April 21, 2010
Saturation point
MRTI 'will not expand forever," says Laferriere
By: Mike Manges
Michelin has proven it can “put in, on the retread side, similar technologies we build into new tires,” says Marc Laferriere, vice president of marketing, Michelin Americas Truck Tires.
"If I had to break it down, I’d say we’re pursuing two key objectives, which is to serve the end user and also serve the dealer,” says Marc Laferriere, vice president of marketing for Michelin Americas Truck Tires, whose Michelin Retread Technologies Inc. (MRTI) arm signed several big retreaders last year.
Greensboro, N.C.-based Snider Tire Inc., one of the country’s largest retreaders, joined MRTI last spring. Snider, which had been a long-time Bandag retreader, opened a new MRTI plant in Houston this past September.
MRTI also signed Edenton, N.C.-based Colony Tire Corp., which converted four Bandag shops to the Michelin process.
Will there be more converts to MRTI this year? Maybe.
“Our goal is not to expand forever and ever in terms of numbers of clients,” says Laferriere. “We’re very close to the total number of plants that we were targeting for Mexico, Canada and the U.S.” MRTI currently has 80 plants in the U.S.
“Our business model is still based on relatively large plants that are very efficient in terms of process, turnaround time and production costs. We also need to be efficient in terms of logistics. We need to have those large plants strategically located so we can serve key markets.”
In this interview, Laferriere discusses MRTI’s business model, Michelin’s efforts to ensure that its retread technology mirrors its new truck tire technology, and more.
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