Several tire equipment suppliers displayed new products at Tuffy Manufacturing Inc.’s recent 45th anniversary celebration in Akron, Ohio. The open house also was attended by a number of independent tire dealerships, including representatives from Conrad’s Tire Express & Total Car Care, and Kevin Rohlwing, senior vice president of training for the Tire Industry Association (TIA).
International Marketing Inc. promoted its new XACTBalance medium truck tire balancing product that uses free-moving steel particles that adjust to changing conditions.
XACTBalance consists of two extruded aluminum segments, each covering half of the wheel, that provide “better slow-speed performance and get (balancing) particles where they need to be faster,” say IMI officials. They add that the product is twice as effective as standard balancing rings when it comes to vibration reduction.
AME International displayed its new industrial cribbing blocks that are used to jack up OTR trucks and other heavy machines. Made from 100% recycled plastic, the blocks “will not fail catastrophically like wooden cribbing,” according to AME officials. “Instead of snapping, cracking or collapsing, they gradually deform, providing visual warning of overload.”
The blocks come in multiple sizes to fit most OTR applications and are rated up to 160,000 pounds, depending on configuration.
Bartec USA was promoting its new Tech400 tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) tool. The unit captures sensor identification numbers by activating and decoding the sensor data from a number of makes and models, including Toyota vehicles.
