Meyer: Reminiscing about dad and retreads

I'm going to take a little while to reminisce today, prompted by my recent visit to the new Continental Retread Solutions Development Center in Rock Hill, S.C.

You see, my father was the first plant manager of a Goodyear retread shop in Brunswick, Ohio, a shop that still exists today. His tenure there dates back from the mid-1970s, to right around my high school graduation in 1980.

Now my father died way too young—age 56 at the end of 1982—so memories of him running that retread plant are some of the latest—and longest—memories I have of him.

Although I never worked inside the shop, my dad did have me working outside, cutting the grass, a job I can't say I enjoyed.

It was a fairly large-sized piece of land to cut, and it had to be done with a push mower, though one that was self-powered. And a riding mower wasn't feasible as there was a lot of truck traffic in and out of the entry.

The drivers often got off the driveway, resulting in big ruts in the lawn. Now, try to picture a 15-year-old kid—me—trying to get this self-powered mower going fast enough to get the machine to somehow pass over these ruts without getting stuck.

I also remember my dad making out a paper invoice paying me $20 or $30, depending on the difficulty, and giving me the money out of petty cash. It was a tough gig, but I definitely needed the money.

What I also remember is how my father was one of the original workaholics. He was hands-on, worked long hours, and came home with retread buffing dust in his clothes and hair.

I also recall—somewhat dimly—the inner workings of the shop. Back then, the equipment was basic, but retreading a tire was tough work—a much more labor intensive job where the skill of the worker made all the difference.

Fast forward four decades, and the memories of my dad retreading tires in Brunswick, Ohio, came rushing back as I walked into the new Conti retread center.

The officials at the Conti center in Rock Hill say the basics of retreading a tire haven't changed much in that time. You're still stripping a tread off a tire, and putting a new tread back on the casing, so the life of the tire can continue.

But the technology has advanced in many ways. Set up as a retread shop, the Continental development center is clean. The equipment is more advanced, even with some automation weaved in where applicable. There now is machinery that can objectively tell you whether a casing is in good enough shape to be retreaded, and if the finished product is roadworthy.

Looking at this operation, I can't help thinking that my dad really would have loved helping run an operation like this.

Meyer is editor of Rubber News. Follow him on LinkedIn and contact him at [email protected].