H&H broadens precure OTR business with Continuum mold acquisition

OAK HILL, Ohio — OTR tire retreader H&H Industries has upgraded and expanded its precure retreading capacity with the acquisition of 18 "Continuum" precure tire molds from Bridgestone Americas.

The molds cover sizes ranging from 24 to 49 inches in rim diameter, H&H said, without disclosing the financial details. H&H, a Continuum customer dating back to 2008, said Bridgestone discontinued the product range last year.

The acquisition not only complements H&H's existing precure retread capacity but also represents an additional potential profit center in supplying precured tread rubber for other OTR retreaders, according to H&H President Noah Hickman, who said there's a "vacuum in the market for OTR precure."

"It was an easy decision for H&H to move this direction considering our background in this process and our national and global connections with retreaders using similar types of processing and materials," Mr. Hickman said.

The Continuum program includes Bridgestone-designated designs, such as VSNT traction for mining applications, VMT traction for articulated dump trucks and VMTP as well as snow treads.

With the addition of the new molds, H&H Industries — considered the No. 3 OTR tire retreader in North America, according to Tire Business research — has rebranded its precure process as NeXus Premold, which covers both retreads it produces and the new precure tread rubber line.

H&H plans to add a second press to the precure tread rubber line at its Oak Hill headquarters factory to accommodate additional production the firm anticipates will be need to supply Continuum customers.

Mr. Hickman said this latest move builds on the family-owned firm's commitment to precure OTR retreading that began in the late 1990s.