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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
New Plant for Ironhead Rubber Technologies
Goodway Book Reading Competition
In a move that highlights the buoyancy of the retread sector, Canadian firm Ironhead Technologies recently opened its first ever truck tyre retread plant at Mississauga, Ontario. At a period
when competition is at an all time high Ironhead has taken tyre retreading and built a plant from scratch using what it claims is the best available technology. Its aim in taking this starategy is to challenge the big three national retreaders in Canada.
Marcel Leclair, president of Ironhead, reports the company utilizes an 11-step retreading process that results in a quality
in tyres.
Not only has the plant been designed from scratch but the product line up has been custom specified to give Ironhead a distinct range of designs and compounds.
The line-up includes patterns such as the DR850 designed to deliver the highest level of traction in snow and ice, the DC375 engineered with an extra deep tread for long cycles in on/off-road applications, and the DL815 our premium line-
haul service drive pattern, designed for long mileage and a smooth, quiet ride.
The 20 staff at the plant include six retread specialists with 88years of experience between them. The target capacity for the plant is to produce 220 retreads in a 10 hour shift. “Dealers want a quality product with prompt and consistent turnaround times to meet the needs of their customers. Everything
we have done has been governed with those specific needs in mind,” says Leclair.
(Source: MTD)
One of the techniques used by Goodway to foster team spirit among employees and to encourage them to strive for self improvement is a regular book-reading competition, whereby teams from each section of the company (i.e. production, marketing, finance etc) are required to read a prominent management book. Each team is required to prepare a presentation on one section of the book and is then required to answer questions posed by the other teams on that section as to how the principles
outlined in the book can be transposed into real life experiences within the Goodway working environment. The competition makes for additional bonding between employees as well as a greater understanding of how to optimise working practices within the company.
The company has studied Stephen R Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” and, more recently “My Management Philosophy” and “Talks on Management” by Konosuke Matsushita.
Brazil’s Matto Grosso State Spends $67,000 on Retreads
Agesul, the state gazette for Matto Grosso state in Brazil has announced that the government has spent $67,000 on retreading services in the past six months.
The contract with local retreader, Alfonso Pneus is to provide retreaded tyres for the transport services in and around the state capital.
product at a competitive price. Included in the company’s quality control process is non-destructive inspection and shearography technology to identify abnormalities
Abilene Approves Funding for Bridgestone Bandag
42 Retreading Business
The Development Corporation of Abeline, Texas, board recently approved $315,300 for Bridgestone Bandag over three years to expand facilities, create 11 new full-time jobs and retain 134 full-time employees.
Bandag has been in Abilene since 1971 and plans to add 40,000 square feet of space to expand its tyre retread manufacturing business. The expansion should add eight jobs that pay between $40,000 and $50,000, two supervisor y positions that pay $61,000 per year and a manager position with a $76,000 per year
salary, according to DCOA documents.
The DCOA's assistance will provide $165,300 for job creation incentives. Another $150,000 would help pay for expanding the facility, 10 percent of the capital improvement project. Bandag's financial requirement for the expansion is $1.5 million.
DCOA funds will be provided afterward, upon receipt of proof of construction costs and added jobs. "We're glad to see this international company investing in Abilene," said Richard Burdine, CEO of the DCOA.