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TIA CONFERENCE
(GDP), he said. This compares to 2.5% of GDP in the U.S. That means OTR tyre sales are nearly three times as impactful to the Canadian economy as in the U.S. market.
other OTR industry millennials including Chris Rhoades, senior product manager, technical services, BKT USA Inc.; JB Dowling, director of mining for CMC Tire; Eric Griffin,
employees with a key mentor. Technology is another area important to millennials and where the OTR industry could step up its efforts, panelists said. Social media is an
integrated part of the younger generations’ lifestyle, and Yokohama is “pretty active” on such platforms, Kwa said. But in OTR tyres, the activation is minimal. “We could always make a better effort to reach out to the younger generation that might be interested in the OTR industry,” said.
Actual use of the technology is important, too, said McCarthy Tire’s Hale. Active use of the latest technology is not only necessary to retaining and getting the most from younger
employees but also when working with millennial customers, the panelists said. Decision makers are getting younger, they agreed. “Using that technology to further your progress with the younger generations is going to help,” one panelist said.
Lifestyle and work/life balance are factors younger people seek, perhaps more than older generations, Klinge said. “Do you think that clashes with OTR, because it’s pretty heavy going?” he asked. “Absolutely,” said Inland Industrial Tire’s Griffin, citing the long 12- to 15-hour days service techs sometimes work. “That’s not
very appealing to the younger generations,” he said. “I think that’s definitely a problem.”
But not all younger employees are afraid of hard work, added CMC Tire’s Dowling. “All of us were younger at one time,” he said. “And we were taught to work hard and show up and do that. I think it’s who you are targeting, what you are looking for,” he said. He suggested companies look at mining universities for employees, schools that are graduating students who already are looking to go into the mining industry.
What are some of the barriers for young people entering the OTR tyre business, Klinge asked? Location is a big one, Griffin said. His company’s northern California location pits his business against companies like Google and their modern campuses. You could work there “or you could go work on an OTR truck and be in the dirt for 60 hours a week,” he said.
Training and education are another barrier, Kwa said. “I think that to become proficient in OTR you need to spend quite a good (amount of) time in the field. And the younger generation is looking for that instant gratification. They want to be able to Google it, YouTube it. We have some training material out there, but I think in general on the education side we could do a little better at it.”
Article reprinted with the permission of the Tire Industry Association – Photo credits, Tire Industry Association
Kevin Rohlwing
Maidment called Canada a “Goldilocks economy – not too hot, not too cold.” Every province is planning for a positive GDP for the year with growth anywhere from 0.5% to 3%. “It’s a positive environment, and that’s why I am optimistic about the OTR business for this year and a couple of years coming.”
Large OTR sales in the country, Maidment said, are showing “pretty significant” growth with much of that in the 57-inch and 67-inch sizes. Pipelines are what’s driving that, he said.
Millennials and OTR Business
Better communication and use of technology, providing early-on learning opportunities and mentoring are ways of attracting and retaining millennials in the off-the- road tyre industry, according to participants on the panel “The Next General of the OTR Industry.”
The need for this is apparent, panelists agreed, as many long-term workers in the OTR tyre business are nearing retirement and more millennials are needed to replace them. But the industry could be more proactive about finding young talent and retaining them.
“People don’t even know this industry exists,” said Sam Kwa, OTR technical service manager for Yokohama Tire Corp., underscoring one of the challenges to attracting younger workers. “It’s pretty specialised. But the bottom line is, without our industry there basically is no infrastructure. So, I think having that daily exposure to a younger crowd is a crucial factor in the image ... of this industry.”
Kwa was joined on the panel by four
president of Inland Industrial Tire North Inc.; and Austin Hale, mid- Atlantic OTR regional sales manager, McCarthy Tire Service. Alexander Klinge, general manager of Klinge Tyre Management Systems, moderated.
Mentoring is one way of bringing younger employees up to speed quicker, Klinge said, asking the panel what their companies were doing to formalise this. Rhodes said BKT is trying to be purposeful in its onboarding of younger, less- experienced OTR employees. It is setting goals on the learning experience and partnering younger
Day 2 of the OTR Tire Conference