KIRKWOOD -- Willow Run Foods said special sensors that monitor tire pressure on its tractor trailers could help the company and others like it improve fuel use and safety and lower operating costs.
Willow Run, based in Kirkwood, has agreed to let its roughly 100 tractor trailers be part of a demonstration project using this technology from Par Logistics Management Systems of Rome, Willow Run President and CEO Terry Wood said. The tractor trailers are being outfitted now with the sensors. All of the vehicles should have them in about a month.
The study will last about a year, and the findings will be presented to industry, energy and environmental groups, said the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which awarded Par a $500,000 contract to demonstrate its tire pressure monitoring system.
Par will receive the tire pressure information and post it to an online system that Willow Run can access and monitor in "live time," Wood said.
Improper tire pressure can result in tire erosion and blowout and the need for roadside repair, Par President John Sammon III said.
"When your customer list includes Wendy's, Arby's ... and Sonic, you understand that timing is everything," Wood said. "If we miss the delivery window for any reason, everyone suffers."
National studies estimate that proper inflation of truck tires would yield between 2 percent and 10 percent increases in fuel efficiency, NYSERDA reported. One billion gallons of excess fuel is used because of inadequate tire pressure.
"Real-time tire pressure monitoring via wireless telecommunications is an industry first in trucking," Sammon said.