History of Hawkinson Seamless Treads

In 1931, Paul E. Hawkinson founded the Paul E. Hawkinson Company. Hawkinson Companies pioneered the band-type mold system, a revolutionary retreading process, for curing top caps (retread tires). 

In the mid-1940s, with the automobile becoming a part of every family, Hawkinson along with rest of the retreading industry expanded nearly 500%. 

By the end of the 1950s, there were nearly 12,300 retreading facilities in North America1, 900 of which were Hawkinson franchises. Contrary to today, most retreaders were focused on passenger tires. 

During the period from 1960-1980, the retreading industry began consolidating. By the beginning of the 1980s the number of facilities had decreased to 3,9001. The introduction of radial-ply tires to the industry forced many retreaders to find new molds to meet changing tire sizes.
Hawkinson is continuing to “Go the Extra Mile” for you and the environment. Hawkinson retreads require only 7 gallons of oil to produce, a 15 gallon savings over manufacturing a new tire. With 281 million used tires generated annually there is a great opportunity to save billions of gallons of oil every year. Hawkinson will continue growing and providing the innovations the world needs.
Brian Brasch, President
In order to increase its competitiveness, Hawkinson began working with an engineering company to develop a quality, cost effective retreading technology known as the NDT (Non-Destructive Technology), an electronic tire-testing machine. The NDT ensures retreaders that flaws within every casing inspected are identified and repaired before retreading. The NDT was a significant improvement for the entire retreading industry. Today, the NDT is the industry’s best practice in pre and post-inspection of tire casings.

Retreading remains essential to virtually every sector of business. In 1993, President Clinton created Executive Order 12856, under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, mandating retreading of all government vehicles’ tires.

In 1999, Branick Industries, Inc., known as a gold standard tire equipment manufacturer for over eighty years, acquired Hawkinson. Today, with 2028 patents, Hawkinson maintains its position as an innovator in retreading world wide. Together the two companies will continue to focus on Hawkinson as a technology leader in the growing retread industry.
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