OTR Wheel Engineering Celebrates 30 Years

OTR Wheel Engineering, Inc. is celebrating 30 years in business this year.

The Georgia-based company, founded in 1987 by Fred Taylor has grown over the years to now have 12 manufacturing and 20 distribution locations domestically and worldwide with sales reaching nearly $240 million in fiscal year 2016.

“We are beyond thankful to our customers for making this anniversary possible,” said Taylor, the company’s President. “Without the dedication and hard work of our associates and our culture of customer service that exists throughout the entire organization, this milestone could not have been reached. It gives me great pride to reflect on where we have come from to where we are today and excited for the future.”

Taylor started the company as a small wheel shop in Rome, Georgia. There, he started to manufacture and distribute wheels and wheel components to customers in the southeast. He found that customers wanted a “service and product integrator,” and after landing his first major client in 1995, the company began soliciting major OE manufacturers with the concept of providing the procurement of their tires and wheels, assembling and delivering to them to reduce their material carrying costs. As part of that role, the company offers an engineering support team to help customers in the development of new products and or enhance existing processes. They also have manufacturing capabilities, work in domestic and global procurement and have the resources to open facilities for “just-in-time” delivery to customers.

To continue growth, OTR Wheel Engineering has plans for expansion as well with the opening of seven mounting facilities over the next eight years and two new wheel facilities.

Toyo Tire announced the development of catalysts that convert carbon dioxide into butadiene in high yield in collaboration with the University of Toyama. The company said it and the university successfully synthesized butadiene rubber, a key raw materials for tires, using CO2.

The composition ratios of raw materials used for automobile tires varies by category, and petroleum-derived synthetic rubbers including butadiene units (styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and butadiene rubber (BR)) account for approximately 30% of raw material overall. This being the case, the tire industry has been activating the research of synthesis of butadiene rubber derived from naturally alternative materials (resources) other than petroleum for practical application.