Treading on Amerityre.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the editor)

I just read, with great excitement, James Perloff's article on Amerityre (February 18 issue) and immediately went to the company's website to see how we could purchase these American-made polyurethane tires and invest in such a fantastic new American enterprise. Much to my shock and dismay, I found their 2007 Shareholder Meeting Presentation to be loaded with references to global markets and global manufacturing.

Then to make matters worse, their major investor in Composite Tires refers immediately to signing agreements with Communist China, as if this is a natural formula for success with any new American enterprise. It is also assumed then that both manufacturing and distributing for Amerityre composite products will be done in China, not in the U.S.A. Amerityre says in a slide presentation that they have a "signed agreement with [a] Chinese partner" and that they shipped the "largest pour machine in the world" to their "launch partner" China, a machine that processes 3,000 lbs. per minute. Could James Perloff have missed this life-draining partnership with China and Amerityre when he researched this "entrepreneurship" article?

Amerityre founder Richard Steinke is quoted in THE NEW AMERICAN as saying, "In other countries, they're afraid to innovate.... The great thing about America is, you can fail, and keep on trying." Could the reason why other countries do not innovate be because Americans love to innovate and spend the time and money here to create an incredible product, only to sell it to non-innovating (socialist/communist) countries who are more than willing to capitalize on it?

After my short visit to Amerityre's website, I am not at all interested in purchasing or investing in "Chinatyre." Is there anyone loyal to America anymore? Do the Chinese spell tire as "tyre"? Is that how the name "Amerityre" came about?

STEVE ROSE

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

James Perloff responds: I fully agree with keeping manufacturing in America; unlike many conservatives, I even support tariffs on imports. Amerityre's only plant is in America; all its products are made here. To say Amerityre is "signing agreements with Communist China" is distorting--it has one contract with one Chinese company, Qingdao Qizhou. The latter is not using ...