Discount Tire invests in robotics start-up RoboTire

DETROIT — RoboTire Inc., a Detroit-based automotive robotics and automation startup that's developing an automated tire-installation process, has attracted Reinalt-Thomas Corp. as a new investor.

Reinalt-Thomas, d.b.a. Discount Tire/America's Tire, participated in a recent $7.5 million Series A investment round, RoboTire said, along with Automotive Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, 640 Oxford Ventures and several other "angel" investors.

RoboTire has patented a system that uses robots to change a set of tires in under 15 minutes, or what the company claims is a fraction of the time human operators can perform the task.

The company's goal is to introduce "manufacturing-level" automation to traditional automotive repair shops, thereby transforming the traditional financial and operational considerations used by fleet operators and automotive service providers for tire and wheel services.

"Discount Tire is excited to support RoboTire in the development of new and innovative technologies that drive a better customer experience," Tom Williams, chief experience officer at Discount Tire, said.

"As customer expectations around the 'buy and book online' experience and our ability to deliver reduced wait times continue to grow, we will continue to pursue automation and enhancements that ensure an inviting, easy and safe experience for all our customers."

RoboTire was founded in 2018 and has multiple patents and patents pending for its automotive systems.

"We see RoboTire as transformative — not only for the tire industry but for the development of smarter automotive technologies and future-proofing the workforce of skilled technicians, which our industry must do a better job recruiting, training and retaining," Will Mapes, RoboTire chief operating officer, said.

RoboTire CEO and Founder Victor Darolfi called the investments a "pivotal moment for RoboTire and sets us on a path to further transform vehicle maintenance.

"Our focus is to revolutionize the way tires are changed, and collaborating with Discount Tire — an iconic automotive and tire industry leader — will make our innovative technology more widely available to consumers who need both speed and service as part of their daily lives."

Mr. Darolfi is an engineer by training, who has worked for a number of engineering-oriented companies over the past 17 years, including Intier Automotive, Bosch Automotive, Space Systems Loral, Lockheed Martin, L2F Inc. and Spark Robotics.

He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Kettering University and a master's degree in engineering management from Santa Clara University.

According to a video posted by RoboTire, the system uses pairs of robots on both sides of a vehicle to dismount and mount tire assemblies.

One robot is dedicated to removing and installing the lug nuts, while the other removes the tire/wheel assembly from the vehicle and transports it to the tire changing station, where a human operator oversees the used tire demounting and mounting of the new tire.

The robot then moves the assembly to the balancer, where again an operator oversees that operation. The robot then transports the newly balanced tire/wheel assembly back to the vehicle and places it on the axle-end studs.

Thus the process does require sufficient space on either side of a vehicle in the service bay for the tandem robots to operate.

RoboTire did not disclose the projected cost of purchasing and installing a system, nor the projected time to amortize said investment.