Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/316641
FOCUS PSB Tire & Wheel 20 • May 26, 2014 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com designed for different types of environments, like soft sand or mud," Johnson said. POTENTIAL NEW INDUSTRIES As for consumers, Dutch expects those who need consistent reliability from their tires to be first on the bandwagon. "I think the folks that we see as the early adopters coming on board initially are those that whether they have a Polaris vehicle for work, sport, or a combination of both, they want to keep moving. They don't want to be stranded on the Back 40 or out on the trail in the middle of nowhere. That's really what's got them gravitating toward this technology," he said. As more news is released on the NPTs, and as Polaris launches it on more vehicles, the company has received a barrage of inquiries from other industries looking to take advan- tage of the technology. "We've had a tremendous interest from folks in mining, turf, agriculture, construction and even the aviation communities, and we believe the applications for the non-pneumatic tires will eventually be part of numerous industries. And those are the same industries that incorpo- rate standard pneumatic tires on their equip- ment or vehicles right now," Dutch said. "So it's identifying those groups, or having them iden- tify the technology and how it works. I know the rail industry is extremely excited about it, simply because they're working in an environ- ment where they have rail spikes littered all over their yards. What they can do is save down time and save soft costs, and that translates to numerous other industries. We have a lot of folks asking us about it, and we're developing them for different things." That interest, both from inside and outside the ORV world, is keeping the staff at Polaris and Resilient happy and busy. "Everybody at Polaris is excited about it. The team here at Resilient is extremely excited about it. We enjoy coming into work every day," Dutch said. "We like to joke that we are reinventing the wheel, and it keeps us moti- vated, it keeps us fired up, and we enjoy doing what we're doing and integrating this technol- ogy into new platforms." Though Johnson admits that traditional pneumatic tires aren't going to be completely replaced any time soon, it's a sure bet that people should expect to see more honey- comb NPTs on the trail and at worksites in the near future. PSB our customers. For the month of April we ran a special where we would fill tires for free with the installation of Dunlop tires. PSB: How has adding nitrogen to your service roster helped your dealership? CC: It has been an added profit center for our service department. It took less than one month to recoup the money spent on our nitrogen wand, and it also gives customers a reason to come back in and let us top their tires off. It has given us additional service opportunities we wouldn't have normally had. PSB COLE NITROGEN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 POLARIS TIRES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 "We've had a tremendous interest from folks in mining, turf, agriculture, construction and even the aviation communities ..." Paul Dutch, site manager Resilient Technologies The polymetric web of the Polaris non-pneumatic tire is designed to crawl easily over rocks without punctures destroying it. P14x20-PSB7-Focus.indd 20 5/14/14 2:12 PM