Bridgestone displays air free truck tire concept at TMC

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Bridgestone Americas' Advanced Air Free Commercial Truck Tire Concept For The Heavy Duty Trucking MarketBridgestone Americas is showcasing its advanced air free commercial truck tire concept for the heavy-duty trucking market at the 2020 Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition in Atlanta.

Bridgestone says its air free commercial truck tire concept, designed to be used in high-speed, long-haul applications, leverages a proprietary design where tire tread is placed on a unique structure of high-strength, flexible spokes. This eliminates the need for a tire to be filled and maintained with air.

“Commercial fleets are increasingly looking for ways to maximize uptime and reduce emergency roadside events,” says Jon Kimpel, executive director, new mobility solution engineering, Bridgestone.

“As mobility advances, we see these sophisticated fleets turning to technology solutions and innovative products as a way to improve operations and drive profitability for their fleets,” Kimpel says. “When tires don’t need to be filled with air, this essentially erases the downtime associated with a flat tire, improving safety and making mobility more efficient.”

The initial design of the Bridgestone advanced air free commercial truck tire concept is intended for the trailer position. Reported data from tire manufacturers shows trailer tires account for approximately 20 percent of truck tire purchases. Furthermore, research indicates 40 percent of all tire failures occur in the trailer position, the company says.

The air free commercial truck tire concept from Bridgestone also is engineered for enhanced sustainability. The air free commercial tire solution is designed to be retreadable, the company says.

“The benefits of an air free commercial truck tire solution are many — this offering has the power to reduce downtime, maintenance and emergency roadside service calls,” says Kimpel. “Combine that with a high retread rate and our advanced air free tire concept has potential to substantially lower the overall total cost of tire ownership for fleets.”

While the commercial truck tire concept is focused first on the trailer position, it is intended to be scalable to other commercial trucking wheel positions and applications, Bridgestone says.

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