Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. recently released more details about the 10-year contract to retread U.S. Postal Service tires awarded to its subsidiary, Oliver Rubber Co.
Oliver, which began fulfilling the contract on April 1, will rely exclusively on its network of existing independent tire dealers, "in addition to selected current suppliers," to perform the required work.
"The Postal Service speculates that they are currently using retreads on 20% of their fleet; however, they want to increase that number to 70%," says Phil Boarts, Oliver's director of retread sales and marketing. "We are in the process of meeting with more than 80 of their major vehicle maintenance facilities to accurately determine the current status of the Postal Service's retread program."
The Postal Service maintains 208,000 ground vehicles, of which 142,000 are considered long-life vehicles (LLVs), according to Oliver. The majority of the LLVs are equipped with 14- and 15-inch tires.
According to Boarts, Oliver's mold cure process is being utilized for the LLVs because of its improved ride characteristics.
"While the size of this whole project seems to be growing daily, we are making good progress in learning what we need to know about the current Postal Service operations."
Oliver also will utilize its precure process when necessary.
