The Tire Industry Association (TIA) announced several initiatives for 2015, including a Federal Lobby Day that will give TIA members a personal role in raising legislative awareness of issues affecting the tire industry, in a press conference at the 2014 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show.
TIA also announced plans to address retreading-related issues, continue the technician training tour program and attract women to careers in the industry.
Federal Lobby Day
TIA will host a Federal Lobby Day on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015. TIA members from across the nation are invited to Washington, D.C. to meet and speak directly with members of Congress about important issues that are impacting the tire industry.
“TIA’s Federal Lobby Day brings our members together with leaders of government for face-to-face conversations about the issues that are important to our industry,” says TIA Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield.
“The highway bill is one of the top issues we’re facing so it will be the primary focus of our efforts at this event. It is more important than ever that our members take action and join us on February 5.”
Federal Lobby Day will include:
* meetings with members of Congress and staff;
* luncheon with Congressional leaders; and
* cocktail reception on Capitol Hill.
TIA is working with a number of automotive and highway-user industry groups including the American Highway Users Alliance, WMDA/CAR Service Station and Automotive Repair Association, and Service Station Dealers of America and Allied Trades (SSDA) on the Lobby Day.
For more information and to register, contact Roy Littlefield IV, TIA Government Affairs Manager, at [email protected] or 301-430-7280 ext. 137.
Global Retread Symposium
TIA will host a Global Retread Symposium on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015, from 3. p.m to 5 p.m. during the Global Tire Expo – Powered by TIA at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
“Our goal is to gather retread associations from around the world to discuss issues that cross international boundaries and impact the industry as a whole,” says TIA President Freda Pratt-Boyer. The symposium will discuss:
* international issues such as taxes, regulations, restrictions, and noise control;
* safety standards on truck tire retreads;
* new tire issues that affect retreads; and
* passenger retreading.
“Although details of the event are still being formulated at this time, we have reached out to a number of retread groups across the globe about their participation and the interest level is very strong,” says Pratt-Boyer.
The event is being cosponsored by the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB).
ATS tour locations
TIA also announced the locations for the 2015 Automotive Tire Service (ATS) Advanced Instructor Training Tour.
These four-day, hands-on training classes will be conducted around the United States with the goal of educating tire technicians on the proper safety procedures and guidelines for servicing passenger and light truck tire and wheel assemblies. Most of these classes are held at local community and technical colleges.
“The ATS Tour is helping to make training more accessible to retailers across the country and they continue to respond by sending employees to become TIA Certified ATS Instructors. Over the last few years, we have seen tremendous success with the courses and have certified more than 400 instructors,” says Kevin Rohlwing TIA senior vice president of training.
The training will be held in 12 cities. Dates for each location will be announced in the near soon. The preliminary schedule is:
February – Charlotte, N.C.
April – San Diego, Calif.
May – Minneapolis, Minn.
June – Wasilla, Alaska., and Denver, Colo.
July – Chicago, Ill.
August – Portland, Maine
September – Seattle, Wash. and Baltimore, Md.
October – Cincinnati, Ohio
November – Sarasota, Fla. and Phoenix, Ariz.
“We are also very fortunate to have a generous group of sponsors that support our training efforts and enable us to bring the ATS program to different markets each year,” says Rohlwing.
For more information on the 2015 ATS Training Tour, contact Christine Hoogenboom at [email protected] or 800-876-8273 ext. 106.
Women in the industry
Pratt-Boyer says she wants “to show women there is a place for them in the industry.” She plans to have a panel of women discuss the topic at 2015 Global Tire Expo. She says her participation in a similar panel at the GTE several years ago launched her involvement with TIA.
Pratt-Boyer also says TIA is formulating plans for week of training exclusively for women and will profile women working in all roles in the industry in an upcoming issue of the association’s member magazine.
