DANVILLE, Va. — Goodyear is thinking beyond its traditional tire products and meeting drivers where the rubber meets the road – literally – with its fleetHQ service. The company invited guests to its Danville, Va., commercial tire manufacturing plant to stage a live simulation of its fleetHQ and business solutions programs on Sept. 27. In addition to premium Goodyear and Dunlop tires, fleetHQ provides 24/7 roadside assistance and a variety of other services and tools designed to address fleet needs.

The simulation took attendees, which included trade media from across Canada and the US, through the process of a fleetHQ road service sequence. But it was more than just a step-by-step demonstration of the program, says Bruce Woodruff, director of business solutions marketing, Goodyear Commercial Tire Systems.

“We wanted to demonstrate all of fleetHQ’s many components, which, when fully leveraged and working together, can help fleets make better business decisions, improve truck uptime and drive down their cost of operation,” he said.

Woodruff said fleetHQ stands to benefit everyone from owner/operators all the way up to the largest fleets. Goodyear solutions include:

– A preferred fleet program that includes nationwide pricing and billing available through the fleet or owner/operator’s hometown dealer. “Once you establish your tire and service program with your local participating fleetHQ dealer, you will pay the same price for covered fleetHQ services, regardless of where you get service throughout the fleetHQ network. For preferred fleets, billing is handled through your hometown dealer, so you don’t need to carry cash.”

– The fleetHQ Solution Center, where trained tire professionals work around the clock to help get trucks back up and running by dispatching service technicians from one of more than 2,000 dealer locations to downed trucks’ locations. fleetHQ users can contact the Solution Center via a dedicated phone number (866-fleetHQ), online at fleetHQ.com, or through a smartphone Web app.”Your smart phone’s built-in GPS can pass your location to the fleetHQ Solution Center, where trained tire professionals will quickly dispatch road service technicians,” he said. “The application is available for iPhone, Android and Blackberry users.”

– TV Track, a powerful online tire management tool designed to help fleets and owner/operators monitor their tire performance. Officials say TV Track can also capture vehicle information and tire wear conditions, and individual fleet reports are available online.

– Gold Medallion retreaded tires, available in six of the most popular medium truck tire sizes.

– TirePix, a service that provides photos of tires that were replaced during a road service call.

– The fleetHQ Truck Stop Network, a network that includes more than 300 locations. Participants include Wingfoot Truck Care Centers, Travel Centers of America, Petro Truck Stops, PTP Truckstop Network and Boss Truck Shops.

“Many benefits, such as the fleetHQ Solution Center, are offered at no cost to the fleet,” said Woodruff. “The fleetHQ program – including its diverse and powerful components – demonstrates Goodyear’s ongoing commitment to help our customers save time and money.”

For a full story on fleetHQ and the event, read the November issue of Truck News.