Trans-American Rolls on With Retread, Road Service

The Region’s Transportation Firms
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For several Arkansas companies, it’s not unusual to find an employee of Trans-American Tire lurking among their truck fleet in the dark of night.

In addition to selling new tires and retreading old ones, Trans-American maintains the tires for several fleets, fixing or changing flats at night and on weekends to prevent downtime for drivers.

“When their drivers come in in the morning, from an equipment perspective, everything is ready to roll,” said Lawson Hembree. “They want us to lower their tire cost and improve their uptime. If that truck’s not running, it’s not generating revenue for them, so the primary goal is 100 percent uptime … I’ve got some nocturnal people working for me.”

Hembree and his brother Scott own Fort Smith-based Trans-American, which has the largest truck tire retreading operation in Arkansas with nine locations statewide and one in Oklahoma. Trans-American has retreading plants at four of those stores: Tontitown, North Little Rock, Hope and Poteau, Okla.

Trans-American doubled in size last year when the company bought five tire stores and three retread plants in Arkansas from Tire Distribution Systems Inc. of Muscatine, Iowa.

As a result, Hembree said, Trans-American’s revenue was about $30 million last year. In 2003, Trans-American sold 54,000 new truck tires, 72,000 retreaded truck tires, 30,000 passenger and light truck tires, and refinished 3,800 wheels.

A new tire for a tractor-trailer rig can cost $400. A retreaded tire will cost about half that, Hembree said. A new wheel will cost about $65. Trans-American sells refurbished truck wheels for $20 each. Multiply those amounts by 18 wheels per vehicle and the savings can be substantial.

Hembree said tires are the second or third highest cost for a trucking company behind payroll and sometimes fuel costs.

“That’s one of the reasons fleets look to us to help them,” he said. “Tires are a huge controllable cost … If we can make that tire run another 300,000 miles by retreading, we keep it out of the landfill.”

Trans-American serves United Parcel Service trucks at 28 locations in Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi and Ryder rental trucks in Arkansas and parts of Texas and Louisiana. Trans-American’s Northwest Arkansas customers include Waste Management and Arkhola Sand & Gravel Co.

Trans-American is a franchisee of Bandag Inc. of Muscatine, Iowa, for retreading equipment, wheel refinishing and mounted-wheel service.

With the mounted-wheel service, Trans-American has a supply of tires and mounted-on wheels, balanced and ready to be installed.

“All they have to do is turn the lug nuts and put it on,” Hembree said.

Trans-American is a dealer for Bridgestone, Firestone, General, Continental, Goodyear, Yokohama and Toyo tires.

Trans-American has 48 service trucks in Arkansas that respond to emergency roadside calls. The pickup trucks are equipped with air compressors and stocked with a few tires.

“We’ve got more trucks and better coverage of I-40 and I-30 in the state,” Hembree said, referring to his competition.

Hembree said he works with 12 other tire dealers across the United States to share ideas and give referrals.

In addition to tire services, Trans-American also provides computerized alignments, shock absorbers, kingpin replacement and suspension repair for tractor-trailer trucks as well as automobile repairs and maintenance.