Goodyear to buy German tire inspection technology firm

AKRON — Goodyear is pushing further into the fleet management business by agreeing to buy Ventech Systems G.m.b.H., a Germany-based developer of automated tire inspection technology under the trade name PneuScan.

The acquisition of Ventech Systems will allow Goodyear to expand its two-year-old "Proactive Solutions" fleet management business by being able to offer a user-friendly, closed loop service that measures tire pressure, tread depth and vehicle weight of vehicles that drive over Ventech's PneuScan device.

Goodyear is buying Dorsten, Germany-based Ventech Sytems from Grenzebach Maschinenbau G.m.b.H. Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, were not disclosed. The business and technology will be integrated into Proactive Solutions business.

Goodyear launched the Proactive Solutions business in Europe in 2016, and has expanded the network to the markets in the Middle East and Africa.

The company has as yet not outlined plans for the program in the Americas or Asia.

Goodyear notes that truck tire care and maintenance is one of the largest contributors to commercial fleet uptime and total cost of operations. As such, the Proactive Solutions program provides a full suite of demonstrated "vehicle-to-fleet operations management solutions" supporting fleet owners to improve vehicle and fleet safety, decrease fuel use and reduce their carbon footprint.

Goodyear has collaborated with Ventech Systems over the past three years to integrate the data gathering and analysis capabilities of the PneuScan technology into the Proactive Solutions fleet management solution, according to Christopher Helsel, Goodyear vice president and chief technology officer.

"Feedback from our fleet customers has been excellent, and we view this as an important opportunity to enhance our service and value proposition for customers," Mr. Helsel said.

Andreas Pietsch, Ventech Systems chief operating officer and business manager, said, "Goodyear's strong market presence enables additional worldwide growth opportunities for Ventech Systems. We are excited to support Goodyear's fleet customers with our unique technology in terms of process optimization, business efficiency and road safety."

In addition to the Proactive Solutions mobile tire/fleet management business, Goodyear is working with various auto makers to provide tire information to vehicle control systems to enhance safety and performance. An example of this is the tire maker's work with Tesloop Inc. to supply the city-to-city mobility service's fleet of Tesla electric vehicles with wireless sensors in its tires to improve overall tire management and maximize uptime for its growing fleet.