Bob Ulrich

Editor

Bob Ulrich was named Modern Tire Dealer editor in August 2000. He joined the magazine in 1985 as assistant editor, and has been responsible for gathering statistical information for MTD's "Facts Issue" since 1993. He has won numerous awards for editorial and feature writing, including five gold medals from the International Automotive Media Association. Bob earned a B.A. in English literature from Ohio Northern University and has a law degree from the University of Akron.

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Eye to the keyhole, ear to the ground at the SEMA Show

By: Bob Ulrich

A new size: 295/23/28.

The 2010 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show is over, and the powers that be are in post-show mode. SEMA’s Peter MacGillivray, vice president of communications and events, soon will be sending out a survey to exhibitors and attendees to find out what they thought of the show, which includes the Global Tire Expo -- Powered by TIA.

“There’s nothing more important than getting feedback on the show from you all,” he told exhibitors at a press conference.

Based on early results, the shows were well attended (see “SEMA Show, Day Three: Attendance looks promising”).

Here are some observations, things I heard and snippets of information I collected over the week-long show.

* Discount Tire Co. Inc., the largest independent tire dealer in the United States (maybe the world), held a closed event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for 300 employees, who also got to walk the trade show floor. Many of its suppliers, including three non-exhibitors -- Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Michelin North America Inc. and Bridgestone Americas Inc. -- were on hand to support Discount Tire.

* I hear that truck tire casings are getting harder and harder to find. One reason is Bridgestone Corp. is pushing its Bandag retreading process in Japan. Whereas some of the truck tire casings in that country used to find their way into our country, now they are needed at home.

* You might know that the Continental ProContact with EcoPlus Technology all-season passenger tire was named Best New Product in the “Tires” category by SEMA. But another Continental Tire the Americas LLC tire finished second – the General Grabber.

* Marvin Bozarth, former executive director of the now defunct International Tire & Rubber Association, co-authored a soon-to-be published book with a European cohort. It will be a definitive treatise on – you guessed it -- tires.

* How’s this for two new sizes; 295/23/28 and 265/30R30! Lexani Tires Worldwide LLC have added them to its LX-9 line. What’s next? “A lot more sizes that nobody has very soon,” says Lexani’s Sarkis Sepetjian.

* Richard Smallwood is a gear-head. How many tire company presidents can describe themselves in that way? Smallwood, president of Falken Tire Corp., built a Factory Five 1933 Ford with his sons, Cody, 17, and Jeff, 14. He showed off the vehicle -- complete with a 2011 Ford Coyote engine! -- at the Global Tire Expo. He says he wanted to teach his boys how to work on a car. “They need to know how things work, and what better way than to build a car themselves?” The trio took three months to build it from the ground up. Smallwood estimates Cody built 60% of the vehicle, putting the drivetrain together and building the suspension with no help.

* It looks like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will make a definitive decision on the phase out of lead wheel weights next year. One wheel weight manufacturer told me the decision was expected by April; another said maybe by the end of the year.

Look for full coverage of the SEMA Show, Global Tire Expo and Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo in the December issue of Modern Tire Dealer.

Related Topics: Awards, Global Tire Expo, Peter MacGillivray, Richard Smallwood, SEMA Show 2010, Tire Industry Association

comments

1. John | November 08, 2010 at 02:49PM
   Nicely done Bob! There was so much to cover; I think you gave a good flavor of what I thought was a great show! Take a day or two off; you deserve it :)