people walk away from these events saying “Wow, big difference from years ago… I should try them again.” This is what we do…awareness, spreading knowledge, selling and protecting our businesses and our industry.

5. TRIB has recently added more retreaders to the board so we are more in touch with what is going on and can react fast and efficiently to today’s issues. By having more retreaders on the board we are sure we are directing David Stevens (managing director) in the right direction for our needs and our industry. Also, all board members pay for their own expenses so we can operate as lean as possible.

For those TRIB members who have not yet paid their 2012 dues, we will have a deadline of May 31 and anyone not having paid by this time will no longer receive emails, casing/supplier memos or any other industry information. The only exception is for budgetary reasons that have been pre-arranged.

I believe if you check the new website – retread.org – you will see what an added value TRIB really provides to our industry. If you check other association’s fees, you will see what a great value we have for your sales and the plant personnel.  TRIB wants to provide what you need, so please let us know how we can improve and make this organization stronger and better for you, our members.

Sincerely,
Bob Majewski
President of TRIB
Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau