The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced today, Feb. 29, that it has signed a three-year contract to supply tires and business solutions to Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Goodyear will supply PG&E with a wide variety of truck tires, including replacement and retreads, as well as tire services and system controls.
“We’re excited about this new relationship with Pacific Gas and Electric Company, one of the nation’s top utilities in a high-growth area,” says Steve McClellan, vice president of commercial tire systems for Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear. “Increasingly, utility fleets that provide infrastructure and keep energy flowing for growing communities are an important area for Goodyear products and services. We’ve worked hard to develop innovative products and fleet solutions that will help lower PG&E’s tire cost per mile, improve vehicle uptime and provide relevant data on their fleet tire needs.”
Based in San Francisco, PG&E is one of the largest combination natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. PG&E operates more than 12,000 trucks and specialty equipment in serving electric and natural gas customers in central and northern California. The subsidiary of the PG&E Corp. provides natural gas and electric service to 15 million people in northern and central California.
“With tires as one of the largest expenses of any fleet, the need to manage a successful tire program is critical,” says David Meisel, PG&E’s director of transportation and engineering. “At PG&E, we look at the total cost structure associated with our tire program. In addition to the initial purchase price, we focus on the quality of the original tire, the casing, the retread and retread process, as well as the distribution network. Goodyear has shown that it can deliver on all counts with an effective tire maintenance program.”
