Bridgestone's Bandag tire retread business booming amid sustainable tire investments
Bridgestone Americas is on pace to achieve its highest ever year-over-year growth in its Bandag tire retreading business with a 9% increase over 2021, the company recently announced. With the growth experienced by strategic fleet partners and increased demand, the company forecasts year-end sales of Bandag retreads will reach more than 7 million units in North America and anticipates continued growth in 2023 with a $60 million investment in its Abilene, Texas retread plant to increase production capacity, according to a company press release.
In 2022, Bandag retreads—which according to Bridgestone, accounts for nearly half of the North American retread market—are forecasted by the company to deliver prolong tire life, delivering the environmental benefits of an estimated:
- 105 million gallons of oil saved,
- 290 million pounds of landfill waste avoided,
- 207 million pounds of tire waste avoided, and
- 5.6 billion KwH of energy saved—the equivalent of powering 500,000 U.S. homes for a full year.
“Retreading makes more sense today than it ever has for fleets,” said Jason Roanhouse, executive director of Bandag Operations, Bridgestone Americas. “Not only does retreading deliver the same reliable performance of new tires, it helps fleets deliver on their sustainability goals while also driving bottom-line business efficiencies."
Earlier this year, Bridgestone announced a new $60 million investment in its Bandag tread manufacturing plant in Abilene, Texas, which will add 50,000 square feet 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% and further Bridgestone's sustainability commitments, the company stated.
Additionally, the all-new Bridgestone Last Mile Tire System (LMTS), introduced in the second half of 2022, will begin utilizing retread for small- and medium-size fleets in Q1 2023 with the goal of extending the benefits of retreading to a broader population of fleet customers. The new LMTS is designed to allow smaller fleets operating out of the same terminal to realize greater economies of scale in their tire operations, including access to Bandag retread solutions and Bridgestone Fleet Care products. The program was launched this summer at the 2022 Route Consultant Expo, where more than 500 fleet contractors expressed interest as potential early adopters of the program.
Through its10-step manufacturing process, Bandag said it has kept an estimated 300 million tires out of the waste stream and saved more than 4 billion gallons of oil over the years to meet Bridgestone's corporate sustainability goals.
