The David Stevens Interview

Retreading Business posed a few questions for the new Managing Director of TRIB, and David Stevens kindly responded to them in a frank and open manner. We hope to speak to David again in the future once he has settled into his post.

Q1.You have stepped into a role previously held by a long standing representative for the retreading sector. How has your appointment been received by the industry?

Change, regardless of the industry or circumstances behind it, can be a challenging adjustment for some people. However, the warm welcome and overwhelmingly positive reception I have received from people in our industry has been so amazing for me. Whether that's on the phone, over email or meeting them face to face in plants or at tradeshows, people have been very generous with their offers of help and in welcoming me to the industry.

Q2. There are a number of challenges facing the retread sector. In the US in particular there are from time to time moves by State legislators to impose restrictions, or even bans on the use of retreads. How do you propose tackling such proposals , if and when they arise?

TRIB, as well as the Tire Industry Association (TIA), have historically had great success in discovering and addressing any proposed actions at the Federal and State levels that could have a negative impact on our industry. As our name suggests, TRIB is an information bureau and not a lobbying organization, so we are focused on getting the right information out there. So many times in the past, these proposed changes have been initiated based upon inaccurate information about retreading and we simply work to bring the facts about the positive economic and environmental benefits, as well as the safety record of retreaded tyres to the right people.

Q3. The NHTSA has conclusively declared that there is no evidence to suggest that retreads are any more responsible for road-alligators than new tyres. Yet consistently there are reports in the US press (I'm sure it happens elsewhere too) and letters published complaining about retreads "coming apart" on the roads. What more can be done to ensure that the message on overloading and tyre pressure gets across to the end users?

Every day, TRIB sees and responds to negative mentions of retreaded tyres in online forums and we have a great monitoring system in place to ensure we're aware of what's being said in cyberspace. Fortunately, we don't see many negative mentions in more mainstream media outlets, but we're always prepared to respond to those if and when they do happen. Many of the comments we see, are from old perceptions about retreaded tyres and I've actually started to see more people in forums come to the defence of retreaded tyres as users who have them talk about their benefits.

On the proactive side, I'm redesigning TRIB's website so it's easier for the public and existing and potential retread customers to find all the answers to their retread and repair questions. After that's fully launched, I have some other activities planned in the online world to continue to get our positive message out there as well as some partnerships that I'm developing to better reach our target audiences.

Q4. TRIB has grown over the years and nowadays draws its membership from around the world. You are on record as saying that you want to make TRIB a global organisation. Attracting members wishing to access the resources of TRIB is one thing, but how can TRIB assist international members in lobbying and promoting the idea of retreading?

As most people do when they start a new job, I created a set of shortterm, medium-term and long-term objectives for myself and for TRIB. And, as any of the hundreds of articles and studies about globalisation will attest, the world is becoming a smaller and betterconnected place, requiring organisations to be prepared to operate in that global marketplace. Having said that, I'm really focusing my efforts in the shortterm on improving some of the basics of TRIB such as our website, our internal financial management systems, our member management systems, and our communications and marketing tools. Many of those activities will benefit our global members and we continue to help connect members around the world to enable opportunities for commerce through our Casings, Supplier and Export Memos. I think realistically it's a longer-term objective for me to have some international-specific tools in place, especially given how lean our organisation is, but I do have a passion for international business and I want to see TRIB help the retread industry regardless of where it's based.

Q5. In the UK truck tyre retreading has become almost the norm. Quality is generally high in this market. However, in every market there are always businesses at the lower end of the scale trying to push out price-based product for the price oriented lower end of the truck sector. Reports suggest that in developing nations this lower end of the market is hindering the development of the growth of retreading - It makes it harder to sell a quality product at the right price if your neighbour is undercutting by a considerable margin. Is there any way, in a free market, that TRIB can help combat the back street retreaders (for want of a better description)?

It's an unfortunate aspect of our industry, but we've seen that evolution towards quality in the US, UK and other markets. TRIB focuses a lot of our resources on sharing industry recommended practices and informing potential retread customers of what they should consider when they are thinking of choosing a retread partner. And the reality is, that customers who choose these lowend products are ultimately costing themselves more money over the long-run. We continue to focus our educational efforts on how a well-managed retreading program with a quality retread partner can create significant savings for them versus this shortterm decision. (Issue 2011/1)