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NATRE
North American Tire and Retread Expo Preview
The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans on the 19th – 21st April, will be home to the North American Tire and Retread Expo. This is billed as the only dedicated tyre show in North America, where the talk will only be about tyres.
The show is dedicated to tyres, new tyres, retread tyres, wholesaling, importing, retailing, selling repairing, retreading and recycling. The 2016 show has grown from the seeds planted in 2015 and as the show grows it is sure to attract even more visitors.
This year two months from the doors opening the Expo could boast some 23 retread specialist suppliers from the USA, Central and Southern America, Europe and India. After the 2015 edition of the show 92 per cent of those questioned said that they felt that such a show was important for the tyre industry. Of which, 72 per cent reported a positive experience from attending the show.
Most visitors and exhibitors believed that the show was a great way to meet new contacts with companies, manufacturers and distributors. 71 per cent of the Exhibitors said that they planned on returning to another North American Tyre and Retread Expo and 87 per cent of visitors said they would be back.
An amazing 96 per cent expressed satisfaction with the Ernest N. Morial Center as a venue for the event and 83 per cent loved the idea of the show being hosted in New Orleans. 2015 saw the first Miss Retread Contest and there were 22 retread tyres entered in the contest.
Industrias Del Neumaticos S.A.U. of Alicante, Spain, won first place at the first annual Miss Retread Truck Tire contest. The winning company was awarded $5,000 along with a trophy. This event is to be repeated in 2016, and it will be accompanied by a Mr. Retread contest for the best OTR tyre at the show.
For 2016 there will be two first places in the Miss Retread
competition, with a prize of two thousand five hundred dollars U.S. ($2,500.00 USD) to the first place winner of the mould cured category.
A further prize of two thousand five hundred dollars U.S. ($2,500.00 USD) to the first place winner of the pre cured category.
Meanwhile, the winner of the Mr. Retread contest will take home another $2,500 prize.