On Nov. 2, 2010, after 21 years as secretary/treasurer of the Tire Retread Information Bureau, I attended my final TRIB board of directors meeting.
That meeting was a real privilege for me, as I had an opportunity to get a glimpse of TRIB’s bright future. On Nov. 2, we interviewed three excellent candidates for the managing director position. One of those candidates, David Stevens, clearly exhibited the leadership skills to take TRIB to the next level. The board was unanimous in our decision to offer the managing director position to David.
Now TRIB and David need the support of all of those retreaders who want to see their business grow.
In my 21 years in the industry, I had the pleasure of serving with Harvey Brodsky. I probably attended more trade shows with Harvey than any other TRIB member. Together we worked at improving the retread industry’s image. Sometimes that meant a letter writing effort to legislators. In one instance, Harvey and I both flew to northern Indiana and took a television reporter on a retread plant tour to address some negative publicity issues.
Harvey was a great industry spokesperson and he should have ridden out, like a hero, on a white horse. Every TRIB board member wanted that for him and we offered him that opportunity.
That chapter is now closed. As a retreader, you have to look to the future. If you are going to be successful, in large part, that success will come because customers and prospective customers have full confidence in the retreads you manufacture.
When I entered the retread industry, the ratio of retreads to new tires in the truck tire replacement market was 1.5-to-1. That ratio has declined to the point where truckers actually purchase more new replacement tires than retreads.
Right now, you have a unique opportunity to recapture some of those wheel positions.
Because of economic conditions, fleets who never consider retreading as a viable option are taking a second look. Because of the dramatic gains in casing inspection technology, other fleets are considering extending their casing age specifications. Those trends obviously mean more business for you.
For all of that to happen, customers and potential customers must have full confidence in the technology our industry offers. Many of them will be looking to TRIB to determine if they can trust retreads.
I challenge you to go to the TRIB website and see if you think it portrays that futuristic message. I’m sure you will find a lot of information. The problem is that information is not necessarily timely or easy to assimilate. The TRIB site is dated and not user friendly.
One of the reasons David Stevens was able to make such a favorable impression with the TRIB board members is that he provided us with insight into TRIB’s future and potential by presenting a mock-up of a new TRIB website. More importantly, he provided us with concrete suggestions on how to change that site, so the technology available there matches what you can offer your truck fleet customers.
David has a long history of coming into new industries and making a positive impact. We look forward to seeing more of his vision as he continues to learn the industry.
Now is the time to support TRIB like never before. Your future success and your bottom line will greatly benefit from the technology and leadership David Stevens brings to our industry.
Don Schauer
1074 Destin Ave.
Foley, Al 36535
