July 1, 1911.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD. 



373 



FOREIGN MARKETS FOR RUBBER TIRES. 



TIRE AND WHEEL STANDARDIZATION. 



""PHE widespread use of the automobile in England, not only 

 •*• as a pleasure vehicle, but, to an increasing extent, for com- 

 mercial purposes, makes that country a fertile field for the tire 

 manufacturer and a great and steadily-growing business is 

 being done there in pneumatic and solid tires. As a fact, how- 

 ever, it is mainly tires of domestic manufacture, with a few 

 of French, German and other makes, that are sold. The foreign 

 tire, to gain a foothold, must be marketed in a very thorough 

 and practical manner, by the establishment, preferably in Lon- 

 don, of a central depot or headquarters, carrying a large stock, 

 with branches in the most important trade and motoring centers. 

 The stock carried at the main depot must be of such quality 

 and variety as to facilitate the prompt execution of orders from 

 the branches, not a difficult matter when the e.xcellent trans- 

 portation arrangements in Great Britain are considered. At the 

 head of the establishment should be a thoroughly competent 

 "tire man," who is, at the same time, a "hustler" in business. 



From Manchester, the center of the British rubber manufac- 

 turing industry, the United States consul reports American tires 

 on the market and, in spite of keen competition, meeting with a 

 fair measure of success. There being no depot in Manchester, 

 orders must be filled from the London office. The consul con- 

 siders judicious advertising an important factor in obtaining a 

 share of the trade and expresses the opinion that with an ex- 

 perienced outside selling force, familiar with local conditions^ 

 operating from a central depot in London or Manchester, and 

 such branch stores in other cities as the trade may require, 

 American manufacturers could obtain a remunerative share in 

 the British tire business. Factors in their favor are the ac- 

 tivity and success with which American makers of automobiles 

 are exploiting the British market, which naturally creates a 

 demand for American tires, the greatly-increased employment 

 of commercial automobiles, motor-buses, etc., in which the tires 

 are so important an element, and the growing number and in- 

 creasing popularity in all the large cities of the taxicab. 



From Belfast, Ireland, the United States consul reports a good 

 opinion prevalent as to the durability of American tires, which 

 he states would find a much larger sale if they were made by 

 the manufacturers to conform to the metric system of measure- 

 ments, so generally used, in place of the inch scale. Here, again, 

 the indispensability of a central agency with a large stock and 

 convenient distributing branches, is urged, the fact that the 

 largest garage establishment in Belfast has announced a will- 

 ingness to accept a sub-agency for a first-class American tire 

 for that locality, indicating the favor in which they are held. 



The United States consul in Edinburgh, Scotland, advises the 

 placing of the goods in the hands of the best local agents or 

 "factors," and the granting to them, of terms as liberal as 

 those the British houses offer, and the judicious expenditure of 

 as large a sum in advertising as may be warranted. 



According to a report of the United States consul, at Erfurt, 

 Prussia, rubber tire manufacturers sell direct to motor car and 

 other vehicle factories in his district. They also do a large 

 business with the dealers in automobiles, bicycles and their 

 accessories. Some of the smaller bicycle factories purchase 

 tires from the wholesale dealers. 



The method of doing business through a central house, with 

 local branches, as described above, is followed in Germany, with 

 considerable success, by a French tire manufacturing house. 

 The consul suggests the supply of sample tires to the agents, to 

 be tried, free of cost, by prospective purchasers and compared 

 with other makes. 



That tliere is much business to be done, and that American 

 manufacturers who w-ill take the trouble to study the markets, 

 can, owing to the e.xcellencc of their goods, secure a fair share 

 of it, seems to be the almost unanimous opinion of the consular 

 officers, who have studied the situation and reported on it. 



'T'HE Committee on Wheel Dimensions, appointed by the 

 ■*• Society of Automobile Engineers, to consider the standard- 

 ization of automobile tires and wheels, made notable progress, 

 when it recently presented a tentative report standardizing 

 felloe, band and tire dimensions for solid tires and recommend- 

 ing a demand for a permanent metal band, complying with the 

 recognized standards, on all wheels sent out by wheel 

 manufacturers. 



The specifications embodied in the report call for a metal 

 band a quarter of an inch thick on wheels for single tire equip- 

 ment, up to and including four inch nominal width of tire 

 and three-eighths of an inch thick on wheels for single tire equip- 

 ment above four inch nominal width of tire and three-eighths of 

 an inch thick on wheels for dual equipment of all tire sizes. 



A constant wheel diameter, over the metal band, for all widths 

 of solid tires, of a given nominal overall diameter, is provided 

 for in the report, which also prescribes that nominal tire diam- 

 eters shall increase or decrease above or below 36 inches, in 

 even two-inch differences. Width and depth of felloes and width 

 of band are also provided for, the width of felloe and band being 

 fixed at three-quarters of an inch less than the nominal width 

 of the tire equipment for same; thus the standard width for 

 four-inch single tire equipment would be three and a quarter 

 inches. For dual equipment the width of felloe and band shall 

 be twice the nominal width of each of the dual tires, so that 

 the standard felloe width for four-inch dual equipment shall 

 be eight inches. 



The minimum depth of wood felloes for different tire sizes 

 is set forth in a table, in which the depth of felloes for tires 

 from 2- to 8-inch sizes is presented in half-inch differences. The 

 tolerance over metal band is also provided for, the tolerance 

 allowable in the circumference of metal bands being fixed at 

 plus 1/16 inch before application to wheel and plus l4 i"ch after 

 application. 



All the provisions for non-demountable tire equipment stand- 

 ards were also made to apply to demountable tire equipment. 



The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers has 

 endorsed the work of the Society of Automobile Engineers and 

 expressed its approval of the pending adjustment of the solid 

 tire question. It has also urged its members to be prepared to 

 adopt such standards not later than July 1, 1911, and to put 

 them into effect not later than January 1, 1912, recommending 

 that tire and wheel manufacturers make preparations to the 

 same effect. 



The rapidity with which the committee has surmounted the 

 apparently difficult obstacles with which it was confronted and 

 arrived at a practicable decision, is very gratifying and indicates 

 that the work it has accomplished will meet with equally prompt 

 approval from and be of the greatest future value to all who 

 are in any way interested, as manufacturers of, dealers in or 

 users of commercial automobiles. The willingness evinced 

 by all makers of truck tires to co-operate with the committee 

 in solving this important problem and their appointment of 

 competent representatives to take part with the committee in its 

 deliberations is the best evidence of their realization of the im- 

 portance to the future of the commercial motor vehicle, of tire 

 and wheel standardization. That it will shortly become an ac- 

 complished fact, in spite of the heavy first expense entailed for 

 the alteration of moulds, etc., appears reasonably certain, and 

 there is no factor that will have a more important effect on 

 the general adoption of the commercial auto and on the hasten- 

 ing of the day when for most heavy draught purposes the horse 

 will have become a thing of the past, and when the greatest 

 single use of rubber will be for the manufacture of solid tires. 



The Rubber Country of the Amazon — By Henry C. Pearson. 



