Bandag
One of Bridgestone’s largest European Bandag franchisees, Top Treads, stayed open during the current pandemic in order “to support our customers, changing working practices” while also “implementing social distancing”, according to Top Treads’ owner and managing director Steve Evans. Moving forward, the firm’s faith in its sustainable retread products is beginning to reap dividends in the demanding commercial tyre market.
Bridgestone Americas has announced plans to restart its North American commercial tyre plants as well as its North American Firestone Industrial Products and Firestone Building Products manufacturing facilities on 13 April. The company’s Bandag retread rubber manufacturing plants in North America resumed operations the week of 29 March in order to meet demand by essential service providers.
One of the UK’s biggest freight haulage companies has given its endorsement to Bridgestone’s suite of commercial tyre services. Pentalver, a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W), which offers a range of container services including road haulage and container conversions, operates a fleet of over 350 tractor units and 900 trailers in the UK – all fitted on a combination of Bridgestone’s latest generation Ecopia H002 tyres and Bandag retread products.
It’s now more than two months since the European Union applied anti-dumping duties on a range of truck and bus tyres manufactured in China, and during this time Bridgestone has observed a “strong uplift in demand” within the UK retreading industry. With the market “showing signs of a significant upturn in fortunes,” the company behind the Bandag retreading brand believes a “continued investment in its range of products is beginning to reap dividends.”
Bridgestone will demonstrate its fleet solutions to reduce overall operating costs alongside its car tyre range for dealers at The Tire Cologne trade fair 29 May to 1 June. The manufacturer added that it will also display part of its wide range of consumer products, with the spotlight will on the Turanza T005 summer touring tyre and a brand new product – one that represents “an entirely new direction for Bridgestone.”
Cork-based S Tyres Ltd. is investing in CAM Cloud to host its Cameo POS, stock, billing and ledgers system. According to the company, hosted Cameo will provide the Republic of Ireland’s premier Bandag agent with a managed service that ensures quality, hassle-free maintenance of its server and backup solution. It will enable S Tyres to connect directly with key partners such as Bridgestone.
Having recorded a number of significant fleet wins during 2017, Bridgestone states that a number of factors combined make its proposition attractive to fleets when the pitching process begins. Fleets signing deals with Bridgestone in 2017 include Simon Gibson Transport, ARR Craib, Greggs, and the global First Group agreement. The company says there isn’t one compelling factor to secure a fleet business for a premium tyre manufacturer; in fact commercial sales director Greg Ward believes there are five or six behind any successful partnership.
Paisley based Caledonian Tyres has unveiled a £250,000 refurbishment, which aims to position it as one of the most advanced retread tyre centres in the country. One of the Bandag network’s largest franchise partners, Caledonian Tyres’ development of its facility features improved factory facilities, new look offices, improved equipment and an eye-catching rebrand of the entire premises. The company states that the investment underlines the strength of the commercial retread tyre market, and follows investments made at Lincolnshire-based Bulldog, another large Bandag franchise.
Bridgestone’s largest Bandag franchise, Bulldog in Bourne, Lincolnshire is a central pillar in Bridgestone’s UK Total Tyre Care truck and bus tyre strategy, and as such has been a target for ongoing investment. Most recently, Bridgestone has installed the BASys casing and production control system, digitally linking the tripartite facility and tracking the journey of retreads through the manufacturing process. This joins the latest piece of retread production equipment, the latest generation Bandag extruder builder the 9110ES, which was installed in 2016, and is now fully operational. Tyres & Accessories visited the Bulldog site to see the latest upgrades in action, and how Bulldog intends to capitalise on the current moment of what Bridgestone retread development manager for the North region (UK, Ireland, and the Nordic region) Terry Salter terms a “golden period” for retreading.
Bandag has brought a trio of new pre-cure treads to market. The first of these is the M-Trailer 001, and in a statement the Bridgestone subsidiary reports this tread was developed with on-/off-road conditions in mind. “Combining robust performance with a high resistance to cuts, chips and punctures, this advanced retread is ideal for use […]
Founded by Everett D. Richards Sr. and now operated by his eldest son, Dave Richards Jr. Canton Bandag Co. is celebrated 55 years as a Bandag franchise.
Canton Bandag moved to its current 23,000 square foot in June of 2000 at 3321 Bruening Avenue, Canton, Ohio, located near the intersections of Route 77 north and south and State Route 30 east and west.
Bridgestone has extended its fleet supply agreement with Arla Foods, taking the relationship into a 10th consecutive year. In addition to its premium brand tyres, the manufacturer will also supply its tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) and Total Tyre Care support to the 13,500-strong dairy farmer cooperative until at least 2020. Arla said call-out times have been reduced by up to 30 per cent as a direct result of Bridgestone’s support, explaining the decision to renew its contract.
Bandag is marking its 60th anniversary with the launch of a new global campaign that aims to “reinvigorate the retread category.” The retreading specialist, which has been a business of Bridgestone Americas and part of Bridgestone Corporation since 2007, is introducing its “Built for Better” platform to unite the Bandag brand globally and to position retreads as an “innovative, sustainable business solution for fleet customers of any size.”
A new Bandag retread has been introduced to cater to construction, civil engineering and other on/off applications across a wide range of surface and weather conditions. The M-Drive 001 tread is based upon the Bridgestone M-Drive 001 drive-axle tyre and is M+S marked. The tread can be obtained in sizes 13R22.5, 295/80R22.5 and 315/80R22.5, a portfolio that covers the most frequently-encountered on/off vehicles on the market.
Bridgestone Europe has released an all-new Bandag tread for winter use. The Bandag BDR-WXT drive regional tread is Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) and M+S marked in recognition of its suitability in extreme, even Nordic winter conditions.
Bridgestone; Bandag; Top Treads