Bandag Claims Harm by Michelin

September 30, 1999 9:40 AM, EDT

Bandag Inc. is suing Michelin North America for what it says is an attempt by the French-owned tire maker to eliminate Bandag as a competitor in the retread business.

Bandag, which pioneered the retreading business in the United States, accuses Michelin of violating federal antitrust laws by raiding Bandag’s dealer network, misappropriating proprietary information, making false statements about Bandag and unsupported claims about its own products and pricing below cost to attract major fleet accounts and dealers.

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

“We believe Michelin’s goal is to control the truck retread tire market and then shift the product mix from retreads to costlier new replacement tires,” said Martin G. Carver, chief executive officer of Bandag.

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