Tire Builder

A Tire Builder works in a factory setting, operating the machines that piece together rubber tires for cars, trucks, and other heavy machinery. The machinery a Tire Builder operates depends on whether he or she is creating new tires from scratch or retreading used ones. Either way, if you’re a Tire Builder, you’ll be rolling out lines of round rubber donuts that will move thousands and thousands of equipment.

You might work in a big factory, creating new tires, or a smaller shop, patching up old ones, but either way, you should be familiar with the tools of your trade. You adjust machine settings by hand to specify the thickness of a tire’s tread and the width you’d like the tire to be. The specifications are based on what the tire will eventually be used for (is it for a crane or a BMW?). You also use spray guns to apply adhesives so that the tire casing will stick, then measure out and cut that casing to proper proportions.

Sometimes, you do this by hand, but other times, you operate large machinery that does the job for you. And this is just the beginning—you’ll also handle many other moving parts as you deal with belting, stitching, and curing your tire.

Although tires seem simple, they’re in fact extremely complex. Years and millions of dollars of innovation go into the technology behind tire-making machines, and you’re the final link in the chain for pulling all that technology into a finished product.

At the end of each day, you’ll have put in a great deal of labor. Then you’ll walk out the door, look at the thousands of tires going by, and have the satisfaction of thinking, “I made those!”