Velociti touts “instant ROI” on tire inflation system retrofits

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A creative new program from Velociti allows fleets to use the fuel savings generated by trailer tire inflation system retrofits to pay for the technology over time.

Velociti, which is in the business of helping fleets deploy aftermarket technologies, has partnered with Meritor in a program that allows fleets to save now and pay later for the Meritor Tire Inflation System by P.S.I. While more than 50% of fleets now spec’ tire inflation systems on new trailers, few are adding the technology as a retrofit, explained Deryk Powell, president of Velociti, when speaking at a press conference at the spring meeting of the Technology & Maintenance Council.

He hopes to change that with the introduction of a new program that allows a fleet to immediately start generating savings, which can then be used to pay for the technology.

Industry data suggests trailer tire inflation systems generate annual savings of about $1,588 per trailer. The breakdown is: $200 in tread wear, $200 in maintenance, $588 in reduced fuel consumption and $630 in tire-related downtime and replacement costs, all resulting from keeping tires properly inflated.

Velociti’s new program allows fleets to retrofit their existing trailers – Velociti handles the installation – and then take advantage of deferred payments and extended payment terms on the hardware. No up-front investment is required.

“Before they pay us a dime, they’re significantly into positive cash flow from this investment,” said Powell. “This program is the first of its kind. It hasn’t been done before and it’s been a long time coming. We’ve been asking ourselves why this hasn’t been done before.”

Customers also get product support 24/7 from Velociti as well as telematics integration to receive alerts on tires that are losing air.

The new program is available in Canada as well as the US and payment terms are customized for each fleet. MTIS by P.S.I. is the only inflation system offered as part of the program.

“Meritor by P.S.I. is the best one out there,” explained Powell. “They’re the chosen brand for 70% of the market and have more than a million trailers equipped. There’s not a number two that’s close so we thought if we’re going to align with someone as a partner, we want to align with the best in the industry and there’s no question these guys own that market space.”

Powell gave an example of a fleet with 1,000 trailers generating $3 million in total savings while paying for the installations and support over a 36-month period. Velociti is no stranger to tire inflation systmes, having retrofitted about 45,000 trailers to date. Powell said Velociti technicians can do an installation in about three hours per trailer. It has hundreds of technicians in the field across the US and Canada.

“Most fleets take four to six hours,” he said. “We do it every day and we’re really good at it.”

 

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James Menzies is editor of Today's Trucking. He has been covering the Canadian trucking industry for more than 20 years and holds a CDL. Reach him at james@newcom.ca or follow him on Twitter at @JamesMenzies.


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