MADISON, Tenn. (Dec. 23)—Marangoni Tread North America Inc. has started building its first U.S. tread rubber factory.
The site in Madison will produce Ringtread spliceless precure tire tread used in commercial truck tire retreading. The plant will cost $10 million and start up in the second quarter of 2004, according to Bill Sweatman, president and CEO of Marangoni Tread North America.
The company chose Madison because of its proximity to our primary market, "since two-thirds of truck tire retreading is done east of the Mississippi River, and Tennessee, as a distribution point, has many advantages for us," Sweatman said. The project is part of a longer-term global development plan that includes expansion of products, programs and manufacturing.
Marangoni has 12 Ringtread retreaders operating in the U.S. and two in Canada, and two additional U.S. dealer plants will be installed in the next two months.