Big Tires

My college roommate, Rusty, and I had the opportunity to work together on a number of projects after we got out of college back in the 1980’s and 1990’s before my air pollution control company went belly up.

Rusty worked for various consulting firms, ultimately starting his own successful show in the last few years. I supplied some crazy ductwork and smoke stack systems for customers he was writing specifications for. Did we ever have a good time back then working together.

In the late 1990's one of our customers was the French company Michelin, who was building a tire plant expansion in Lexington, South Carolina. They intended to make tires for heavy construction vehicles. One of their products, as I recall, was supposed to be the biggest tire in the world—16’ in diameter or some such thing.

Thats why this story caught my eye, talking about big tires for big trucks being in high demand now.

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Steve Walker was ready to sell four massive, 200-ton dump trucks, with price tags as high as $3 million, when the orders were canceled.

The buyer, a coal company planning to open a new mine site, was ready to buy. It just couldn't find the 12-foot-high tires to get the trucks rolling.

The mammoth tires, which can cost up to $30,000 apiece, are in short supply worldwide, leaving earth-moving industries, including coal, in a lurch. The shortage results from a rise in equipment orders, an increase in worldwide mining because of increased mineral prices and growth in China and other Asian countries.

Few manufacturers produce the giant tires, and those that do say they are working round-the-clock to improve efficiency and fill orders. At Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., company spokesman Dave Wilkins said every large tire produced through 2006 is already spoken for. Industrywide, demand is expected to outstrip supply until 2007."

So there you go, your stock tip of the day from yours truly…