Trelleborg Wheel Systems Americas Inc. launched its new Pit Stop Line forklift tires in the U.S. at ProMat 2015, held March 23-26 in Chicago.
Trelleborg says Pit Stop Line tires offer an innovation that answers one of the material handling industry’s most critical questions: how to know, with 100% certainty, when a forklift tire is worn out and needs replacing.
Solid tires are often replaced with up to 25% of their tread remaining simply because people are unaware that tread depth has nothing to do with tire life, according to Ydo Doornbos, managing director of Trelleborg Wheel Systems Americas Inc.
“Not only does this misconception cause a great amount of wastage, but it also costs companies thousands of dollars every year through unnecessary tire replacement and machine downtime,” says Doombos.
“Pit Stop Line tires feature a highly visible orange line embedded into the tire. This indictor is designed to reveal itself across the surface of the tire when it reaches the point where it should be replaced, thereby ensuring that tires are never replaced either too early or too late. Replacing tires too early costs you money, replacing too late can have profound safety implications.”
This innovation also helps improve machine uptime and service planning, according to Trelleborg. With the Pit Stop Line appearing 100 hours or five to 15 working days before the tire needs replacing, operators are able to plan their tire changes in advance, avoiding unplanned downtime.
Pit Stop Line mobile app
Trelleborg invites visitors its ProMat booth to try the new Pit Stop Line mobile app.
“We believe it’s a fun way to launch the Pit Stop Line concept and help people understand the value it delivers,” says Doombos. “We chose this way of promoting the Pit Stop Line because we want people to rethink what they know about industrial tires. Rather than do something technical and dry we decided to do something that was fun and memorable.”
There’s a competitive edge to the Pit Stop Line game too, according to Doombos.
“The Pit Stop Line challenges some big assumptions in the industrial tire world and we wanted to reflect that throughout the launch. We will be running a competition from ProMat until the end of April to find the Pit Stop Line champion. Be warned though, it’s a very addictive game and like with most online games, your children will probably be better at it than you.”
For more information on Pit Stop Line tires, visit Trelleborg’s booth #3241 at ProMat 2015 or www.trelleborg.com/wheelsystems.
