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USA
Continental Tire Opens US Retread Franchise
Hawkinson Loses Minnesota Fight
Paul Hawkinson, who owns the patented rights to a particular retreading system has sued an erstwhile franchisee, Anderson Tire and Treads Inc, through the courts in Minnesota.
The case was based on the fact that Anderson had not paid fees and his franchise had been withdrawn and he had been notified in writing. However, some time after this Hawkinson staff visited the Anderson location to find Hawkinson signage on the building and on vehicles and equipment still being used.
The defendant sought a dismissal on the basis that the US courts had no jurisdiction on the case as
the contract was signed under Canadian law, despite involving US citizens.
On a technicality of law, the judge upheld the defendant's motion to dismiss and has awarded the defendant the right to recover all costs from the plaintiff.
Hawkinson can of course now chase Anderson in the Canadian Courts. At Retreading Business we are not legal experts but we are pretty certain that jurisdiction has to be established before a case can be filed. Perhaps Canada is where this should have happened in the first place.
King Tire of Bluefield, West Virginia has become the first Continental North America Retread centre in the USA. The company, begun in 1972 by Sam King, employs 150 people, including 16 at its 25,000 square foot plant in Brushfork.
Matt King, son of King Tire Service Owner Sam King, said the company is excited to be the first licensed Continental retread facility in the countr y.
“We do enjoy the challenge and it is very exciting to be the first Continental retread in the United States,” King said. “We had to think about this for many months before making the decision. We have been in the retread business for over 10 years and when Continental approached us, we thought it was a great opportunity.”
With the new partnership, King said the company has been able to provide more diverse training to employees and is now looking to expand the company even further. “We were able to add more versatility to the jobs we have here,” King said. “It makes our company more marketable. Currently, we employ about 150 people and do 150 retreads a day. However, we are hoping to add a second shift with about 10 more jobs to try and increase that number to 300 retreads a day. Continental has allowed our company to grow significantly.”
State officials as well as business officials from Brazil and Salt Lake City, Utah were given tours of the facility by Continental personnel to show how what is being done at King Tire could be done in their own businesses.
“We do two things mainly,” Greg Bednarcik, a project manager engineer with Continental said. “The
first is we retread for a customer who brings us in a tyre casing and they can choose a specific retread, which is the majority of what we do. King also purchases casings and retreads them to sell the recycled project for half the price. Most of the cost of making a tyre is in making the interior or casing of the tyre. The tread can be replaced up to five times. For a tractor trailer, a tyre may last 100,000 miles but if we retread that tyre five times, the driver can get 500,000 miles out of one tyre.” Clif Armstrong, director of marketing for Continental, said the company chose to open their first American retread facility in Mercer County because they were impressed with King Tire.
“We wanted to look for a company that would be a good location for our first retread facility and King Tire was just a great match,” Armstrong said. “The King family is very neat and unique. They built this company from the ground up. This is King Tire’s business and all Continental does is support them. King Tire took a chance on us because this is the first time we’ve done something like this as well.”
Armstrong said the partnership with King Tire will also help Continental develop the type of tyres needed on the many coal trucks that work in the area.
“This particular dealership has a lot to offer that the coal industr y requires,” Armstrong said. “Coal haulers are extremely tough on tyres, especially since coal dust and coal ash are so abrasive. What we are doing with King is designing a product just for the coal market in this area. We are working on developing treads and retreads that the coal hauliers prefer.”
Continental hopes to use the King Tire as a launching pad for future facilities across the U.S. and Canada as well as South America.
McClellan to Head Goodyear's North American Unit
Stephen R. McClellan is the new president of Goodyear's North American tyre division.
McClellan succeeds Curt Andersson, who is leaving the company. McClellan will remain responsible for the unit’s consumer tyre operations until a replacement is named.
“Steve brings strong leadership and a proven track record of delivering results,” says Richard J. Kramer, chairman, president and CEO. “Steve’s career of more than 20 years at Goodyear has included progressively larger leadership positions within North American Tire. His success in running the North American consumer and commercial tyre businesses and his strong relationships with customers make him a natural successor to the role,” he adds.
“Performance in the first half of 2011 demonstrates strong
momentum in our North American business,” says Kramer. “Under Steve’s leadership, we will continue to drive results over coming quarters and stay on the path toward our targeted $450 million of segment operating income in 2013.”
Kramer salutes Andersson’s contributions to the firm’s success. “During Curt’s tenure, we have continued our progress toward returning North American Tire to sustainable profitability. We appreciate his efforts and thank him for his work at Goodyear.” McClellan, 45, has spent his entire career at Goodyear since joining the company in 1988. Most of his experience has been in a variety of management roles within the consumer tyre division, including finance, sales and distribution.
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RTA Hits 200 Members
The Retread Tire Association signed its 200th member in early October, and the number of members now stands at 202, with new members signing weekly.
“We are more than pleased at our growth, especially since we are not yet one year old, but in spite of our growing pains we continue to provide valuable services to both our members and the large
numbers of owner operators, trucking fleets and government agencies who regularly receive our news releases, “ said Harvey Brodsky, RTA’s managing director. “With us it is a labour of love and we will aggressively continue to provide more and better services to our members for years to come. This is only the beginning,” added Brodsky.
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