What Do Pit Bulls Have To Do With Tires?
I love dogs. I’ve owned a dog every day since young childhood except for my college years when I was away from home. I have experienced several different breeds, but it wasn’t until I was about 50 years old that I found my favorite companion…a female Pit Bull. When I tell people that I own a Pit Bull their first reaction borders on shock. General perception is that the Pit Bull is a dangerous breed, or at the very least, unsafe. Well, let me tell you that my Pit Bull is the sweetest and most loving dog I have ever owned. I trusted her to help raise my four grandchildren. She has never snapped or shown the slightest aggression toward any human being or animal. She did run after a deer one time, but couldn’t keep up because of her short legs. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve always been mindful of the breed’s reputation and was vigilant every time she was around my grandchildren. After all, she’s still an animal and one never knows what might set her off, or when.
Pit Bulls have a reputation for being aggressive and extremely strong. This perception basically comes from various incidences publicized in the media. This perception permeates society to the point where some municipalities have banned the breed.
My experience and common sense tells me that you get what you make. If you raise a Pit Bull to be aggressive you will end up with an aggressive, reactionary, and dangerous dog. If, like I did, you raise the Pit Bull to be a loving companion you will get a well behaved, loyal family member.
Now I’ll get to my point.
I just got back from SEMA. It was a fantastic show bordering on information overload. There was so much going on and so much to see and experience, I left feeling I saw only a small percentage of what was available to see. Provenant, and our GFT RIDER brand had a booth displaying our wide selection of tires. We were just one of many tire manufacturers displaying their offerings. People came up to me all week long asking me about our products, their questions directed at answering the what, when, where, and how of tires.
It struck me how little people understand about tires in the 21st century. Provenant Tire & Rubber Company is an American company marketing a tire manufactured in China. Like the Pit Bull, China manufactured tires are misunderstood. Gone are the days where the label “Made In China” described products of low quality and low prices. That was 20 years ago folks. Some, not all, China manufacturers have come to understand and appreciate the fact that if they want to sell tires in the United States successfully, they must produce a tire of quality built to U.S. standards.
Let’s examine Michelin, just for an example. Michelin is generally perceived as producing the highest quality tires in the world, and I will not dispute this. Michelin has 68 manufacturing plants in 17 countries. Michelin has 2 plants in China, 4 plants in Thailand, 1 plant in India, 2 plants in Brazil, and 1 plant in Mexico, among others. When you buy a Michelin tire, do you know that it was not manufactured in China or somewhere other than the United States. Of course not.
Like my Pit Bull, the true measure of quality today is not where the tire was manufactured, but how it was manufactured.
The GFT RIDER brand is manufactured to U.S. standards. Our “recipe” uses some of the highest quality ingredients available today. Our quality control processes exceed some of the most widely accepted processes used by today’s major manufacturers.
As I spoke to attendees of the SEMA show, it was apparent that one of their main problems with a China manufactured tire was that they were difficult to balance. We have sold over 500,000 of our tires and the number of balancing issues we have been made aware of can be counted on two hands. It’s true! The reason for our success is simply because every single GFT RIDER tire is balanced checked at our manufacturing plant before it is approved for shipment to the United States. To my knowledge, no other tire manufacturer, domestic or foreign, goes to this extreme.
My final point will cause some discussion. The major tire brands are over-priced! Our GFT RIDER brand is sold on VALUE rather than quality or price. A Michelin or Bridgestone commercial truck tire will cost several hundred dollars. The average cost of a GFT RIDER commercial truck tire is less than $300. As an estimate, if Michelin or Bridgestone tire is advertised to last 75,000 miles, that’s good. You will get approximately 50,000 to 60,000 miles from a GFT RIDER tire if you maintain proper tire pressure, keep it properly balanced, and follow the load requirements. The better VALUE for your money is our GFT RIDER brand.
Let us not forget customer service or customer experience, whatever you choose to call it. If this is not at the top of your list it certainly should be. Ever have a problem with a tire and try to get that problem resolved? Whether you go through a distributor, a manufacturer or a reseller, after 30-60 days you are probably still waiting for a resolution. At worst, your customer continues to wait too.
Provenant Tire & Rubber Company is a local company and is the manufacturer. There is no higher decision maker than the owner, and his office is in Maryland. All issues are resolved within 24-48 hours after we have the information. That’s taking care of our customer, and that’s the heart of our VALUE PROPOSITION.
So don’t be so quick to dismiss tires manufactured in China, or Pit Bulls for that matter!