GREENWOOD, Miss. — There will soon be a new source for steel wheels manufactured in the U.S.
By the fourth quarter, Saylor Wheel L.L.C. plans to begin producing 14- to 16-inch steel wheels and supply tire and steel wheel assemblies to the trailer and recreational vehicle industries, as well as tire distributors.
The Mississippi start-up plans to open a factory in Greenwood, Miss., which founder, CEO and part-owner Dave Saylor said will offer a strategic advantage compared with overseas competitors by filling orders quickly and supplying steel wheels and assemblies to U.S. customers.
"Once we begin producing wheels here, our response time to customers will be one week or less with any size or color they need," he told Tire Business. "Customers don't have to place container-load orders, and there are no lead times for shipping across the ocean. And we can lighten the load for companies that can't afford to invest a lot in inventory."
The company initially plans to manufacture 16-inch wheels in October and will be producing 14 variants of 14- through 16-inch wheels by year-end.
Since January 2024, Saylor Wheel has been importing a limited number of steel wheels to serve approximately 200 small- and medium-sized trailer manufacturers in nine Southern states. It will continue to import wheels between 13 inches up to 17.5 inches once production begins.
The full range of products to be offered can be found online.