For more than 75 years, Shrader Tire & Oil has been a trusted Michelin retread plant location serving commercial fleets across Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. This month, that commitment earned a formal recognition — Michelin honored Shrader Tire & Oil for 20 years as a Michelin Retread Technologies Partner.
It’s not an award handed out broadly. It reflects two decades of sustained performance, quality standards, and a working relationship that both companies have invested in.
What This Means for Your Fleet
Being a certified Michelin retread plant location means one thing for your fleet: access to retreads built to Michelin’s standards — not a generic alternative.
Shrader Tire & Oil operates two Michelin retread plant locations — Pemberville, Ohio and Melvindale, Michigan — serving commercial fleets across Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and beyond. That translates directly to lower per-mile tire costs without sacrificing safety or tread life. Fourteen locations. Mobile service. A team that’s been at this since 1948. One call, it’s done.
In Jim’s Words
“My father started this company with a handshake and a promise to take care of people. I’d like to think this award is proof we’ve kept that promise.”
What Makes a Michelin Retread Worth Running
Not all retreads are created equal — and that’s the point.
Michelin Retread Technologies uses a standardized 9-step process across every franchise plant, including both of ours. Every tire goes through initial inspection, computer-automated buffing, casing integrity analysis, X-ray, repair, tread building, double-enveloping, curing, and a final inspection before it leaves the plant. No shortcuts. No guesswork.
The result: Michelin retreads last 90% as long as a new tire at 50% the cost.* For a fleet running dozens of tires, that math adds up fast.
Fuel economy holds up too. Michelin retreads are engineered to deliver similar fuel efficiency to new tires — a factor that matters when diesel costs are eating into your margins.
There’s also an environmental case. Retreading a single casing reduces resources required by 66%, with significant reductions in oil, water, energy, and emissions compared to manufacturing a new tire. If your fleet has sustainability reporting requirements, a retread program is a straightforward win.
*Based on field data compiled by Michelin representatives and internal testing.
Michelin achieved a notable accomplishment in the 2024 U.S. Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study by winning its 100th, 101st, and 102nd J.D. Power Awards.
Michelin achieved top scores for Luxury, Passenger Car, and Performance Sport Vehicles in Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction for 2024. This accomplishment showcases Michelin’s dedication to providing top-notch tire quality and performance, as shown by responses from drivers throughout the United States.
Shrader Tire and Oil is proud to have been associated with Michelin for more than 60 years.
Alexis Garcin, President and CEO of Michelin, commended the tire company’s achievements, crediting the hard work of their employees in developing, constructing, and supplying tires.
The research, which gathered responses from more than 31,000 vehicle owners, evaluated contentment across four main categories: tire longevity, tire ride quality, tire aesthetics, and tire grip/handling. Michelin’s ongoing triumph showcases its lasting dedication to customer contentment and tire quality.
Today, with 14 truck tire and fleet service centers, two state-of-the-art Michelin retread plants, and four bulk lubricant operations larger than ever, Shrader Tire & Oil is the premier tire and lubricant distributor in the Midwest.
By aligning ourselves with Chevron & Michelin, Shrader brings value to our customers for less. In addition to providing the highest quality products in the industry, Shrader offers the best service in the region. Our knowledge and expertise go well beyond our product lines. We strive to create loyal partnerships with our customers while providing measurable solutions for lowering operating costs through our high-performance products and extreme customer service.
For more than 75 years, Shrader Tire and Oil has been Keeping the Transportation Industry Rolling and Safe!
Congratulations are in order for our very own MRT II plant – located in Pemberville, Ohio – after Michelin gave high marks to the retread facility in its annual audit.
“My team deserves all the credit,” said MRT II Manager John Taylor. “They are a great team that cares about what goes to our customers. They’re a fun group to mentor and coach.”
Michelin annually does an audit of retread facilities. The scores given to MRT II for the recent audit include:
• 100 percent for Safety
• 99 percent for Process Quality Audit – The auditor goes post-to-post and interacts with the operators to ensure they can perform the functions by applying work methods and specifications correctly.
• 99 percent for Finished Product Quality Audit. The auditor chooses 20 random tires from the warehouse ready to go to the customer and brings them back into the plant, putting them through a rigorous inspection to ensure proper work methods were followed.
“A lot of hard work goes into ensuring we are producing at the highest quality retread level possible in the industry,” said Bob Watters, STO’s general manager of manufacturing. “Thank you to the MRT II team for exercising our STO vision to keep the transportation industry rolling and safe!”
An audit at MRT I will come later this spring.
During a 75th Anniversary Golf Outing at The Legacy Golf Course in Ottawa Lake, Mich. in June, Steve Hunt of Michelin presented Shrader Tire and Oil President Joe Shrader and Vice President John Shrader with a miniature replica of the Michelin Man, or “Bib.”
Shrader Tire and Oil received multiple awards at the United Way of Greater Toledo’s annual campaign celebration at Glass City Metropark.
The awards for STO included Best in Show and Top Leadership honors.
The top leadership award was for contributions made by the STO leadership team. Joe Shrader was awarded the CEO Hall of Fame honors for long term contributions to the United Way.
Joe Shrader is pictured above with Nick Savett, HR Generalist at STO.
STO was a big winner at a February Michelin awards banquet, winning multiple awards after the annual audit.
“STO made an extremely big splash,” said General Manager of Manufacturing and MDC Distribution Bob Watters. “Both plants earned a $5,000 check as a result of our commitment to continuous improvement.” MRT I, located in Melvindale, received a 100 percent Audi Safety Score. Here’s a rundown of the awards earned by STO’s two Michelin Retread Plants:
STO’s Melvindale retread plant’s Best of Best Achievement Awards:
100% Audit Safety Score
Process Quality Audit Score – 98%
Finished Product Quality Score – 98%
Process Quality Audit/Finished Product Quality Audit 2021/2022 – 98%
STO’s Pemberville retread plant’s Best of the Best Achievement Awards
Process Quality Audit Score – 98%
Finished Product Quality Score – 98%
Process Quality Audit/Finished Product • Quality Audit 2021/2022 – 98%
Shrader Tire and Oil received multiple awards at the United Way of Greater Toledo’s annual campaign celebration at Glass City Metropark.