TravelCenters of America announced the purchase of its first commercial tire retread plant, located in Bowling Green, Ohio. The 32,000-square-foot retread center will be part of the Goodyear Authorized Retread Network, providing a full line of Goodyear commercial tire retread products including Goodyear UniCircle retreads to fleets, local industries and tire dealers within a 150-mile radius of Bowling Green. In addition, numerous TA Truck Service facilities will have access to Goodyear brand retread tires produced at this plant.
“Adding a retread center to the TA Truck Service Commercial Tire Network portfolio reconfirms our commitment to expanding the array of tires we offer to our customers,” said Skip McGary, executive vice president, commercial operations for TravelCenters. “Not only will we be producing a quality Goodyear retread product, but we will also be able to provide a complete cradle-to-grave tire management program.”
Since the launch of the Commercial Tire Network at the end of 2016, TA Truck Service has provided customers with a combination of a wide product choice, flexible delivery/install capability and competitive pricing. Through this new TA Commercial Tire Network Retread Center, customer-owned casings can now be retreaded with quality Goodyear treads, a solution that helps to lengthen the life of the tires, minimizes downtime and lowers fleets’ cost-per-mile, according to TravelCenters.
Along with the purchase of the facility, TravelCenters has invested $2.9 million in retread equipment, including a Shearography inspection system. This laser technology is part of the two-step casing inspection process, which helps increase the quality and performance of the retreaded tire. Local customers will be able to purchase Goodyear retreaded tires, as well as shop for a full line of new Goodyear-brand tires from the newly remodeled showroom. Tire inspection and repair services, as well as road service, also will be available through the retread center. The TA Commercial Tire Network Retread Center is on schedule to open for full production in July.
