Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. will continue to focus on fleets in 2021 with new fuel-efficient-focused tires, three new retreads, plus a portal to help fleet managers manage multiple aspects of their tire programs.
The new products and services will come as Goodyear begins to service one of its largest fleet customers in the new year — Ryder, plus Pepsi MidAmerica, Albertsons and Dart.
Dave Beasley, vice president of Goodyear’s commercial business in North America, said the demand for truck tires “increased rapidly in the second half of the year. It’s been a challenge for us to meet this growing demand as we work to safely operate our plants while producing enough of the right tires.”
During this week’s online dealer conference, Beasley said Goodyear is hiring more workers for its factories and is “focused on premium tire production so we can get the top selling tires to you more quickly. We are ready to hit the ground running in 2021.”
He provided a few highlights of Goodyear’s fleet services from 2020:
- Tire Optix inspected nearly two million tires, and Goodyear is actively monitoring nearly 10,000 wheel positions.
- Three new Goodyear Checkpoint systems were installed during the year, allowing automatic inspections of almost two million tires
- Combined, Tire Optix and Checkpoint identified nearly 400,000 potential tire issues for fleets.
- Fleet HQ fielded more than 300,000 service calls, an increase over what was reported in 2019.
Cary Budzinski, leader of commercial sales, said Goodyear’s national fleet business is “up over 2019 levels,” and he highlighted additional fleet customers who choose Goodyear as a preferred supplier: JB Hunt, Norfolk Southern, XPO Logistics, Western Express and Schneider.
Budzinski provided a virtual tour of the new commercial tires coming in 2021:
For long haul, Goodyear will offer the Fuel Max LHD2, a drive tire that’s fuel focused. It’s SmartWay-verified and features technology to ensure even wear and steady traction over time, even in snow. The Fuel Max LHD2 has the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol.
In regional and urban settings, the Fuel Max RSD is a premium “super regional” fuel efficient drive tire. Goodyear thinks of super regional as a hybrid of long haul and regional applications. It’s a demanding application, and the tire offers traction and durability in both the city and on the highway. The tire will launch in the second quarter of 2021.
For mixed service applications, Goodyear will combine three existing tires into a new powerline: the Armor Max MSA. Think logging, oil fields and cement trucks — and the tires will have even greater resistance to stone drilling, plus Duraseal technology to help with flat protection. The first sizes will debut in the second quarter of 2021.
Goodyear also will unveil Unicircle retreads in three new patterns in 2021 for the Fuel Max RSD, Fuel Max RTD and the Ultra Grip RTD.
Fleet Central is a new interactive portal available on www.goodyeartrucktires.com. Beasley said fleets will be able to purchase tires, activate service and gain insights into their tire program — all from one location. So far, 6,000 fleet users have been introduced to Fleet Central, and Beasley said it is now being expanded beyond national accounts.
The Goodyear Fuel Max RSD will debut in the second quarter of 2021 for super regional applications.
