“Flatproofing is a must for anyone who cannot afford to lose money on downtime,” said Bill Pryse of S&S Tire, who began a tire filling operation four years ago at the tire dealership’s main warehouse facility in Lexington, Ky. “Flatproofing is not cheap, especially with the higher price of oil today,” he added, “but sitting around for three hours waiting to have a flat tire repaired can be more costly.”
S&S Tire’s flatproofing business has grown by more than 60 percent the last four years, and the company is a Certified Arnco Dealer, with six of its other locations carrying Arnco products: Nashville, Tenn; Huntington, W. Va.; Vienna, W. Va.; Beckley, W. Va.; Florence, S.C.; and Conway, S.C.
“We were having someone else handle flatproofing for us, but we needed faster turnaround due to an increasing demand,” said Pryse, who handles purchasing and sales for S&S Tire. “After meeting with all of the flatproofing suppliers we selected Arnco because of its market penetration and reputation for only the highest quality products. Arnco also promotes its flatproofing materials more than other competitors, and I knew it would help me build a market in Lexington. It also was a plus that the original equipment manufacturers such as Bobcat and Caterpillar had selected Arnco’s products as well.”
Pryse added that S&S Tire is getting considerable business from its West Virginia locations where it is a necessity to flatproof mining equipment, but also is seeing a growing trend to flatproof tires on skid steers and tractors in construction, farm and industrial applications.
S&S Tire is selling the complete line of flatproofing products from Arnco. The dealership has all four of the polyurethane ill formulations — SuperFlex, RePneu, RePneu II and HeviDuty — plus ReSeal tire sealant and rim conditioner and the new QuikGel self-sealing polyurethane liner that provides protection from punctures up to 5/16 in. diameter.
S&S Tire also is finding a growing market for Arnco’s line of smaller lightweight flat-free Carefree tires, particularly for wheelbarrows and hand carts used in the beverage business.
As a Certified Arnco Dealer, S&S Tire documents each step of the flatproofing procedure to ensure that it is performed correctly. Each tire and wheel is inspected for defects and the carcass is pre-stretched overnight before the tire is filled. The polyurethane liquid is pumped through the valve stem into the tire at a specified temperature and replaces all the air.
The tire is pressurized to the recommended inflation pressure and the curing process (to a soft rubber-like material) is performed at the proper time and temperature to ensure optimum filled tire performance.
Any pneumatic tire can be filled as long as it is in good working condition, and flatproofed tires can be recapped and the wheel reused as long as neither is damaged.
Founded in 1974 by President/CEO Paul Swentzel and Don Schneider, S&S Tire has grown from a single small retail store in Lexington’s Eastland shopping center into a large, multi-faceted retail, commercial and wholesale tire distributor with locations throughout the Southeast. In addition to seven wholesale distributor warehouse locations in Kentucky, Virginia, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, the firm has a number of commercial locations throughout Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.
For more information, visit www.arnconet.com.
