Minister Mike Henry toured the plant of the Jamaica Ultimate Tyre Company on Friday, February 26, 2010. The Tyre Company is a small, wholly owned small subsidiary of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company whose mandate is :

• To provide a reliable and cost-effective source of new and retread tyres for the JUTC at an economic rate and
• To ensure sustainable growth and development of commercial customer business and increase staff welfare in a profitable environment.

Even though the company was initially established to supply its parent company with tyres, and it is their largest customer accounting for some 34% of its business, it has expanded and now supplies private companies, large haulage contractors and government agencies with about 56% of their tyre business.  The Tyre Company has been doing well and for the fiscal year ‘08/09, income generated was $128.1M which was a 33% increase over the similar period for the previous year. Revenue for fiscal year ‘09/10 is projected at $132.7M which is expected to yield a profit of $8.4M.

At the company, retread tyres are manufactured using a process involving used tyre casings from customers, or imported, high level casings from North America, Japan and Europe. This is done in a re-treading plant that produced some 9,488 tyres in calendar year 2008, the company’s highest annual production since inception. The company is capable of producing 45 tyres per day within an eight hour shift. Such tyres cost less, last longer and are used in trucks, buses, passenger vehicles and farm tractors, plus commercial and military planes.

Other services offered by the company include:

• Wheel alignment
• Front end inspection
• Tyre repairs and
• Purchase and resale of a selected range of popular new passenger tyres.

In its quest to encourage growth of the entity, a promotional campaign has been mounted. In this respect, regional depot agency agreements have been negotiated and implemented for May Pen, Christiana and Mandeville. Direct business or drive-in business of mainly coaster buses has been encouraging and this segment of the company’s operations is growing. The company is now looking to secure an overseas supplier of new tyres for re-sale, while exploring the feasibility of entering the lubricant business.

Speaking on the tour, Minister Henry lauded the company for the giant strides it had made since its establishment.
“The Ministry of Transport and Works and the Government of Jamaica recognize the importance of having an affordable and reliable public transportation system in Jamaica, and we are making every effort to ensure that this happens. We have managed to make a significant leap in this regard through the services of the Jamaica Ultimate Tyre Company,” the Minister continued.