Bandag Press Release: New Tire Software Announced

08/20/96

Bandag Unveils Breakthrough Replacement Products and Tire
Information System

MUSCATINE, Iowa, Aug. 16 -- Bandag, Inc. , the
world's leading manufacturer of retread tire products, has unveiled
innovations capable of revolutionizing the way tire dealers and major
trucking fleets manage tire investments. Bandag, Inc. demonstrated the
first phase of SystemBandag(TM) -- a sophisticated new tire management
system developed in conjunction with Microsoft Consulting -- and two
new product lines -- FCR Series(TM) and TorqueMaster Drive(TM) for
fifteen industry trade press editors. The innovations were unveiled
during a press conference which was televised live by satellite from
the company's Muscatine, Iowa, headquarters to outlying Bandag
facilities in North America.

Product Breakthroughs

Scheduled for launch early in the fourth quarter, Bandag's new FCR
Series and TorqueMaster Drive product lines are benchmarked against
best-in-the-class replacement tires (new as well as retreads) for
Class 8 trucks and delivered significant fuel and wear performance
improvements over products currently on the market today. Addressing
two of the trucking industry's most significant operating costs --
fuel and tire replacement, Bandag said it expects the new products to
set new industry performance standards.

In road and laboratory tests, Bandag's new FCR Series retread products
for tandem-axle dive and trailer applications provide up to 40 percent
more tread wear and deliver the same fuel economy as leading new
tires.  The tests conducted at an independent laboratory under SAE
J1321 Type II procedures found that the FCR Drive Rib, FCR Drive Lug,
and the FCR Trailer products were statistically equal to best-in-class
replacement tires in fuel performance. The FCR Series' long tread life
and excellent fuel economy are attributed to a Bandag-unique tread
pattern and proprietary compound which work together to minimize heat
and tread squirm and resist irregular wear.

Designed for high torque applications such as tractors hauling double
and triple-trailer configurations, the TorqueMaster Drive product
outlasted best-in-the-class replacement tires by 30 percent when it
was tested on 400 hp tractors hauling triples, the most grueling
application of all. The TorqueMaster Drive design was proven in
long-term fleet tests involving more than 80 million road
miles. Single-drive-axle tractors are extremely brutal on drive tires
because drive torque is transmitted through half as many tires as a
tandem axle tractor.

Within the next 3 to 5 years, Bandag anticipates replacing virtually
all of its current products with new high-performance,
application-specific products. FCR Series and TorqueMaster Drive
represent the first two of this new generation of products, which will
emerge from Bandag's newly instituted Product Development Process.

System Bandag

As "chip in the tire technology" is introduced in the tire industry,
SystemBandag will be the first system with the necessary technology
and versatility to fully manage a fleet's tire investment from first
acquisition through recycling. Designed to capitalize on Bandag's
North American network of more than 500 independent tire dealers that
already provides retread manufacturing and related services to North
American trucking fleets, SystemBandag ultimately will deliver the
information necessary to manage every aspect of tire cost from
acquisition through recycling at the fleet level and from casing
pick-up through finished retread product delivery at the dealer
level. The technology gives Bandag the capability to handle complete
tire management outsourcing programs. Work has already begun to make
SystemBandag available to Bandag dealers around the world.

Unveiled for the first time to members of its dealer network and
industry editors and reporters, SystemBandag will be implemented over
time in three phases, beginning with a phase one capability which
equips more than 350 Bandag dealers in North America to serve the
needs of the top 20 fleet customers. It is expected to take 18 to 24
months to implement. Subsequent phases two and three will extend the
network capability to a significantly broader range of fleets and
refine and enhance system capabilities respectively.

In a sharp departure from the narrow focus tire software products on
the market today, SystemBandag is taking a customer-needs-driven
approach to developing a comprehensive tire information management
system. Bandag has been able to move faster, better and more
economically than its competitors.  SystemBandag design partners
include: Microsoft Consulting, AmeriData and Great Plains Software.

Bandag Incorporated manufacturers retreading materials and equipment
for its worldwide network of more than 1,300 independent, franchised
dealers who produce market precured retreads.