Velociti, Meritor Team on Tire Inflation for Trailers
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Technology design and deployment firm Velociti Inc. has reached an agreement with manufacturer Meritor Inc. to offer installation of Meritor’s Tire Inflation System for trailers by PSI.
At a Feb. 26 press event here, Velociti President Deryk Powell said the financial terms of the offer are favorable for fleets considering such a system. Payments are spread out over a maximum of 36 months, and fleets do not have to make an initial payment until all trailers have been outfitted with the devices.
“This guarantees an instant return on investment for automatic tire-inflation systems,” Powell said.
“Tire inflation absolutely is a technology with a rate of return on it,” he said, adding that Velociti has completed a retrofit project on the systems for truckload carrier Werner Enterprises involving 24,000 trailers.
Financing of the installations involves an interest rate that varies with each deal, Powell said. The offer is available in the United States and Canada.
Powell's presentation was a part of the Technology & Maintenance Council annual meeting. TMC is a division of American Trucking Associations.
MTIS uses sensors to monitor tire pressure continuously and if it drops to a low level from a slow leak, MTIS engages and automatically fills the tire to the proper level. Running long distances on underinflated tires damages the tires and lessens fuel economy.
Velociti does not make truck technology, but it installs systems for those companies that do. The company’s personnel also consults with fleets, offering analysis on the relative merits of competing technological approaches.
Powell said Velociti is agnostic as to specific brands and will consider any manufacturer that a customer would like to hear about.
In this case, Meritor will refer customers interested in MTIS to Velociti for actual installation.
