Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. continues to add "on-highway" Pilot Truck Care Centers at Pilot Travel Centers LLC locations and will have 21 truck service garages by the end of the year with more slated for the future.
Also contributing to the growth is subsidiary Wingfoot Commercial Tire Center's expansion as well as business-building programs tailored for independent tire dealers.
"It's all about the network," says Steve McClellan, vice president of commercial tire systems. "It's all about locating our centers where trucking fleets demand our services. These locations then must be linked to each other in a servicing network. We must grow along with the trucking industry."
America now has more than 3.29 million big trucks, according to R.L. Polk & Co., which compiles the data by counting registrations. New and used truck sales and tonnage continue to climb.
McClellan says consolidation of smaller fleets into larger fleet customers is creating opportunities in tire and mechanical services. "We are expanding our tire 'cradle-to-grave' services and becoming a complete outsource solution for fleets with single invoicing and critical services to reduce fleet downtime."
Through North America's largest network of service solutions providers, information management systems, roadside assistance and on-highway locations, Goodyear's "cradle-to-grave" services supply original equipment tires, replacement tires, fleet management tools, multiple retreads and tire disposal and replacement.
Information Technology that links services with the service providers "is the glue that fortifies the network. It's a network where truck centers work together to grow each other's business. By linking service centers in the network, we can track fleets' tire and service needs as their trucks travel North America's highways. Our service centers are available when a driver needs us," McClellan says.
He says the company would use its current distribution channels as well as independent dealers and competitors' outlets to service growing fleets.
"The Pilot Travel Centers LLC agreement makes sense when you include what our dealers offer. Together, they impact how fleets and end-users will be serviced. Both offer consistent product offerings and services," he says.
