Setting the Stage
As the new editor of Tire Review, it’s a true privilege to be in this role, serving the tire industry and its members with the information you need most to be stay ahead and stay successful. To quote my predecessor, the late Jim Smith, “This is your magazine. We are simply its caretaker.” In the
Remembering Jim: A Publisher’s Perspective
Dear tire industry and Tire Review readers, We are still waiting for word from Jim’s family on final arrangements and will pass the information to you when it is available. We thank you for your messages of support and will be sure to share them with his family. As a tribute to Jim, we will
Remembering Jim: First Impressions
Due to the recent passing of longtime Tire Review Editor Jim Smith, we’d like to take a look back at Jim’s start with the magazine. Jim started working with Tire Review in October 1999. He had just moved back from Nashville after stints with Stumpf Bartels Advertising and Bridgestone Americas. Click here for the column
Remembering Jim: Ed Wagner Leadership Award
Longtime Tire Review Editor Jim Smith devoted his life to the tire and automotive industry and the people who worked in it. After nearly 30 years in the industry, Jim was honored for his dedication to independent tire dealers with the Ed Wagner Leadership Award during the 2014 Tire Industry Honors event in Las Vegas.
Mounting Death Toll From Demounted Tires/Wheels
“Man dead after flying wheel crushes SUV on Hwy. 400” “Lexington man killed by runaway wheel is mourned” I cannot recall a single week in recent years that I’ve not read these and similar headlines from newspaper and radio/TV websites across the U.S. and Canada. And the sad thing is that the ones that make
Titan Trade Injury Claims Just More of the Same
“Rinse and repeat.” Handy instructions on the back of a shampoo bottle. Also short-hand for witnessing the same sad thing over and over. A seemingly infinite loop. Like the movie “Groundhog Day,” only not nearly as funny. Titan International opened 2016 by filing petitions claiming “material injury” from imported OTR tires being “dumped” on the
Titan Chief Ready to Pull Trigger on OTR Tariff Play
A friend of mine who is close to the government agencies involved in setting anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imported goods called me the other day. He had a few questions about imported OTR and ag tires, specifically he wanted to clarify a few things about pneumatic versus non-pneumatic units and where certain manufacturing was
The Lean Green Gas of Home, SEMA Notes & Tire Trained Women
Where have all of the green tires gone? Long time passing…apparently. At the SEMA Show/Global Tire Expo last week, I walked through a number of tiremaker booths and checked out the new rubber. Perhaps I didn’t look in all of the right places (there were a lot of tires), but I can’t recall seeing the
Bald Dump Tires Nearly Kill Students; Korea’s Messy Labor World
On Aug. 27, a large truck owned by G.B. Green Construction Management was involved in an accident with an Escambia County, Fla., school district bus carrying students. Fifteen Pensacola High School students and the bus driver were injured, and transported to local hospitals. None of the injuries were life-threatening, fortunately. The bus, though, was knocked
State Association Goes on Ice, And We’re All Poorer For It
It pained me to hear the news about the New Jersey State Tire Dealers Association going on hiatus. Mergers, buyouts and a general lack of interest by independent tire dealers in the state contributed to NJSTDA president and friend of the show Al Breese informing membership that everything was going on ice for the foreseeable
Suppliers React to Claims Made About Chinese Truck Tires
Recently, former TIA president Peggy Fisher, who is well-known and respected throughout the trucking industry, wrote an article that was, well, a little disparaging and generalized about China-made radial truck tires sold in the U.S. I have every confidence that you’ll either know about it already, or can find it. Twice within the last week,
Thinking Out Loud About History, Laws and Run-Flat Tires
One of my favorite quotes is “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” That was written by the Harvard educated Spanish philosopher, essayist and novelist George Santayana. Our collective history is well-dotted by instances where we failed to recall or understand past failings, only to be reminded once we have failed yet