An improving economy and strong sales in heavy equipment means the demand for industrial tires will remain high, at least for the near future, according to an executive from the global conglomerate Trelleborg.
Telleborg Wheel — which has its US headquarters in Akron, Ohio — expects to see rising sales in the coming year, especially for its line of tires for forklifts and small construction vehicles, according to Ydo Doombos, the division’s managing director.
The company is so confident of the rosy economic outlook that it is introducing a new product line in the US called Pit Stop Line tires. The tires have an orange strip embedded into their rubber that only appears once the tire has worn down to the point where it needs to be replaced.
The Pit Stop Line tire “really helps the user to understand when it is the right time to replace tire,” Doombnos told the website Tire Business. “Because what we found in our studies … is that users are either replacing tires too soon — with about 20% wear left on their tires, which means they’re spending unnecessary down time and expense. Whereas Pit Stop Line is providing them the indication, clearn indication with the orange script that becomes visible about 100 hours before the tire really wears out, so they can anticipate and plan when its the right time for them to replace the tire.”