Are retreaders done playing musical chairs?

Two major acquisitions have greatly affected the order on Commercial Tire Dealer’s Top 100 Retreaders list, with Purcell Tire & Rubber Co. pulling off the biggest move.

With its purchase of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s two OTR tire retread plants, Purcell not only solidified its position as the top OTR retreader in the United States, but also jumped ahead of Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions as the second largest retreader in the country, behind Goodyear. (For more information, see “Purcell Tire acquires Goodyear’s OTR retread business,” May 8, 2009, on www.moderntiredealer.com.)

Here’s how the acquisition changed the balance of power (previous numbers in parentheses):

Company                         Rank     Total points

Goodyear                          1 (1)     19,178 (21,018)          

Purcell                               2 (3)     12,165 (10,325)

Bridgestone/Bandag      3 (2)     11,139

CTD awards one point for every seven pounds of rubber used per retread. Each light truck tire retread equals 1.7 points, each medium truck tire retread equals 3.5 points, and each OTR tire retread equals 46 points. Goodyear’s two Wingfoot OTR retread plants produced 40 OTR tire retreads per day.

Snider Tire Inc. didn’t change positions (it is 10^th on the list) or add capacity. The Greensboro, N.C.-based dealership did, however, change processes (see “Snider Tire joins Michelin Retread Technologies,” April 7, 2009). In 2008, Snider retreaded 1,350 medium truck tires a day in eight Bandag plants. Now it is a Michelin Retread Technologies Inc. precure retreader.

Another North Carolina retreader, Edenton-based Colony Tire Corp., also has switched from Bandag to Michelin. Prior to the switch, Colony retreaded approximately 150 truck tires a day, which tied it for 81^st on our Top 100 Retreaders list. Colony Tire also acquired a Tire Centers LLC retread plant in Norfolk, Va., which potentially will double the company’s daily output. That would place Colony Tire 48^th on our list.

To see what dealers think of the state of retreading, check out the latest Web poll, “Do you think there is a concerted effort among retread suppliers to 'steal' dealers?, on www.moderntiredealer.com.