Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/714120
MTD August 2016 News/views Hall of Famer Raymond 'Gus' Hawkinson dies at 71 Raymond Paul Hawkinson Jr., known throughout the tire and retreading industry as "Gus," died on July 10, 2016, in Las Vegas. He was 71. Hawkinson was born April 6, 1945, in Ogden, Utah, and grew up in Minneapolis, Minn. He was CEO and president of the Paul E. Hawkinson Co., a family business manufacturing tire retreading equipment systems. He was primarily responsible for developing the non-destructive testing industry standards; his initial patent was issued in 1981. After his retirement he lived in Las Vegas, Nev., and served as a consultant to the tire industry. He was inducted into the Tire Industry Association (TIA) Hall of Fame in 2010. "I've known Gus for more than 30 years and you'll never meet anyone more passionate about supporting the independent retreader," says Dr. Roy Littlefield, TIA's executive vice president. "Whenever we had a retread issue on Capitol Hill, he was the first one to lead the charge in defense of retreading. "His service to the retread industry as an ARA (American Retreaders Association) and ITRA (International Tire and Rubber Association) board member was invaluable to the membership and as an innovator, his non-destructive testing methods are still being used to this day. "Ray's 2010 induction into the TIA Hall of Fame was well-deserved and he will be remembered as a retread industry great and active board member." Tire Rack compares four A/S tires Tire Rack Inc. evaluated four standard touring and passenger all-season tires, including the Firestone Champion Fuel Fighter, in its latest tests of top tire models. Tire Rack compared the Firestone tire with the General AltiMax RT43, Goodyear Assurance All-Season and Kumho Solus TA11. In dry conditions, all four tires delivered similar results with less than half a second separating the fastest and slowest laps of the group and less than three feet difference between the shortest and longest stopping distances. In wet conditions, the AltiMax RT43 was the top performer with lap times nearly a second ahead of the next-fastest Firestone and over three seconds ahead of the Goodyear. The General was the best in this group at accelerating or braking, while Goodyear had considerably longer braking zones and slippery handling. On the road, the Firestone Champion Fuel Fighter placed a strong emphasis on comfort in the areas of ride and sound quality. The Good- year Assurance All-Season received mostly positive reviews despite a rough ride over bumps, with the Assurance All-Season and Kumho Solus TA11 losing marks for steering, while still delivering a strong and low-noise ride. September 10-14 Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network 2016 Summit, Sutton Place Hotel, Vancouver, B.C., Canada (904) 737-2900 www.cvsn.org September 11-14 Performance Warehouse Association Conference, Embassy Suites Anaheim - South, Garden Grove, Calif. (760) 346-5647 www.pwa-par.org September 13-17 Automechanika Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany +49 69 75 75 - 0 www.messefrankfurt.com September 18-21 American Trucking Associations Inc. 2016 TMC Fall Meeting & National Technician Skills Competition, Raleigh Convention Center, Raleigh, N.C. (703) 838-1700 www.trucking.org September 26-28 China International Tire Expo 2016, Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center, Shanghai, China +86(0) 10-8589-8181 www.citexpo.com.cn October 5-7 Tire and Rubber Association of Canada Rubber Recycling Symposium Crowne Plaza Hotel, Niagara Falls, Canada (905) 814-1714 www.tracanada.ca www.betiresmart.ca October 29-31 Automotive Warehouse Distribu- tors Association Annual Business & Education Conference, Las Vegas, Nev. (240) 333-1023 www.awda.org dates Gus Hawkinson was a pioneer in the tire retreading and repair industry. 16