Bandag: Robust growth in North America

Sales of Bandag retreaded tyres increased nine per cent in North America during 2022, one of the highest levels of year-on-year growth ever recorded for the Bandag business. Bridgestone Americas reports selling more than seven million units in this market during the year and anticipates continued growth in 2023 thanks to a US$60 million investment in its Abilene, Texas retread plant as well as the debut of a new programme for small and mid-sized fleets.

“Retreading makes more sense today than it ever has for fleets,” comments Jason Roanhouse, executive director of Bandag Operations, Bridgestone Americas. “Not only does retreading deliver the same reliable performance of new tyres, it helps fleets deliver on their sustainability goals while also driving bottom-line business efficiencies.”

New capacities & customers

The investment in the Abilene Bandag tread manufacturing plant will add 50,000 square-feet (4,645 square metres) and additional production days to meet the accelerating demand for the company’s retread products. The expansion will increase the plant’s retread output by 16 per cent.

Additionally, the all-new Bridgestone Last Mile Tire System (LMTS), introduced in the second half of 2022, will begin utilising retreads for small and medium-sized fleets in Q1 2023 with the goal of extending the benefits of retreading to a broader population of fleet customers. LMTS will allow smaller fleets operating out of the same terminal to realise greater economies of scale in their tyre operations, including access to Bandag retread solutions and Bridgestone Fleet Care products.

With over 200 retread manufacturing plants in North America and a network of more than 1,100 authorised dealer commercial locations, Bandag is one of the world’s leading suppliers of retread rubber, representing nearly one in every two retreaded truck tyres on North American roads today. Through its proprietary ten-step manufacturing process, Bandag estimates that it has kept 300 million tyres out of the waste stream and saved over 4 billion gallons of oil over the years. The anticipated environmental benefits for 2022 are: 105 million gallons (397 litres) of oil saved; 290 million pounds (131,500 tonnes) of landfill waste avoided; 207 million pounds (93,900 tonnes) of tyre waste avoided, and 5.6 billion KwH of energy saved, which is the equivalent of powering 500,000 US homes for a full year.