November 02, 2010
Exclusive interview with: Mike Berra Jr.
Retreading is his life. For the next year, the Tire Industry Association will be, too
By: Bob Ulrich
What are the president’s duties at Community Tire? “Sales, planning, equipment, it’s everything,” says Berra (pictured at Reifen 2008 in Essen, Germany).
Mike Berra Jr., 41, has been involved in the tire retreading and repair business all his life. His late grandfather, also name Michael, started Community Tire Co. Inc. in St. Louis, Mo., in 1935.
His father, Mike Sr., is CEO of the company, and a former president of the American Retreaders Association (ARA). His mother, Carol, is vice president.
Berra officially joined the company in 1991, although he received his first paycheck in 1981 “as a floor sweeper.” After the ARA had morphed into the International Tire & Rubber Association, he served on its advisory council.
As president, he now handles the day-to-day activities at Community Tire, which does business as Community Tire Retreading.
Community Tire is the 23rd largest retreader in the United States, according to Modern Tire Dealer. It retreads 30 OTR tires a day and 80 truck tires a day at its single plant in St. Louis.
In 2005, Berra was named president of the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB). He will step down from that position, however, when he takes over as president of the Tire Industry Association (TIA) and its nearly 6,000 members at this year’s Global Tire Expo in Las Vegas, Nev.
He hopes to one day see the St. Louis Blues win the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup. When he is not attending games as a season ticket holder (he shares them with his cousin) or working at Community Tire, he will be traveling on behalf of TIA, at least until his one-year term as president ends.
“If I can leave my term as TIA president with an industry that is more united under TIA, I will feel very satisfied.”
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