Morton Supplies Finds Long-term Success with Double Coin Casings

Fred Schmidgall knows a thing or two about retreading. After all, he and his team have grown Morton Supplies into the 35th largest retreader in the country.

"A retread is only as good as the casing it's on," he says. "Does it stay round? If it is punctured, does the inner liner hold up?

The answers regarding Double Coin casings, according to Fred (pictured to the left), are positive on all fronts. This is not an opinion that Fred has come to lately. In fact, he first came across Double Coin in 2003 when he toured a Double Coin plant as part of his MBA program at Bradley University in Peoria.

"You could say I have a masters in Double Coin," he laughed, during an interview at the recent TMC conference. "I was impressed with the company back then and have been impressed with the quality of their new tires and casings ever since."

Morton Supplies, Inc., located in Morton, IL, is an independent tire retreader and wholesaler that sells to tire dealers, fleets and a sizable number of intermodal operations from the east coast to Salt Lake City. They also sell used and new wheels.

Fred sells a broad range of Double Coin tires. He cites the RLB400 closed shoulder drive tire (pictured to the right), RLB900+ wide base, mixed service tire and the 5-rib steer/all-position, multi-use RR150 as among his favorities.  "The new Double Coin tires balance well and hold their uniformity, and the casings have very dependable retreadability," he said.

Fred says the influx of low cost import tires (which are a couple of tiers below Double Coin in quality) have had an impact on the U.S. retreading business. His 35-year-old family-owned operation is doing well, however, thanks to "always exceeding customer's expectations."

To make the case for retreading, the Morton Supplies website points out that:

• A new truck tire requires 22 gallons of oil, compared to seven gallons to produce a retread truck tire.
• Retreads save between 60 to 80 percent of the comparable new tire cost.
• Quality retreads provide the safety and durability of any comparable new tire.

We appreciate Morton Supplies and wish Fred and his team all the best in the future.