MADISON, Tenn. — U.S. Rep. Diane Black, R.-Tenn., visited Marangoni Tread North America's headquarters in Madison last week and helped kick off a "Retread Instead" initiative Marangoni is spearheading.
Ms. Black's visit — initially sparked by Marangoni's petition drive to spur President Trump to nominate a new commissioner to fill the vacant seat within the U.S. International Trade Commission — coincided with the Trump administration's "Made in America" week.
Marangoni said the Retread Instead initiative is meant to enhance the awareness of the benefits of retreading as a whole, and thus is not specific to Marangoni, which is inviting other retread industry players to join the effort.
Bridgestone Corp. launched a similar effort five years ago using the same slogan, Retread Instead.
That effort even included a dedicated web site, retreadinstead.com, but that site is no longer active.
During Ms. Black's visit, Marangoni Tread North America President Bill Sweatman gave her a brief presentation not only about Marangoni but the retread industry as a whole and the important role it plays economically and environmentally.
Ms. Black was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010, representing Tennessee's 6th district, which comprises 19 counties across middle Tennessee, including Davidson, where Madison is located.
She serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, the chief tax-writing committee in the House of Representatives.
Marangoni's petition drive was tied to the ITC's decision in March to not impose import duties on truck and bus tires from China, some of which Marangoni and others in the retread industry claim are "low quality, non-retreadable tires" that represent a "linear economy" — make, use, dispose — which is neither economically sound nor environmentally responsible.