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 LAKEVILLE,
IN (December 3) -- Each year after the racing season is completed, all
Hoosier distributors are invited to Indiana to participate in yearend
meetings in which the previous year's accomplishments are highlighted
and next season's goals are established. The annual "get
together" also enables the distributors to get together to
discuss common issues they might have for product managers, engineers,
manufacturing personnel or warehouse personnel, just to name a few.
This year's ninth annual event is yet another way to further
strengthen the relationship between the many members of the
Team-Hoosier family.
The 2-day event began at the corporate
offices in Lakeville, Indiana on Tuesday, November 27, with Hoosier
Distributors from across the country in attendance. From north to
south, east to west, all regions of the U.S. were represented by way
of a regional Hoosier distributor. After some early morning
coffee and doughnuts, it was down to business. While the day would
mainly be devoted to one-on-one meetings between product managers and
distributors, there was also the manufacturing tour in which all the
distributors and their personnel were given a start-to-finish tour of
the production facilities down the road in Plymouth. The
manufacturing tours are always a huge success, as were this year's, in
addition to being real eye-openers for those who have never toured the
extensive Hoosier manufacturing complex before. While not experts
after the tour, each participant will have a basic understanding of
the general overall process of manufacturing
a tire. From producing rubber in the mixing facility, to the massive
calendering operation
producing the fabric used to manufacture Hoosier tires, the tour group
was given an "inside look" at the many aspects that go into
producing a Hoosier race tire. Yet another of the tour highlights was
Hoosier's 300-mph test wheel. After observing all of the raw material
processing, the tour concluded with a station-by-station look at the
assembly of a Hoosier tire, all the way until it is cured and
meticulously hand painted with the Hoosier logo on the tire sidewall,
to final warehousing of the finished product. This "inside
look" of the entire production process will likely prove to be
invaluable as the tour goers take this knowledge back into the field
as they interface with their many customers in the upcoming racing
season. After a day of meetings and tours, the distributors and
their staffs joined Hoosier tire engineers, compounders, and
department managers in a delicious dinner, compliments of Bob and
Joyce Newton, at the beautiful Swan Lake Country Club Resort,
"hidden" just outside Plymouth. The second day of
the 2-day meeting was convened early Wednesday morning in the Swan
Lake meeting room with the attendees settling in for more
meetings culminating in a roundtable discussion before concluding this
year's distributor meetings. At the conclusion of the
meetings, all the Hoosier product managers as well as many department
managers joined all the distributors in traveling down to Indianapolis
to attend this year's Performance Racing Industry (PRI) show. The
entire Hoosier contingent had well over 50 attendees at this year's
3-day PRI show. PRI offers a unique opportunity for product managers,
racers, promoters and distributors to meet face-to-face to iron out
prospective deals and programs for the upcoming year in addition to
talking with prospective Team-Hoosier members. By all accounts, this
year's Hoosier distributor meetings and PRI attendance were a
resounding success. While this year's meetings have come to a close,
feedback is being gathered from this year's attendees in an effort to
continue to improve the annual experience. Hoosier Racing Tire
Corp. would like to thank all of this year's annual distributor
meeting attendees as well as everyone who visited the Hoosier booth at
PRI. See you next year! |
