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Strictly Business 13

From there the outside rubber is re- ing, the under layer and the tread all be- Prior to tom Storm opening Johnny
moved with a buffer machine, and it is come one. Wheels, he was a teacher and then a co-
skived where rough spots or small divots in “the failures that you see on the road owner of an insurance company with his
the tires are cleaned and then repaired. this are generally – if it is done by a reputable name on the business, which meant that his
is usually caused by stone drilling, which retailer – from the casing. 99.5 percent of it telephone rang at all hours.
happens when a rock or some other foreign is air pressure. if you see a tire sitting on the When he got ready to open Johnny
substance gets into the tire tread and slowly road, usually what has happened is loss of Wheels, he wanted to name the store some-
rubs a hole or spot into the tire with each air pressure and it can’t take the heat,” bill thing that did not have his name or the fam-
revolution the tire makes. it is similar to Storms said. ily name.
what might eventually happen to your foot “Air is what keeps a tire running cool. Several possible names were bantered
if you had a rock in your shoe and kept walk- It keeps the weight off the rim for hauling about, but none of them seemed just right.
ing on it and walking on it without taking the your car or truck or whatever. each pound the name Johnny Wheels came indi-
rock out. of air pressure is about equivalent to eight rectly from a Hot Wheel. one of the boys
“these tires last anywhere from 100 or ten degrees. Air pressure is a big deal. it suggested.
to 500,000 miles. if a rock gets stuck in that is the biggest deal in the industry.” bill Storms said that either he or his
tread, it digs into that tread,” bill Storms After the retread tire finishes “cooking,” brother – no one can remember which one
said. “the worker has to clean that up. We the airtight tube is removed, the tire is bar- of them came up with the idea – suggested
don’t want it to reach the steel belt casing coded, painted, and receives a department the name Johnny Lightning, which was the
and cause rust. We clean that out and make of transportation code that documents a name of one of the Hot Wheels.
sure it is oK to retread. this is the inspec- new tire has been created. tom nixed the name assuming it was
tion/repair portion.” After some final inspections, the tire is copyrighted, but liked Johnny somewhere in
the permanent repairs often involve done, black, shiny and ready to hit the road the store name.
squirting hot rubber into the tire. again. the other brother suggested the name,
“it is like internal medicine,” bill Storms Johnny Wheels can retread about 100 Johnny Wheels, and the rest is history.
noted. tires a day during a normal eight-hour shift bill Storms noted that even though
through the AZ machine, the tire is assuming that everything goes well. there is no one in the family named Johnny,
aired up based on the size of tire and a set About 35 percent of the tires from his dad has been called that multiple times
number of revolutions per minutes, and has areas east of i-75 fail the initial inspection over the years. bill even gets called Johnny
hot rubber squirted inside to fill any holes. process and the percentage of tires failing himself.
Next, workers put the tires into a ma- inspections coming from places west of i-75
chine and attach the exterior tread, which is a lot less. Secrets to success
is purchased directly from Michelin. it is “It’s applications. Coal is hard on stuff. So what are the keys to running a suc-
stretched out so it fits smoothly onto the Weight and just a bunch of different stuff,” cessful business for over 45 years?
tire, and stitched so all the air is taken out he said. bill Storms said that it is a mix between
between the tire and the new tread. then it in addition to the tires, the company the owner’s attitude and having good em-
is stapled on using rubber staples. also recycles the rims that the retread tries ployees in addition to having a great cus-
From there, the tire is placed into what come on. tomer base.
is essentially a big tube that creates an air- “You can’t get complacent. Compla-
tight seal around it. Misconceptions cency is death,” bill Storms said. “if you are
the tire is then inserted into a chamber “this is a big misconception about not growing or trying to grow, then you are
and has a line attached to monitor pressure retreads out there, and i guess it is prob- going to die on the vine.”
and keep it filled with the proper level of air. ably well earned. there wasn’t, for so many Along with the owner’s attitude, you
“We have a time and temperature algo- years, any federal standards or anything,” have to have really good help, he noted.
rithm that it takes. it gets to a certain point bill Storms said. “We’ve got a phenomenal group of
where the internal pressure, like a pressure the federal standards still aren’t as people that work for us,” bill Storms added.
cooker, versus the outside air that we are stringent as some industries, but the major “if i said i needed to leave for the next three
putting in creates a reap point,” bill Storms tire manufacturers, such as Goodyear and weeks or a month to open up a place in
explained. Michelin, now have set their own standards. Western Kentucky, then i would not bat an
When the tire gets to the reap stage, both Michelin and occupational Safety eye. they are loyal. they are good employ-
the valves are cut off and temperature is and Health Administration (OSHA) officials ees. they are cautious, and i think they look
added, which will cause the tires essentially inspect Johnny Wheels retread plant once a at customers the same way i look at them.
to be cooked for three hours at 250 degrees. quarter. they want to make sure they do the right
While the tire is cooking, through the thing, and what the customer asks for and
chemical process it is undergoing, the cas- inspired by a Hot Wheel do a little bit more each time if they can.”