David Stevens, Managing Director of the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau, is here to help educate us all on everything RETREAD related.
Why Retread?
Whether you are a motorist looking for ways to stretch the family budget or a fleet manager buying thousands of tires a year, costs must somehow be controlled in today’s stringent economy. Truckers, airlines, construction companies, farmers and passenger car owners all purchase retreaded tires for one basic reason – to save money.
A retreaded tire costs less to produce than a new tire and sells for less – usually between 30 and 50 percent of the comparable new tire price. By using retreaded tires, the commercial and military aircraft industries save more than $100 million a year. Retreading truck tires saves the trucking industry over $3 billion each year. Retreading is an effective way to lower your tire costs, too.
Why are retreaded tires such a good value? Most of the manufacturing cost of a new tire is in the tire body or casing. The tread (the portion of the tire that meets the road) represents only a percentage of the new tire cost. Today’s steel radial commercial truck tires are an industrial product designed to provide multiple tread lives over the life of the casing. This useful casing life is monitored and managed closely by the tire owners as tires are the number one maintenance cost of operating commercial vehicles and on the road downtime is very expensive. Casings are inspected on and off vehicles, at many points in their lives. The most complete inspections are conducted in full service retread plants that take advantage of all the technology available. When a tire becomes worn and seems ready for discard, the bulk of its cost remains unrecovered. In fact, the tire’s useful life has hardly begun!
To learn more visit retread.org.