Pressure Systems International, the world leader in automatic tire inflation systems, has opened a new, expanded R&D facility supporting the company’s strong commitment to developing tire inflation technologies to reduce truck fleet cost per mile.
Located in Mathis, TX, the new 4000-square-foot facility has the capacity to house the company’s Technology Tractor and Trailer, which is outfitted with wheel-end computer data recorders that are able to give a true picture of the dynamics of tire inflation in actual road travel conditions. Analysis of this data is a key component of PSI’s ability to develop new products such as steer and drive axle automatic inflation systems as well as the Meritor Automatic Tire Inflation System by PSI HS, which includes wheel end heat sensing capabilities.
The facility also has a state-of-the-art lab equipped to recreate over the road scenarios.
Kevin Hennig, Vice President Product Development Technical Services for PSI explained the importance of this new facility: “For 11 years, PSI has been the leader in developing automatic tire inflation systems and the opening of our new R&D facility is a commitment to the industry to maintain that leadership role.”
The facility is equipped with an internal web-based video system enabling remote monitoring of on-going product test banks. Pat Sutton, Chief Production Engineer at the Mathis site, emphasized that “the capability for our technicians to monitor tests from anywhere in the world allows us to stay up to date on their progress and communicate that information internally and to our customers. In this way, delays are avoided and testing is completed in a timely manner.”