We were pleased to have the opportunity to say “Hello” to several TIA members and have some new members join TIA at the Performance Tires & Wheels/SEMA Show in Las Vegas. TIA’s special events prior to the trade show were well attended, including our Annual Welcome Reception at Caesars’ Neptune Poolside and the Breakfast with the President.

The TPMS Tires at Two seminars were popular once again with not an empty seat in the room. The vehicle OEM’s, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors led off on Tuesday’s seminar, and provided a lot of valuable information for all of the attendees when servicing those vehicles. The sensor manufacturers Beru, Siemens VDO and Schrader Electronics headlined Wednesday’s session and their presentations were also very helpful. Thursday’s seminar featured the scan tool companies ATEQ, Bartec, K-Tool and OTC. A complete recap of all of the presentations will be in the January/February issue of Today’s Tire Industry.

The Successful Tire Dealers Share Their Secrets seminars were also popular with attendees resulting in a standing-room only crowd. Our thanks to TIA Board members Ron Lautzenheiser and Tom Wright for organizing this year’s panel which included TIA Board members Mike Berra, Dave Crawford, Sean Furrier, Chip Huber, Larry Mullins, and James Raben. The enthusiastic audience participation was indicative of the value the attendees took away from the seminar. It was a great job all-around and speaks to the level of volunteerism that our Board members believe in and practice.

TIA also held a press conference during the trade show where TIA President Peggy Fisher and Past President Paul Hyatt, along with representatives from the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) announced the passing of a TIA policy resolution that acknowledges tire manufacturers growing concerns about tire intellectual property infringement, or look-alike tires. In addition, the Association has pledged to work with the manufacturers in the sharing and dissemination of information pertaining to the problem.

If you have not had an opportunity to attend the show in the past, you should definitely make plans to attend the show next year. It will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, November 4-7, 2008.

A Special Thanks to Our Sponsors
The success of the Performance Tires and Wheels Show and the TIA meetings and special events would not be possible without the generous financial support of our sponsors. They make it possible for us to provide quality programming and special events that our members look forward to year after year.

We want to sincerely thank the following companies for their sponsorship:

Platinum Level:
Yokohama Tire
Toyo Tires
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company

Gold Level:
Bridgestone/Firestone
North American Tire, LLC
Zurich

Silver Level:
Federated Insurance
Coface Collections North America, Inc.

Bronze Level:
Meadowbrook Insurance, Inc.
Modern Tire Dealer
Dill Air Controls Products
ASA Tire Systems
Automotive Training Institute
Affiliated Agency, Inc.