MADISON, Tenn. (Dec. 21, 2006) — Marangoni Tread North America (MTNA) Inc. has embarked on a $20 million, three-year expansion plan at its Madison tread rubber plant that will double capacity.
The Alpha-RING production facility, which makes Marangoni's Ringtread precure tread rubber, occupies about a third of a 150,000-sq.-ft. building. MTNA recently purchased the building along with the adjacent 12 acres of undeveloped land to expand its manufacturing operations and on-site headquarters.
The company expects to double its capacity within the next 18 months from its current annual output of 10 million pounds of tread rubber, said President and CEO Bill Sweatman.
The company previously doubled its capacity when it expanded and upgraded the facility in August 2005. The plant only produces Ringtread, a contoured piece of precure tread used for commercial tire retreading. MTNA has 18 licensed dealerships that use Ringtread in 23 retreading plants in North America.
MTNA is hoping these plants will convert to its new RT3000 dual headed extruder/builder, which the company said reduces time and labor. One machine is already in service at Systeme De Rechapage RTS in Quebec and another is scheduled for implementation in February in Bergey's Tire Service's Perkasie, Pa., plant.
Amid its expansion plans, MTNA has introduced its RZY-HM and RDY-HM Ringtread designs to complement existing lines. Additional design sizes and applications will be unveiled in the second half of 2007.
“2006 was a great year for us. We want to build on that momentum,” Mr. Sweatman said. The company also is launching a multi-year marketing campaign.
“We've had such success since introducing the Ringtread, we want to take our story to the end-user,” he said. Advertisements promoting the benefits and features of Ringtread will run in trade publications.
“You'll see us at more trade shows and in end-user publications now that we have more market coverage,” Mr. Sweatman added.