NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Aperia Technologies says its Halo Tire Inflator is now being used by more than 100 fleets.

The system bolts onto truck and trailer wheels and generates its power to adjust tire inflation pressures through the rotational movement of the wheel. It does not tap into truck or trailer air systems.

Josh Carter, CEO of Aperia, said during a press conference at the Technology & Maintenance Council’s spring meetings that fleets have conducted comprehensive independent testing before deploying the system. More than 50 fleet tests have been conducted, he said.

“Halo is increasingly preferred by all types and sizes of fleets because it’s the easiest tire inflation system to add to new vehicles or to retrofit on existing equipment,” said Carter. “In the past year we’ve seen many fleets move from pilot tests, to putting Halos on all new trucks and trailers, to full fleet full retrofits. These customers are adding thousands of Halo systems after seeing results of over 50 individual fleet tests that confirm the value of the Halo tire inflation system on tractors and trailers.”

To facilitate fleet testing, Aperia offers a wireless data acquisition system that can be easily installed to monitor tire pressures and the device’s performance. One test indicated proper tire inflation pressures were maintained over a 100-day period while tires without the Halo installed lost as much as two psi per week on average. Another fleet found the Halo improved fuel economy by 1.1% and extended tire life by 14.4%.

“The implications of our customer tests based on tire wear studies are that Halo can improve tire life by 12% on average,” Carter stated. “If Halo were used throughout the Class 7 and 8 trucking industry, it could reduce tire waste by over 11 million tires annually and save 1.7 billion gallons of fuel from being used unnecessarily.”

Aperia also announced the hiring of trailer tail inventor Andrew Smith as senior advisor. Smith founded ATDynamics and later sold it to Stemco. Smith sees parallels between the two inventions and plans to help Aperia accelerate the market penetration of its Halo Tire Inflator.

“Just as the most competitive fleets in the industry have added aerodynamic devices to trailers, the most competitive fleets will also soon have tire inflation systems on their tractors as well as their trailers,” Smith said. “The adoption of Halo is a simple decision for fleet executives once they realize that its cost saving, safety and environmental benefit potential can be realized immediately.”

The Halo can be installed in about 20 minutes. It costs about US$1,200-$1,500 – depending on quantity – to equip a truck.