N-Tyre

A brief history of the N-Tyre Project

The N-Tyre project is the brainchild of Kevin Pearman, a South African inventor and entrepreneur, who’s inventiveness, drive and dedication was equally matched by the unwavering support from his wife, Hillary, without which, there is no doubt that this system would not exist today – Thank you Hillary for your invaluable contribution.

In 1993, Kevin was looking for ideas to promote within the automotive industry. Flowing from his previous involvement in the trucking industry, where he owned a fleet of over 136 vehicles, he naturally gravitated towards this industry and its related problems. Kevin had noticed those ever-increasing tyre carcasses strewn throughout the main highways of S.A. and turned his fertile imagination towards finding a solution.  Having operated his own trucking company he was also was aware of the heavy-duty demands of the industry. The primary reason for tyres being destroyed is that drivers of large vehicles are unaware of the fact that they have a puncture, until the tyres burst, or when a concerned, passing motorist, warns them!   It should be noted that 75% of roadside flats are preceded by a slow leak.

One of his many ideas was the conservation of truck tyres via a system that would monitor pressure and also warn the driver of any pressure changes caused by punctures or leaking valves and rims.  After some experiments he soon realised that conventional valve sensor systems, available at the time, were inadequate for the role, which he envisaged for such a system. Signals were too weak to reach the cab unit and the use of batteries was also problematic because of the power drain involved in any effective monitoring and transmission system.

He then realised that the rotary wheel motion itself could be employed to generate energy – not dissimilar to the role of a conventional alternator.  Generating the power from each wheel hub would thus enable the unit to monitor and compute data, as well as being powerful enough to transmit continuous signals to the cab – even from the rear tyres of vehicles towing 2 trailers!

After many years of experimenting (during which time Kevin funded R&D from his hard-earned money, sold off and borrowed against all his ‘worldly goods’ and put himself and his family in a very precarious financial position!), the N-Tyre system began to take shape.  During trials with various power-generating devices, Kevin discovered that, due to the power he was now able to generate, he could do more than just monitor tyre pressure. There were other monitoring functions that truck users were interested in, such as brake lining and bearing temperatures, as well as tread separation, which were also high cost-related problem areas for heavy duty truck users.

The advent of small microprocessors, capable of computing data with minimum power consumption, gave Kevin another idea – why not place a ‘minicomputer’ in each wheel hub to monitor and analyse data which could be transmitted to a cab unit for storage, rig analysis and eventual mainframe computer download?

As he experimented, he discovered a lot of additional features that could be integrated with his system and has incorporated these into the latest version.  These included GPS/GPRS & GSM facilities, a tyre wear monitor, vibration monitor, a tyre odometer and chart history of tyre performances.  He coupled these features with a unique Tyre Tag design which could be vulcanized into a tire side-wall and would track the location as well as the complete history of that tyre – from manufacture to eventual destruction as well as monitor tyre temperatures.

This TAG incorporates an ‘active’ transmitter which gives out signals from a distance of up to 30M for up to 4 years.  This proved ideal for use with the N-Tyre system and was also compatible with gate readers and stock control systems for major fleet owners.

The software for the system grew from a minor recording of problems to the most unique and powerful software in the industry to date!  Borne out of the fact that management should be applying themselves to cost efficient control, but cannot do so effectively because of the lack of accurate information!!!

The NTS Website is designed to be an invaluable and effective management tool to provide such information.

• The N-TYRE Software provides previously unobtainable information critical to the efficient operation of a transport fleet.
• The information provided is IMPOSSIBLE to obtain via any other means with anything like the degree of speed and accuracy as provided by the N-TYRE SYSTEM
• 99% of the INPUT data is generated automatically and accurately by the hardware fitted to the vehicle

At a click of the mouse, the N-Tyre Software enables companies, amongst many more features to view tyre pressures, tyre temperatures, brake and bearing temperature variations, excessive vibrations, locate and have an automatic value for each one of their tyres as well as supplying information on the mileage covered, trip history, re-casings effected, puncture history and on which trailer(s) and positions the tyre had been employed.

The system is patented world-wide and will be launched in July 2011 offering small and large fleet owners alike, a cost-saving system without peer, as well as valuable performance data for tyres, trailers, ‘horses’ and trips.  The unit also greatly improves road safety by reducing the risk of accidents caused by undetected punctures, brake failures and bearing failures.  Our roads will better off for it and the drivers will have peace of mind in knowing that the N-Tyre system is constantly monitoring the truck’s critical components whilst they concentrate on their driving!

The N-Tyre system, apart from ensuring improved profits for truck owners, will also save lives and help protect the environment.

Thanks Kevin, for helping to make the world a safer and cleaner place!!

Message from the C.E.O

A huge business opportunity has been identified in the Transportation industry, which has approximately 8,000,000 tyres on the road in South Africa alone, worth over 8 Billion Rand at retail value and which is subject to large and unnecessary losses.

The N-Tyre System (NTS) is a digitally driven wireless wheel and tyre management system which generates its own power and transmits valuable data as input for its unique software.  This triple award-winning innovative design is patent protected.

No other system in the world has been found that can operate on a heavy-duty truck with the degree of reliability of transmission and efficiency as the NTS.

The NTS is a system that saves lives, protects the environment, saves money, stimulates the economy via substantial operational savings and enhances efficiency like no other system.
The NTS was designed with following end user and community benefits in mind;

• The ability to satisfy the need to save time and money.
• The ability to drastically reduce the catastrophic death toll on the roads involving innocent road users.
• The ability to avoid delays in the delivery of goods caused by unnecessary downtime.
• The capability to sustain cost effectiveness and competitiveness.
• The ability to timeously identify critical and essential tyre information – accurately, on-line and in real-time.
• The ability to ensure the most efficient utilization of assets.
• The ability to improve bottom line profitability.
• Enforcement of the age-old adage “prevention is better than cure”.

It is not possible for a transport company to know, with any degree of accuracy, exactly what the current value of their tyres is.  Consider, for example, a company that owns 100 000 tyres, costing R 3 500.00 each, that is R350,000,000 – which is a vast amount of money tied up in a rapidly depreciating asset – for which there is little or no control.  The very nature of this asset makes it impossible to audit.

The NTS opens up a whole new field in accounting, auditing and software.  For the first time in the history of the pneumatic tyre, a system has been developed to provide immediate visual gauge of tread life, casing life, life expectancy, immediate location, current monetary value, etc. of all the tyres in a fleet.  An accurate audit of millions of Rands worth of tyres can therefore be done literally in seconds with the NTS.

This unique system has overcome enormous technical challenges and has been developed to become a world leader in its field and is now close to being manufactured and marketed.

The finest engineering, technological and design expertise were commissioned to bring this exciting product to fruition.

Future growth will include expansion into other markets such as railway coaches as well as continued research and development into an already far advanced system.

N-Tyre Solutions LTD is a South African-based operation with its head office and primary resource base in Midrand, Gauteng Province – where almost 50% of the South African economic activity takes place.

NTS LTD will initially focus on the South African market, but will also ultimately seek to exploit the remainder of Africa and the Middle East trucking markets with its N-Tyre System.

Initially all start-up sales will emanate from SA, but overseas manufacturing plants or JVs may well become strategically advisable as sales volumes pick up.