Winter Harvest: Dealers Can Plant the Winter Tire Seed All Year Round
It wasn’t too long ago that some in this industry were ready to declare the winter tire dead. Popular in Europe and Canada, sales in the U.S. had been, at best, flat for the previous couple of winters. A few suggested that advances in standard passenger and performance offerings were enough to cope with slush,
Roll Over? Never!: Vigilance, Skill, Backbone Needed to Deflect Ongoing Tire Criticism
Despite the obvious political expediency – 2000 was an election year, after all – the TREAD Act wasn’t about penalizing wrong-doers, enhancing standards, improving technology or even getting a better handle on occasional problems. No, the real reason behind the TREAD Act, if you really think about it, is quite basic: People are ignorant about
Critical Mass: Under Cost and Capacity Pressures, BFNAT Outlines Its Plan
Under Cost and Capacity Pressures, BFNAT Outlines Its Plan
The Last Act?: Even After Attendance Boost for “Positive” WTE, TIA Officials Looking at Options
Even After Attendance Boost for “Positive” WTE, TIA Officials Looking at Options
A Weighty Vocation: Exploring Often-Overlooked Fire Truck Tire Business Can Ignite Profits
If you’re a commercial tire dealer, you may be overlooking a relatively simple and lucrative business opportunity. Chances are good you drive right past a potential new source of sales every day and never even give a second look. That potential customer is right in your local fire station. Why is the opportunity to sell
Maxed Out?: Size Race Slows, But Fashion vs. Function Questions Remain for Dealers
For a few years, the tire and wheel industries resembled the Cold War nuclear arms race – every year, someone rolled out a bigger weapon. It started with eye-popping, wheel-well-stretching 20-inch wheels and tires and progressed to the 2004 SEMA Show, where gigantic 28-inchers were every where. A sort of dÉtente has settled in, if
Badge of Honor: Tire/Wheel Certification Offers Customer-Capturing Credibility
What is your impression of someone who has a professional certification? Admiration? Perhaps respect for the achievement or recognition? When you’re being treated for a common cold, do you go to a first-year med student because it isn’t a life threatening illness? Of course not! You see a licensed professional, such as a doctor or
Brilliant Disguise: All That Glitters is Not Gold, Especially When it Comes to Tire Supply
Reviewing the state of the medium truck tire market in the spring of 2005 is enough to make a fortune teller reach for the Pepto. There is a record demand for tires, what appears to be a tightening supply of those tires (depending on who you ask), a continuing strong demand for Class 8 power
Second Skin: For Retreaders, Technology and Service are the ‘Differentiators’ in Tough Market
Wherever the market for new truck tires decides it is headed, the retreading industry is hot on its heels. Of course, that job is a bit easier for Bridgestone/Firestone, Goodyear and Michelin, because they are involved in both. But even their allocation of time and money must be measured carefully. For companies like Bandag Inc.
Hands-on Learning: BFNAT Takes Three New Tires on the Road With Classroom on Wheels
BFNAT Takes Three New Tires on the Road With Classroom on Wheels