Martins Industries Offers a Hands-Free Way to Seat and Fill Truck Tires

Nov. 1, 2018

For Martins Industries Inc., the focus in developing new products is threefold. They must enhance safety, be ergonomic, and help a user be more efficient. One of the new products that hits all three marks is a hands-free solution to fill truck tires while they’re inside a cage.

The Inflation Pit Stop combines the seating and inflation of truck tires into one step, safely done within the confines of the cage. The user rolls the tire into the cage, and a roller in the bottom of the unit helps the technician easily rotate the tire to get access to the valve. After it’s connected, users need to press three buttons to select the pressure, fill the air tank, and then push ‘go.’

Martin Dépelteau, president of Martins Industries, says the company spent two-and-a-half years developing the product. It requires technicians to handle the tire for 54 seconds, “and then you can walk away,” says Dépelteau.

The inflation system is available on both a four-bar cage, as well as an enclosed tire cage.

Martin Industries spends time in the field alongside tire dealers and fleets looking for ways to solve their problems. Dépelteau says handling truck tires safely is one of the two biggest concerns those customers identify year after year. (The other is how to safely and efficiently unload large loads of tires.)

The company provided the U.S. market with its first look at the Inflation Pit Stop during the 2018 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show.