Bandag 50th Anniversary

Bandag is one of the greatest business success stories of the second half of the twentieth century. From its founding in 1957 to its dominance of the North American retreading industry and its participation in international markets, Bandag has built products and services to meet the needs of its fleet and dealer customers. As Bandag has prospered, it has offered stable employment, exceptional income and personal growth opportunities to its employees, allowing them to enjoy a slice of the good life.

In 1957, Roy Carver, inventor and seller of industrial pumps, was in Germany to promote pump sales. He noticed that the tires on one car had been retreaded in a way he'd never seen before. Not only did the retread cover only the tread area of the tire, but they were 'precured' to improve durability. Carver met with Bernard Nowak, the inventor of this new retread system. Carver secured the North American rights to Nowak's retread process. Nowak asked Carver name his retread company BANDAG, for Bernard Anton Nowak from Darmstadt. The letters AG are German for "Inc." Bandag, Incorporated began in the United States on December 20, 1957.

Excerpt from the book "Revolutions". Read about some of the people and inventions that revolutionized the retread industry by selecting topics at left. For the complete story, click here to order your own copy of "Revolutions".

Real Answers - Bandag History A profile of the fathers of retreading: Roy Carver and Bernard Nowak. (From Bridgestone's Real Answers magazine, used with permission.) Bandag Recollections There are many collectors of truck memorabilia. Here are a few of the collections we know about. Bill Shea David Ross Leigh Knudson Dave Bontrager Rich Morris We'd like to hear from you. Click here to send us an email about your collections. Bandag Experts Find out how some of the major innovations in Bandag history came about. Cushion Gum Inspection Technology Information Technology Application Specific ECL Bandag Milestones