Roadway Express and Bandag have signed a deal that will see a new Bandag subsidiary handling all Roadway’s tire management, from purchasing to mounting to maintenance to retreading.
Bandag, primarily known for its retread offerings, says outsourcing tire management is not a totally new concept. A number of Bandag dealers across North America have been handling tire management for their local customers for several years.
Tire Management Solutions is the Bandag subsidiary created to handle tire management outsourcing for Roadway and other potential large customers. As part of the Roadway-TMS contract, some 70-plus dealers who are part of the Bandag Strategic Alliance will be providing outsourced tire service to Roadway terminals across the country.
Mike Tirona, vice president of TMS, says that tire management is “not a core function” for Roadway. “Moving product from point A to point B is.” He notes that while many people think of tire costs only in terms of the product itself, in developing the contract with Roadway, TMS looked at how the outsourcing would affect the maintenance department, operations, human resources and other areas.
Bandag also announced a new application-specific tread, the ATR (“aggressive traction retread”) for performance in mud and snow. Featuring 22/32 tread depth, the ATR-M delivers 17% better treadwear than the best-in-class tire it was tested against, according to the company. A broad range of tire sizes is available, from 215/75R17.5 to 12R24.5 and bias ply equivalent sizes.
For more information, visit http://www.bandag.com.