BOWIE, Md.—The Tire Industry Association (TIA) has named five tire industry leaders as its 2015 inductees to the Tire Industry Hall of Fame:
c The late Ross Fischer, owner of McCord Auto Supply, who developed a wheel application for Goodyear flotation tires that allowed them to be used in agriculture;
c Herman “Hy” Freeman, retired technical services and training manager at Rema Tip Top North America, who helped establish industrywide standards for permanent tire repair;
c Paul Hyatt, chairman of Superior Tire and Auto and a past president of both TIA and the Tire Dealers Association of Canada;
c Raghupati Singhania, chairman and managing director of JK Tyres & Industries Ltd. and a leading official in several Indian tire and rubber industry associations; and
c Bucky Stein, founder of Target Tire, Jacksonville, N.C., and his own tire brand, Avalon.
The two winners of TIA's Ed Wagner Leadership Award are:
c Tom Klinge, managing director and co-founder of Klinge Group, an Australia-based global leader in tire management control software and maintenance system services; and
c Kevin Rohlwing, TIA senior vice president of training and developer of TIA training programs in automotive, commercial, earthmover, farm and industrial tires.
The winners will be honored Nov. 2, during the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.