Michelin touts availability of X One truck tires

Oct. 5, 2010

Michelin North America Inc. (MNA) says it has established more than 1,100 points of sale for its X One wide-base medium truck tire.

That number includes independent tire dealerships and truck stops, Francois Corbin, COO of Michelin Americas Truck Tires, told www.moderntiredealer.com last week.

On Sept. 30, Michelin celebrated the sale of its one millionth X One. (For more information, click here.)

During an interview with www.moderntiredealer.com, Michelin officials commented on the marketplace's acceptance of the X One.

"I think with any technology, availability on the road is always a concern in the beginning," said Don Baldwin, product category manager, MNA. "This is a very conservative market. It takes a long time for things to change.

"But when people got on the tires and experienced what the tires were like, they stayed with them. It was a case of getting fleets to try them and then within the fleets, getting drivers to try them."

Corbin said that in North America, X Ones are manufactured at two MNA plants: Spartanburg, S.C., and Waterville, Nova Scotia. "Spartanburg is by far the largest producer of X Ones."