TIA CEO Gust: Record OTR event turnout just the start

TUCSON, Ariz. — After record attendance at its 2023 Off-the-Road Tire Conference in Tucson, the Tire Industry Association (TIA) hopes the participation and enthusiasm among its members will fuel its other goals for the year.

The conference, held Feb. 22-25, drew 439 delegates from 40 states and 13 countries, two more than the previous record set at the 2014 event in Marco Island, Fla.

"People are just enthused about coming back to events like this," TIA CEO Dick Gust told Tire Business during the conference.

He said companies are sending five or more employees to the conference, compared with past years when they would send one or two.

"I think there's a lot more enthusiasm for off-the-road tires and construction projects. It's more of a world-wide situation. We have people from 13 countries here, so it shows you there's a lot of interest in construction and new equipment."

TIA hopes the enthusiasm continues next year when it hosts its 69th annual conference Feb. 21-24 at the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa in Las Vegas.

OTR tires represent a small percentage of the tire industry but they encompass the largest products and the most labor-intensive service.

The conference offered educational sessions on safety procedures, discussions of industry trends and supplier exhibits.

"I think what is really happening is that people around the world are looking at how they can manage construction projects and there's a lot of money being put in construction projects," Gust said.

During the conference TIA President Jim Pangle, senior vice president of operations at Fountain Tire Corp., laid out his goals for the association to pursue this year:

• address the labor shortages experienced by OTR dealers;

• be recognized as the source for safety information and training;

• champion right-to-repair (R2R) legislation in the states and on the federal level;

• provide best practices for electric vehicle service; and

• be proactive on information about future trends.

Gust sat down with Tire Business and discussed these goals in detail:

The biggest challenge for tire dealers, according to Gust: "Getting good people to work in their facilities. That's one thing we're really trying to focus on. … Encourage more people to come into our industry.

"We're talking about ways we can attract younger people to look at tire service and tire technicians and working in a tire dealership as a profession. There's a lot of people that don't quite understand that you can do well in the tire business. And our challenge is getting that message out. We've been working with some technical schools."

He said some schools use the TIA training curriculum and the association encourages dealerships to offer apprenticeships to draw students into the industry.

Gust said it appears tire dealers involved in OTR tires and service are large and well-financed, a result of consolidation within the industry.

Unfortunately, consolidations hurt trade association membership in terms of membership fees. State associations are struggling as the number of dealerships declines due to consolidations, Gust said.

"They see it first hand while we see it on a national basis. A lot of the revenue they had came from events that are not well attended anymore. We have to find other ways to attract members, and training is one of those benefits.

"We're looking at how we can get more training into those facilities and what we can offer them from a government affairs perspective," Gust said.

TIA membership has remained steady due to dealership consolidation, Gust said, with some of the large dealerships choosing not to be a TIA member, but willing to purchase TIA training programs.

Gust said he sees the association's training programs as a revenue opportunity. The training is available to anyone, but TIA members receive a discount.

Some state associations also have been using TIA training as a revenue tool and membership benefit, Gust said.

"Training is our forte. Whether you think you need it or not, you need it. That's an area that's really pushed our association to the forefront," he said, noting the association provides training for automotive, commercial, earthmover and farm tires.

The TIA board has approved funding to develop a Spanish-language version of the commercial tire program and updates of the other training programs, including the Earthmover Tire Service certification.
Unfortunately, not all dealerships take advantage of training for their employees.

"The ones that understand their liabilities and exposure are very much in for our training. Either they train directly with us or we do provide training manuals. We have an online university. So it's very easy for some companies to go online with our manuals and train their own people. If we train one of their trainers, then it goes into their dealerships.

"But it is hit and miss. There are some small dealers that totally believe in it. Some are medium-sized and don't think it's necessary. They don't quite understand it. They would if they were exposed to a lawsuit," Gust said.

Government affairs is another focus for TIA, and while that is a member benefit, Gust said, it actually helps the whole industry. He said he wished more industry participants realized this and stepped up to help.

He said a lot of tire dealers are concerned about Right-to-Repair legislation which compels vehicle manufacturers to share vehicle repair information with independent service shops.

"If they don't care, they're not paying attention," he said. "There's a certain amount of service they're not going to be able to provide if they don't have access to the information."

TIA has been working with other associations and coalitions to back R2R legislation on the state and national level. A bipartisan bill was introduced recently in Congress, a petition is under way in Maine to put the issue on the ballot there and a bill may be introduced in Maryland.

"We're going to work that very hard in this Congress. We're also working on an individual state basis," he said.

TIA is also encouraging state agencies to use rubber-modified asphalt and tire-derived aggregate for their road and construction projects.

"We've made a concerted effort in our government affairs to start really pushing, particularly with the infrastructure.

"Rubber-modified asphalt would be a wonderful product to spread across the country and it would provide not just a home for scrap tire material, but it would offer a better product than existing asphalt at a lower price. It's a win-win. So we really want to spread that word," Gust said.

TIA's electric vehicle (EV) advisory council has drafted three best practices for servicing vehicles that are pending approval: proper lifting, safety procedures and choosing the proper EV tire.

"(EVs) aren't taking the industry by storm, even though everybody predicts it will. But right now we want to let our people know how to safely manage the vehicle when it comes into your shop," Gust said.

TIA is looking to host more seminars and events to educate the membership and consumers, Gust said.

TIA also wants to improve both its OTR conference and its Global Tire Expo, held annually in conjunction with the SEMA Show in November in Las Vegas.

While attendance from tire manufacturers and dealers has declined at the SEMA Show over the years, there is a growing number of foreign suppliers.

"That's one of the distinct benefits. If you're an independent dealer, you should want to look at what's out there, in addition to the equipment," Gust said.

The Global Tire Expo has been tied to the SEMA Show for years and there are no plans to separate the TIA-sponsored event, Gust said.

"We're pretty much connected at the hip with them (SEMA). It's been a good thing for both of us. … When we first merged, it was due to both shows diminishing. So it's enhanced by putting them together."

He said TIA is working with SEMA on offering more educational seminars at the show.