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NORTH AMERICA NEWS
OTR Conference Attendance Surpasses 500
The Tire Industry Association (TIA) has announced that its 58th Annual Off-the-Road Tire Conference held in Puerto Rico on February 20-23, 2013 exceeded 500 attendees, which included dozens of first time registrants, with representation from 33 states and 18 countries. The number of international attendees was the highest in conference history.
"It was great to see delegates from as far away as Australia, Russia and China. The global networking opportunities at the OTR Conference continue to grow each
year," said TIA Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield.
On Day One, Amit Agarwal with Bridgestone Commercial Solutions reported 2012 industry numbers and discussed his views on the state of the industry. His presentation was followed by the Tire Manufacturers Panel which included senior executives from Michelin, Bridgestone, Yokohama and Double Coin, and was moderated by Tire Review Editor, Jim Smith. The morning wrapped up with a motivational and entertaining talk by Professional Golfer Juan Antonio "Chi Chi"
Rodriquez.
Day Two included a session on the use of TPMS in the mining industry presented by Trevor Potter with Schrader International and the Keynote Presentation given by Bruce Besancon with Michelin North America, who presented 10 key trends for the industry in 2013. Attendees also heard from seven of the largest OTR retreaders who provided a brief look at their companies and how they are using new technology to improve the quality and performance of their products.
The conference wrapped up on Day Three with a legislative update from TIA Executive Vice President, Roy Littlefield, who gave his prospective on how the political turmoil of the last few years might affect the tyre industry and a presentation from Tire Stewardship Manitoba Executive Director, Brett Eckstein, on how the Canadian province of Manitoba solved the tyre recycling problem.
Additionally, TIA conducted political action committee (TirePAC) fundraisers at the OTR Conference including selling squares on the PAC Board and mulligans at the golf tournament. Two winners of the PAC Board including TIA President, Randy Groh with U.S. Autoforce, and TIA Board Member, Reece Hester with NC Tire Dealers Association, feel very strongly about TirePAC and its importance to the industry that they both donated back their winnings. Net proceeds from the fundraising activities were $3380. TIA Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield said, "I am happy to see that support for TirePAC fundraisers continues to grow. TirePAC helps to ensure that the tyre industry is well- represented in the halls of power." The 2014 OTR Conference will take place February 19-22 at the Marco Island Marriott Resort & Golf Club in Marco Island, Florida. Interested attendees can download a registration form at www.tireindustry.org.
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