STRICTLY BUSINESS; TESTING TIRES: YOU ZIG, YOU ZAG, BRAKE HARD, TRY A HAIRPIN CURVE

You zig, you zag, you zig again, brake hard, make a hairpin curve on wet pavement, then head down a straight-a-way, to complete a half-mile course.

"It's a tough course, especially for a slow driver," said Randy Raynor, of DuQuoin, Ill. "But, it was a great experience for a tire salesman."

Raynor was one of more than 120 employees of Plaza Tire Service Inc., who participated in three days of testing a new Daytona Tire which was introduced earlier this year.

Raynor, manager of Plaza Tire's DuQuoin store, made six trips around the track, established at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

"I really took it easy the first couple times around," he said. "Then, I got a little braver."

Each driver took three spins in a '99 Mustang, riding on Daytona H-Rated, UNI-T tires. They followed with three more rounds in a similar Mustang, which had a competitive tire. "We made comparisons smoothness, braking and handling on the test drives," said Raynor.

The new tire was introduced in January of this year," said Carl Duffield, Bridgestone/Firestone sales engineer from Nashville, Tenn. "The company, which also produces Dayton Tires, wants sales people to know how the tire performs under different circumstances."

The half-mile course was designed with zigs and zags, one slalom area, and a hairpin curve, said Duffield. "We kept one area watered down," he said.

Drivers were enjoying their jobs Thursday, although the tests were being conducted without the use of air conditioning in the cars.

"Some of the driver really poured in on," said Mark Rhodes, president of the Plaza Tire, headquartered in Cape Girardeau. "This is great for our sales people, who can tell their customers about the new tires."

Rhodes made a few turns on the course.

"I drove it several times," he said. "These new UNI-T tires are something else. They drive smooth and quiet, and they have long tread life."

UNI-T stands for "ultimate tire technology," said Duffield, one of five Bridgestone/Firestone representatives on hand during the three days of testing. "This is a computerized process that takes in tread design, casing shape, materials and construction characteristics to produce high performance tires."

"We conduct these tests about six times a year throughout the country," he said. "Plaza Tire here has been a Dayton dealer for 35 years, and is one of the top two or three Dayton sales representatives in the nation."

The testing here compares tire performance with that of a competitor's tires, and gives Plaza Tire employees "first-hand" experience which they can pass on to customers.

Spotters are placed near the track at some key areas -- a heavy braking area, the hairpin curve area -- to actually watch the tires as the vehicles go through their maneuvers.

Plaza Tire, which was established more than 30 years ago, has 35 outlets in four states, and is one of the top 25 tire sales companies in the United States.

Other Bridgestone/Firestone representatives on hand for the tests were Rich Cullen and Earl Hachek, from the Chicago office, Dayton sales representative Stan Dyer of Kansas City, and Chris Kroen, Bridgestone/Firestone sales rep from Kansas City.

"Training" for jobs

A few Southeast Missouri communities will share in Missouri Department of Economic Development's (DED) job development funds.

Statewide, the DED approved $4.8 million in on-the-job and/or classroom training assistance to help in the training of more than 9,400 new or existing employees in Missouri.

The funds, released from the Missouri Job Development Fund through the Customized Training Program, will support training for more than 150 companies.

Joseph L. Driskill, DED directors, tells us that the overall purpose of the program is to increase and improve the quality of the state's workforce through training initiatives.

The program should continue to raise Missouri workers's productivity, "which is already 10 percent above the national average," said Driskill.

A quick check through the list of businesses participating in the program reveals a number of Southeast Missouri companies, amount of funding and number of jobs saved and/or gained through the training:

-- Miracle Recreation Equipment Co., Advance, $13,500, 15 jobs.

-- Arvin, Dexter, $28,750, 150 jobs.

-- Bennee's Toys, Farmington, $5,640, 5 jobs.

-- Parker Hannifin, Kennett, $11,500, 100 jobs.

-- Noranda Aluminum, New Madrid, $40,250, 87 jobs.

-- Specialty Brands Co., Piedmont, $6,792,11.

-- Briggs & Stratton Corp., Poplar Bluff, $29,0940, 60.

-- Rowe Furniture Mfg. Co., Poplar Bluff, %15,941, 70 jobs.

Starting USA Corp., Poplar Bluff, $29,442, 45 jobs.

The DED program is offered through the Division of Workforce Development in cooperation with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The projects are operated locally by community college, area vocational technical schools and private industry councils.

Business anniversaries

We're looking a number of anniversaries this year.

You'll fine an article on one of the oldest businesses in town this week, elsewhere in the business section:

-- Auto Tire And Parts is observing its 90th.

-- Port Cape Girardeau Restaurant recently observed its 25 anniversary.

Articles coming up:

-- Johnson Communication Service (JCS/Tel Link), 40th anniversary.

-- Chateau Girardeau, 20th anniversary.

-- Beaver Janitorial Supplies, 25th anniversary.

-- ERA Cape Realty, 15th Anniversary.

-- Anyone else out there observing 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th, etc??? Let us know.