TIA slates educational sessions for OTR Tire Conference

BOWIE, Md.—The Tire Industry Association's (TIA) 2023 Off-the-Road Tire Conference will offer 10 general educational sessions, a manufacturer's keynote and three breakout sessions during the Feb. 22-25 event at the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort in Tucson, Ariz.

The educational portion of the conference will focus on training, industry economic forecasts, professional development and government affairs. In addition, there will be a live video OTR Tire Service demo presentation.

"We look forward to gathering the global off-the-road tire community for the 68th annual OTR Tire Conference in Tucson," TIA CEO Richard "Dick" Gust said. "This year's event looks to be outstanding with strong pre-show registrations and sponsorship support, interesting educational sessions and an expansive tabletop exhibition."

The full schedule includes:

• "Legislative Issues Impacting the OTR Tire Industry," presented by Roy Littlefield IV, TIA vice president of government affairs;

• "Global Commitment to Sustainability," presented by Ana M. Arce, senior manager corporate sustainability governance, stakeholder engagement and business development, Bridgestone Americas Inc.;

• "OTR Tire Service Live Demo," presented by Jeff Faubion, TIA/MSHA compliance specialist, Bridgestone Americas; Roy Galyer, training manager, Klinge Holdings Pty. Ltd.; Kevin Rohlwing, TIA chief technical officer; and Matt White, TIA director of tire service; and

• "Earthmover Tire Service Training," presented by Faubion, Galyer and Rohlwing.

• "U.S. Economic Forecast," presented by TIA's Rohlwing;

• "Canadian Economic Forecast," presented by Carol Hochu, president and CEO, Tire and Rubber Association of Canada (TRAC);

• "Manufacturers Panel," with panelists Chris Rhodes, vice president OTDC, BKT USA Inc.; Matt Futrelle, head of business field earthmoving, head of sales and marketing Americas, commercial specialty tires, business area specialty tires, Continental Tire the Americas L.L.C.; Eric Matson, Goodyear's global field engineering manager, off-the-road tires; and Bruce Besancon, vice president marketing, Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America Inc.

• "How to Achieve the Impossible," presented by Billy Riggs, trainer, motivator, professional speaker;

• "The Unstoppable You," presented by Alex Weber, international speaker;

• "Electric and Automated Technologies: The Quiet Revolution," presented by Doug Kershaw, president BKT USA Inc.; and

• "Turn Change into Opportunity," presented by Roger Crawford, best-selling author.

• "Innovative Technology Using High Pressure Water Jet for OTR Recycling," presented by Tommaso Verri, CEO, Rubber Jet Valley;

• "An Inspiring Success Story from Mesopotamia to Florida," presented by Fatih Sedele, CEO, and Burak Yolga, country manager, Las Zirh Zincir San. Tic. A.S.; and

• "Advancements in Robotics to Increase your Plants, Productivity, Profitability and Employee Retention," presented by Daniel Zeledon, president, Tesco-Italmatic L.L.C.

The OTR Tire Conference is geared toward professionals in the global earthmover tire, retreading and service industries. In addition to the educational sessions, the conference includes multiple networking and business meeting opportunities, tabletop exhibits and a leisure program that includes a golf outing, a sporting clay tournament and a crystal scrub journey.

Conference registration is required prior to reserving a room, with no exceptions. A special reservation link will be provided once registration is received and payment is processed. The room-block for the conference closes Jan. 13.

To download a conference registration form and for more information, see the OTR event page on the TIA website. For more, email LaKisha Pindell at [email protected].