Pending government regulations on tires and questions regarding tire inflation will dominate the program at Clemson University's 20th annual Tire Industry Conference, March 10-12 in Hilton Head.
Ann Wilson, senior vice president-government affairs for the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), will deliver the opening keynote address March 10 on how the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act has transformed the tire industry since its passage in 2000.
Also concentrating on government issues will be Isabel Jasinowski, Goodyear corporate vice president of government relations, who will discuss pending congressional and Bush administration actions and their potential effect on the tire industry at the March 11 luncheon.
Two officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Crash Avoidance Standards will speak at the conference. Claude Harris, director of the office, will speak on NHTSA's efforts to rewrite its tire pressure monitoring system final rule and its scrutiny of the petitions for reconsidering the upgraded tire safety standard. Ezana Wondimneh, a safety standard engineer with the office, will discuss the RMA's petition for a tire pressure reserve standard and the agency's study of data pertaining to tire pressure reserve values.
Several industry speakers also will consider the impact of tire inflation issues on commercial tires. These include Cesar Zarak, tire research engineer with Michelin Americas Research Corp., on the effect of low inflation pressure on dual truck tire durability; Peggy J. Fisher, president of Fleet Tire Consulting, on technological solutions to tire inflation problems in truck fleets; and Guy J. Walenga, engineering manager-North American Commercial Products for Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire L.L.C., on the use of nitrogen instead of air in commercial tires.
Other speakers will address such topics as retreading, run-flat technology, plus-sizing of tires and the use of tire-derived aggregate in civil engineering applications.
Conference registration is $995 for a single attendee from a company, $895 each for two or more from the same firm. For registration or further information, call Kay James at (864) 656-2200 or access the conference Web site at www.clemson.edu/success.