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So how much can you save? Depending on size, a tire can be retread for as little as half the cost of purchasing a new one. Savings continue to add up when you consider a casing can often be retread more than once. "Every time that casing is retread, the cost savings falls to the bottom line," says Harvey Brodsky, managing director, Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau. "From an economical viewpoint, it makes all the sense in the world."

Maintain inflation pressure
A management program put in place to take advantage of retreads provides cost savings with the original tire, as well. That's because a key ingredient of a retreading program is implementing a tire maintenance program to protect the casing, which extends the life and improves the performance of the original tire.

The foundation of any successful tire maintenance program is maintaining proper inflation pressure. Overloaded and under/overinflated tires are not only more susceptible to damage, they wear unevenly, increasing tire costs due to early removal.

"Managing inflation pressure is the No. 1 most important factor," says Tolman. "It's also one of the more difficult [to control] for this industry. In [off-road] applications, our customers are running different cycles where equipment is loaded and unloaded. We work with them to do weight and cycle studies, and help them determine the actual loads the tire is carrying to give them the exact pressure recommendations they should be running to get the optimum life out of that tire."

Even though it's difficult, it's important to find the right pressure to maintain the integrity of the casing. "If you don't maintain the air pressure, you can damage the casing," says Jack Dutcher, national manager, training, Bridgestone/Firestone. "A tire flexes hundreds of millions of times during its life. The more you flex it, the more fatigue you put into the tire. If you don't maintain the right air pressure, you will overflex it. It's like a coat hanger - if you bend it back and forth enough, it will break. The same thing can happen to a tire. The more you bend it, the quicker it will break."