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 INDIANAPOLIS,
IN (December 3) -- The annual Hoosier Distributor meeting was held at
the Omni in Indianapolis last week--a day before the Performance
Racing Industry (PRI) trade show held Thursday, Friday and Saturday at
the Indiana Convention Center. The weekend brought together not only
the Hoosier Distributors from across the United States, but also
Distributors from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New
Zealand. A huge contingent from Hoosier's corporate offices and
manufacturing facility made the two-hour trip down to the State's
capitol including Bob Newton, founder and President of Hoosier Racing
Tire Corp. (shown at the right welcoming the attendees). The day-long
event, which has been held annually for eleven years, is intended to
allow for frank, face-to-face discussions not only between
distributors and Hoosier corporate but also between distributors
themselves. The forum is a review of the past year's accomplishments,
while developing plans for the upcoming race season. In addition to
the distributors on hand, representatives from Hoosier's engineering,
manufacturing, sales, information technology, warehousing and shipping
departments were also present to discuss any topics the distributors
had questions or input on.
The various departments gave short presentations on
their past year's accomplishments while providing insight as to the
direction they would be heading in the year(s) to come.
There were several meeting highlights which included
the new 5", 6" and 8" tire sizes Hoosier is developing,
the IT department's unveiling of an internet-based ordering system and
the race tire manuals that have been developed for the various tire
lines.
Engineering Manager John DeSalle commented on the new
5-6" tire development, "There was a lot of excitement at the
meeting and at PRI surrounding Hoosier's new quarter midget and
karting tires. I think this new line will grow quickly as the word
gets out that Hoosier has entered the market bringing with them over
40 years of racing technology."
During his time at the podium, IT Manager Craig
Benninghoff discussed the new ordering system developed by Hoosier's
Glen Holt--who was also on hand to answer questions about the new
system.
Greg Jeffirs, who along with brother Mark, manage the
Hoosier warehouse and shipping operation were also in attendance. They
were pleased to report the rate of tires shipped in error had been cut
in half for the third consecutive year--down to a miniscule .037 %.
They also detailed several improvements made over the past year to
improve their operation such as improved storage methods, as well as,
security changes and fire detection and prevention upgrades. Mark also
reviewed the work done this past year researching freight carrier
options in an effort to reduce the freight expense to the
distributors.
After a morning of presentations by the various
Hoosier representatives, the massive purple-shirted group walked over
to local eatery PF Changs for lunch. Once again, it was quite a scene
as the "purple parade" moved through the Circle Center Mall
to the restaurant. After a hearty lunch, the group traversed back to
the Omni to resume the meeting.
After lunch, the track service department went over
the various manuals developed over the year. Then, the meeting was
opened for general topics of discussion which continued until all
questions had been asked and answered.
By all accounts, the meeting was a resounding success
and Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. would like to thank all the Hoosier
Distributors and their staffs that traveled to Indianapolis to
participate in the annual distributor meeting.
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