Two New Tires for the Last-Mile Delivery Sector
Learn about Goodyear’s Two New Tires for the Last-Mile Delivery Sector, and how they’re helping the trucking industry.
Episode 169: Recently, we were at the Technology and Maintenance Council Annual Meeting in beautiful Orlando, Florida. The theme of the show was Electrifying Performance in Maintenance Management. While there, we had the chance to talk to Goodyear about their Two New Tires for the Last-Mile Delivery Sector.
Our guests today are:
- Jessica Julian: Product Marketing Manager
- Jamie Redmond: Customer Engagement Specialist
- Austin Crayne: Business Development Manager
- Cary Budzinski: Senior Director, North American Commercial Sales
- Gary Schroeder: Executive Director of Cooper Commercial at Goodyear
Guest Website: Goodyear.com
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Transcript of Episode:
Jamie Irvine:
You are listening to The Heavy-Duty Parts Report. I’m your host, Jamie Irvine. And this is the show where you get expert advice about heavy-duty parts that keeps trucks and trailers on the road longer while lowering cost-per-mile. We’re at TMC, we’re on the exhibition floor, this is the annual meeting. The theme is electrification and Goodyear has made a big announcement. I’m very excited to have Jessica, a Product Manager with Goodyear here to talk about this new product. Jessica, welcome to The Heavy-Duty Parts Report.
Jessica Julian:
Hi, it’s nice to be here. Thank you for having me.
Jamie Irvine:
Jessica is a Product Manager with Goodyear and Goodyear made a big announcement today. The theme of the show is electrification. Why are we standing in front of this booth, Jessica?
Jessica Julian:
We are standing in front of this booth today because Goodyear has produced the first electric drive-ready tire that Goodyear has in the market from a commercial perspective.
Jamie Irvine:
And with electrification and the way things are going in the industry, that’s a big deal to be able to get this product out first. Does this impact your last mile delivery strategy?
Jessica Julian:
Yeah, absolutely. We see that the market is really headed towards electrification and Goodyear is right there, you know, leading the charge to have a tire that’s available with the heavier load capacity for those electric vehicles.
Jamie Irvine:
I was curious about that about what is unique about that last mile delivery and why you would need a tire specifically for that. Could you just tell us a little bit about the features of the tire?
Jessica Julian:
Yeah so the tire is equipped with the electric drive-ready badge that you can see here. So basically that symbolizes on the tire that it carries that extra load capacity, but it’s not just for electric vehicles. It’s also for gas and diesel powered vehicles as well. It also has the Intelex technology in the tire and that tread feature really helps make that tread last a little bit longer, longer miles to removal in those regional and urban applications.
Jamie Irvine:
That was gonna be my next question, right, is fleets are always looking to lower cost-per-mile. So what you’re telling me is, because of the durability of this tire, fleets are gonna be able to get a lower total cost of operation for using that tire?
Jessica Julian:
Correct. And there’s a zigzag tread design in the tire, and that really helps keep the rocks in such out of the tread. So when that tire gets, you know, worn out, it doesn’t damage the casing.
Jamie Irvine:
Excellent. So then longer life on the tire specifically for that last mile application for electric, for other applications as well, regardless of the power source. It sounds like this is a great product and it’s something that fleets are going to love to get their hands on.
Jessica Julian:
We are very excited about it here at Goodyear to have this product.
Jamie Irvine:
So Jessica, I’m glad to be able to continue to talk to you about some of Goodyear’s great products. The TMC Annual Meeting’s theme is all about electrification. And really when you think about it, sustainability is a big part of the move towards electrification. But for commercial fleets, there are more than one way to become more sustainable. And it’s not just electrification, it’s also other products. So I’m really interested to know Jessica about your retread program and how that helps fleets to be more sustainable.
Jessica Julian:
When you retread your tire, less tires are going into landfills. You’re retreading those casings. It also lowers that cost-per-mile as well by being fuel efficient. So not only, you’re keeping things out of landfills, but you’re also from a fuel efficiency saving on fuel.
Jamie Irvine:
I love that. It’s a win-win it helps reduce the amount of raw materials that we’re needing. And it also helps to lower total cost of operation and helps them be more sustainable. So if we’re gonna describe the types of fleets that this program is perfect for, who would we be describing?
Jessica Julian:
Actually any fleet that uses a long haul regional or mix service tire would be perfect for our retreading program.
Jamie Irvine:
So we’re continuing our conversation in the Goodyear booth. And one of the things that is important is definitely giving fleets data, the right kind of data. I’m with Jamie. Jamie, what’s your role here at Goodyear?
Jamie Redmond:
So I’m the Customer Engagement Manager for our services and solutions.
Jamie Irvine:
All right. So we got two Jamie’s here, passionate about helping commercial fleets. We’re gonna talk about Tire Optix. Jamie, when it comes to data, anytime you’re having to service a tire, there’s a lot going on there. How does Tire Optix help commercial fleets?
Jamie Redmond:
Yeah, so Tire Optix is part of our digital inspection process. When you look at our overarching tire management solutions. So Tire Optix, helps anytime you’re gonna inspect a tire. So capturing tread depth, air pressure, tire conditions, even pictures, it helps facilitate that process, makes it quick, makes it more accurate, and produces data very quickly so that you can review and understand the condition of those tires easily.
Jamie Irvine:
So fleets are relying on data more and more to be able to make intelligent decisions. And really the goal is lowering total cost of operation. So how does this platform help at the repair shop level at a commercial fleet? How do they take that data and turn it into something actionable that actually lowers cost?
Jamie Redmond:
Yes. So Tire Optix is a great tool for that. It helps identify those potential issues before they become a more serious, costly roadside event. So you’re able to do more preventative maintenance and schedule for that service by gathering and collecting this information again, before it could become a more serious issue down the road.
Jamie Irvine:
Right. And maintaining uptime is what it’s all about. Utilization of the equipment. How does a fleet actually use the platform? Where would they go?
Jamie Redmond:
Yeah, so fleets can use it themselves. Also our service provider, so we have a network of over 2300 dealers. They also have the tool, so it can be a combination but fleets can contact us, go to Goodyeartrucktires.com to sign up, learn more and we can facilitate that discussion.
Jamie Irvine:
Jamie is so great to talk to another Jamie who loves the commercial trucking industry as much as I do. So thank you for taking some time and talking with us.
Jamie Redmond:
Yeah. Thank you so much.
Jamie Irvine:
We’re gonna take a quick break. We’ll be right back. Don’t have a heavy-duty part number and need to look up a part? Go to parts.diesellaptops.com or download the app on Apple or Android to create your free account. Looking for high-quality fuel injection for heavy-duty applications? Having one supplier for fuel injection allows you to better serve customers by providing them with a complete line, which increases your sales and profitability. Learn more at ambacinternational.com/aftermarket. So we’re continuing our conversation in the Goodyear booth here at TMC. Austin, thank you so much for taking a minute to talk to me. When we’re talking about commercial fleets and we’re talking about the complete tire management, tell me about the program that Goodyear has and how it’s helping commercial fleets.
Austin Crayne:
Yeah, so really we created a program called Complete Tire Management. So really trying to define that in the industry and what it means. And so we really defined it in three key buckets. So monitoring, which is the suite of technologies that we have here today, to really gather information about tires and the programs that fleets have for them. And really after that, it’s instilling it down and distilling it down into insights. And so actionable data, information that fleets can use to make decisions to better help their fleets and then taking it a step further and using our network to activate service on top of that, so that we can address issues that are being identified and really help fleets take care of their tire programs and reduce that cost. And when you’re doing this with the different technologies that we have, whether it’s active monitoring with TPMS, automated inspection with our drive over reader technology, or digital inspection with Tire Optics, it’s getting that information and it’s allowing fleets to not only enhance their tire programs, but get more life out of their tires. So they’re increasing sustainability by being able to get more retreads out of their casings. They’re also even able to, as they’re taking care of their tires, having better pressure in them is gonna reduce that fuel consumption as well and give them longer miles per gallon when they’re out there on the road.
Jamie Irvine:
So this complete system really helping commercial fleets to get a handle on their entire program, lower their total cost of that’s what it’s all about for fleets. So Austin, thank you so much for taking some time and explaining your program. I really appreciate it.
Austin Crayne:
Yeah, definitely. Thank you. Appreciate it.
Jamie Irvine:
We’re here at TMC and we’re continuing our conversation with the great folks here at Goodyear. Cary, welcome to The Heavy-Duty Parts Report. What’s your role with Goodyear?
Cary Budzinski:
I am Goodyear Senior Director of Sales for North America for the commercial division.
Jamie Irvine:
And Gary, happy to have you here. What is your role?
Gary Schroeder:
I’m the executive director for Cooper’s commercial business.
Jamie Irvine:
Well, speaking of Goodyear and Cooper, let’s talk a little bit about, this has made some news in the industry. Could you explain to us how this all fits together and why the companies are going in that direction?
Cary Budzinski:
Great question. And a lot of people have asked us this week while we’re here at TMC. So as you know, Goodyear bought Cooper. What was the plan? What was the thinking? And if you look at the chart behind you, when you think of Goodyear, we were wonderful in the top tier of products with our Goodyear branded products, but then we dropped all the way down, really to the economy line with our Kelly. So there was a void in the mid-tier product and Cooper, another Ohio based company like Goodyear, the fit was just right. Let’s get the Cooper brand in the mid-tier. Now, when we service our fleets, we got Goodyear leading with the premium. We have a wonderful mid tier in Cooper. We have the economy with Kelly and Roadmaster. So it was just a really, really good fit.
Jamie Irvine:
From what I know of commercial fleets. They have so many different vocations, they have different applications. And so they really do need a wide range of products. So Gary, can you tell us a little bit more?
Gary Schroeder:
Sure that is one of the big synergies, you know, that we’re getting out of the integration is just a lot more product that we can take to market. I mean, you can see it’s kind of a multidimensional matrix, Cary walked us through, you know, where we cover long haul regional, urban, and mix service. So there are some fleets out there that look for that premium tire and there’s some fleets out there that look for that economy tire as well. And like Cary said, with the line up that we have now, when you look at the total portfolio, we really can address all needs of the market, whether it’s long haul or mixed service, whether they want a premium or they want an entry level type tire.
Jamie Irvine:
Cary, when it comes to servicing commercial fleets, you know, the industry has come to TMC here to support commercial fleets, to look for opportunities, to be able to help them. Can you explain to our viewers and listeners the, the overall strategy for really supporting the commercial fleets at every level?
Cary Budzinski:
Sure and it’s a great question. And I do have a picture right behind us. Typically, when you look at a slide, you read it from left to right, but not in this case. For our strategy, it all starts, it all ends with the fleets in mind. So what do we have to do to service them? What are they looking for? Be it a large fleet, a regional fleet, or a smaller local fleet. First thing they want trusted products. That’s where we have Goodyear, we have Cooper, we have Kelly, we have Roadmaster. They wanna make sure that you also have integrated solutions, right? They wanna make sure that they’re keeping their tires aired up and running. So they don’t have those breakdowns. So when you look at the products, when you look at our tire management solutions on top, those are all the things we offer. Now, the other great thing is how do we service them. So it could be a distributor getting a product to the marketplace. It could be one of our 250 company owned locations, which we’re very proud of here in North America. Or it could be one of our great aligned servicing dealers, right? And we also, of course, are one of the leading retreaders. So when you put all this together with great products, great tire management solutions and a great network of dealers, that’s what the fleets are looking for. That’s what we deliver.
Jamie Irvine:
So that’s what it’s all about is taking care of the trucking industry. We’ve been here with Goodyear and it’s been great. Cary, thank you so much for opening up the booth to us, giving us the opportunity to interview so many of your people and look at your great solutions. I really appreciate it.
Cary Budzinski:
You’re very welcome, Jamie. Thanks for being here.
