DOWNEY, CA - A meeting of the Municipal Equipment Maintenance Association (MEMA) on May 19 included a tire retreading tour and information about tire sealant, the Fiat 500, and the Nissan NV commercial vans.
by Staff
May 20, 2011
Retreaded tires are separated and marked with agency names for redistribution.
2 min to read
DOWNEY, CA - Fifty-four fleet professionals attended the Municipal Equipment Maintenance Association's (MEMA) bimonthly meeting on May 19 in Southern California. The meeting's focus was tires.
Parkhouse Tire hosted a tour of its retreading facility in Bell Gardens, Calif. Attendees were led through a tour of the retreading process, including visual inspection; buffing, which removes the old tire tread; application of new tread; curing process; and final inspection. Retreading of trucks and equipment is estimated to cost one-third the purchase price of purchasing new tires. Proponents state it is an environmentally friendly process that reduces waste, and rubber dust and excess accumulated from the process is recycled and used as asphalt and other rubber products.
Ad Loading...
Following lunch, three guest speakers presented their products to attendees. Philip Tubert, CEO of Tubert International, distributor of PermaSeal Tire Sealant, spoke about the benefits of the product, which he said would decrease fleet operation cost by eliminating puncture flats, extending tire life, and maintaining a set tire pressure. The company later did a demonstration of a van with PermaSealed tires driving over nails, showing no change in tire pressure afterward.
Robert McGeachy, manager western region, government & AFV sales, Chrysler, presented information on the new 2012 Fiat 500. Although of Italian design, the Fiat is engineered for U.S. customers and includes changes to meet safety requirements for the U.S. and Canada, McGeachy said.
Kevin McGuire, commercial advisor, Nissan North America, spoke about the Nissan NV commercial van regular and high roofs, including a price comparison of similar vehicles.
The Fiat and Nissan NVs were outside for viewing.
The MEMA meeting concluded with association business.
Government fleets carry extra weight, and routes, schedules, and public trust depend on reliability. A systematic spring checklist keeps vehicles in service when agencies need them most.
Safety and productivity go hand-in-hand on today’s vocational jobsites. The Freightliner 114SD Plus combines advanced driver-assist technologies with proven reliability to keep crews moving constantly from start to finish. Learn how safety by design can protect your team, reduce risk, and maximize uptime.
Fleetio launched an open beta of its AI-powered Service Advisor tool, designed to help fleet managers streamline repair approvals and reduce vehicle downtime.
Mike Cleary shares what government fleets need to know about today’s technician workforce, EV and hybrid service demands, recruiting skilled talent, and making training dollars go further.
Managing a state or local fleet comes with levels of accountability private companies don’t have. Read how modern fleet technology helps elevate visibility and safety to strengthen community trust.
Still managing your motor pool with spreadsheets and manual approvals? Loyola University replaced outdated processes with automated fleet management, eliminating overtime and saving up to $50,000 annually. See how they did it.
Fleet managers are done with the debate—and focused on execution. Learn how to build a practical electrification strategy that aligns infrastructure, operations, and financing while keeping costs controlled and deployment scalable with support from Blink Charging. Discover how smart planning today positions fleets for long-term performance and ROI.