Bridgestone exec: 'This is pivotal moment in truck tire industry'

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — The commercial truck tire industry of the future will depend on a connected tire ecosystem of advanced tread design, retreading and advanced communications, according to Joseph Saoud, president, truck, bus and retread, U.S. & Canada, for Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations.

"This is a pivotal moment in the truck tire industry," Mr. Saoud said at the 34th Clemson University Global Tire Industry Conference, held recently in Hilton Head.

The three macro-trends in the vehicle industry are autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles and shared mobility.

"When these converge, they will revolutionize the industry," he said. "Depending on who you talk to, it will happen in 10 years or much sooner than that.

"The commercial truck tire industry will first feel this, because fleets have so much to gain by streamlining their operations," he said.

Nevertheless, the advent of autonomous vehicles leaves many unanswered questions, some of them very basic, Mr. Saoud said.

"Who's going to change the tire on a driverless vehicle?" he asked.

To reap the benefits of innovation, efficiency and sustainability in this new transportation world, commercial truck tire makers must take an active approach in creating a connected tire ecosystem for themselves and their customers, according to Mr. Saoud.

"Tire manufacturers must focus on delivering holistic tire solutions, leveraging analytics and pairing insights with superior products and service to maximize tire performance," he said.

"If we can do this, greater efficiency for all stakeholders will follow."

Live monitoring and the transmission of real-time information from trucks to tire service centers is key to the success of a connected tire ecosystem.

Bridgestone, he said, is already doing this for its off-the-road tire customers.

"Maintaining tire pressure and temperature, with real-time updates, identifies problems before they become an incident," he said.

Bridgestone is working on updates to its 24/7/365 truck-tire service program that will reduce downtime and increase consistency, according to Mr. Saoud. "The service goes beyond emergencies," he said.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) chips also will open many more opportunities for truck fleets than most people realize, including large-scale tire leasing operations paid for strictly by electronic means, he said.

Mr. Saoud touted Bridgestone's Ecopia tire line, claiming its advanced tread design — which is designed to deliver both long tire life and low rolling resistance — allow truck fleets to save nearly $1,400 per truck over comparable tires when Ecopia tires are used in all drive positions.

A modern truck tire can last for 1 million miles if it has a premium casing, is properly maintained and retreaded in a quality process, according to Mr. Saoud.

"Casings could conceivably last the life of the truck," he said.

Retreads need 68-percent less oil in their manufacture than a new tire and reduce tire waste by 1 billion pounds annually, Mr. Saoud said.

"Premium retreads, like Bandag, perform like comparable premium new tires and offer some of the lowest rolling resistance on the road," he said.

Retreads save the North American trucking industry more than $3 billion annually, he added, making them good for local economies. There are more than 250 licensed Bridgestone Bandag-system retread plants in the U.S and Canada, representing 50,000-plus direct or indirect jobs.

"Retreads are a reliable, profitable and sustainable choice for fleets of all sizes, maximizing tire asset potential and minimizing total cost of ownership," he said.