Texas-based Heintschel Tire & Service will use Goodyear's UniCircle retreading process for its commercial truck tire retreading operation.


"The industry has changed significantly in the last few years," said Garry Heintschel, vice president and co-owner of Heintschel Tire. "More truck fleets and operators are now looking for tire dealers that can offer them new and retreaded tire product and service packages. When they purchase new tires with innovative compounds and tread designs, they're demanding that the retreads offer them comparable performance so that they can get the maximum value from their original tire casings."

Heintschel Tire runs a 20,000-square-foot commercial truck tire retreading plant with three production chambers and a 15,000-square-foot warehouse in Texarkana, Texas. It will be producing retreaded medium-duty and heavy-duty truck tires using the Goodyear UniCircle and pre-cure retreading processes. The retreading plant currently retreads about 120 truck tires per day, and plans to increase production as customers become more familiar with Goodyear retreads.

With UniCircle's design, the tread section is molded into one circular piece and stretched over the buffed casing. To create the tread, a precise amount of non-vulcanized rubber is placed into a mold and is then cured in a chamber for a specific time at a designated temperature and pressure. The pre-cure process features a section of vulcanized tread rubber that is firmly bonded to a buffed casing and then placed in a curing chamber where the tread becomes securely adhered to the tire.

"Goodyear was the first tire manufacturer in the industry to really adopt a cradle-to-grave standard," Heintschel said. "And recently, the company has added new tire treads and compounds that meet the specific needs of truck operators in different applications."