RoboTire aims to install 20 automated wheel-fitting systems in 2023

Roughly a year after RoboTire raised $7.5 million dollars in a funding round led by US tyre retailer, Discount Tire, at the end of 2022 the company launched its first operational production cell at a Discount Tire centre in Arizona.

“Our priority at Discount Tire is to continuously improve the services we offer to offer our customers the best possible experience“, explained Tom Williams, chief experience officer at Discount Tire. “We are happy to be the first to use RoboTire technology in our field. With our discount tyre experts who operate RoboTire systems, we will make the workplace safer and the experience easier because we hope, in this way further shorten the waiting times of the customers and in this respect we can also take care of more customers “, he added.

The fourth generation RoboTire system used there aims to change wheels in less than 25 minutes It currently “only“ fits complete tyre-wheel assemblies onto vehicles. And that means human personnel are still required for the removal of wheels and re-mounting of new tyres onto those wheels as well as inflation and balancing duties. For now, at least.

Moving forward, the goal is to have 20 systems installed by the end of 2023. And, as you can imagine, they are also hiring personnel to help the company achieve its expansion plans.

“We are a super small, flat team, so there’s a ton of opportunity here,” Victor Darolfi, founder and CEO of RoboTire told Purpose Jobs, adding: “We promote quickly and often, and everyone here is impacting the product and innovation.”

But, as RoboTire continues to grow, tyres are just the beginning. Next, the team are working on technology for automated brake inspection and “other services”.

The goal is basically the replacement of human technicians. “In an ideal world, one day your automated vehicle will drive itself to the service station, have automated service done and the systems will talk to each other. Then your car will drive itself home. That’s the holy grail,” Darolfi explained. Indeed, when you consider that Discount Tire also partners with Anyline, which has produced some innovative tyre sidewall scanning technology, the mind boggles.