Every year, Tire Business devotes an issue to "Other Tires" — agricultural, construction, earthmoving, industrial, recreational, trailer, motorcycle, lawn/garden, aircraft etc.
While some might question whether using "Other" to summarize this section — perhaps trivializing it in a way — the editorial staff feels just the opposite. While the products that collectively make up this grouping pale in comparison in unit terms to the more mainstream consumer and commercial products, they by no means are any less significant.
Dealers who embrace products covered by this grouping know the challenges in dealing the products — namely:
- having knowledgeable staff on hand to help customers sort through the myriad options;
- the investment in specialized equipment to handle tire-fitting in the field;
- being on call 24/7 because operators of equipment needing such tires can't afford downtime;
- having dedicated staff on hand willing to work in extreme weather and/or terrain conditions to help a customer; or
- finding affordable and convenient warehousing space for products that can tower over the heads of those handling them and weigh thousands of pounds; etc.
Mentioning that the majority of tires sold in these categories are used in key sectors of our economy — agricultural/forestry, construction, mining, etc. — should be unnecessary.