Market leader: Bandag expanding tread rubber plant to meet demand

ABILENE, Texas—Sustainability isn't always about what goes into your tires.

Sometimes, it's just about using less … well, tire. And that's where retreading comes in, taking perfectly good tire casings and giving them brand-new tread for a longer service life.

In fact, Bridgestone Americas Inc. is a fan. The Nashville-based tire maker is a vocal proponent of retreading—particularly from a sustainability standpoint. And it is seeing demand for its tread rubber products steadily increase.

So, Bridgestone's investing in some of its operations.

The company May 16 broke ground on a $60 million expansion project that will add roughly 50,000 square feet to its existing Bridgestone Bandag tread rubber facility in Abilene. The investment—which calls for expansion of its mixing operations and capabilities—will be coupled with an immediate move to increase production operations to six- and seven-day schedules.

Combined, these efforts will result in a 16-percent improvement in the plant's output.

Construction is expected to be completed within the coming years and expanded mixing operations should come online by 2025.

"Today is a significant day for all of us at the Abilene Bandag plant and across Bridgestone Americas, as we break ground on this important expansion that will allow us to grow our production capabilities to meet the needs of our customers," Abilene Plant Manager Billy Fralick said in a statement.

For Bridgestone, expanding the mixing operations and tread rubber capacity in Abilene is critical. Especially when you consider its place in the retreading market.

Bridgestone/Bandag holds the largest share of the U.S. retreaded truck tires market, according to information provided by the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau. TRIB estimates that Bridgestone/Bandag holds a whopping 44 percent of truck tire retread share.

Michelin/Oliver, meanwhile, maintains roughly 24 percent of the market, while Goodyear holds about 22 percent of the truck tire retread market share.

Vipal/Marangoni and Continental hold 6 and 3 percent shares, respectively.

The remaining players hold the final 2 percent.

Ultimately, those numbers are significant. Especially when it's considered just how much of the retread market is dominated by truck/bus retreaded tires.

TRIB estimates that, in the U.S., roughly 96 percent (645 total) of the retread plants are truck/bus retread plants. OTR retread plants account for 18 plants, five are aircraft retread plants and four are passenger car tire retread plants.

In the grand scheme of things, tread rubber mixing matters. A lot, actually. It's an essential part of the quality, performance and reliability of retreads—factors that play major roles, along with cost—in encouraging retreading.

In fact, TRIB Managing Director David Stevens would be among the first to tell you so.

"Tread design and rubber compounds make a big difference," Stevens said last month at the Clemson University Global Tire Industry Conference in Greenville, S.C. "That is why I find it so interesting that a number of new tire manufacturers are also involved in retreading. Because you can take that technology and then transfer it straight over to retreading."

Ultimately, ensuring that quality is essential. From a safety and product reliability perspective, of course. But also from a sustainability point of view.

Bridgestone estimates that since 1957, Bandag has kept about 300 million tires out of the waste system, saving about 4 billion gallons of oil along the way.

And that impact only continues to grow when you consider how much retreading saves in terms of resources—water, energy and materials.

According to Bridgestone and U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association, retreading of tires has the potential to:

• Use 15 fewer gallons of oil and 90 fewer pounds of total material per tire;
• Save about 215 million gallons of oil per year in the U.S. and Canada;
• Reduce CO2 emissions by 24 percent;
• Cut water consumption by 19 percent;
• Reduce air pollution by 21 percent; and
• Remove about 1.4 billion pounds per year from the waste stream.