Marubeni to offer Tyrata tread wear monitoring systems in Japan

Durham, North Carolina - Tire sensor and data specialist Tyrata Inc. and Tokyo-based Marubeni Corp. have entered into a partnership to distribute the technology company’s tire tread depth analysis system in Japan. 

Marubeni will introduce to its customers Tyrata’s IntelliTread Drive-Over System (DOS), which along with corresponding data analytics platform, is claimed to deliver an 'effective' real-time tire tread depth monitoring service.

The group will start introducing DOS units in Japan in the fourth quarter of 2020, Tyrata said in a 15 Oct statement.

DOS, according to Tyrata's website, provides a 'high-precision and rapid' evaluation of tread depth for all tires on a vehicle as it drives over the speedbump-like unit.

"As we expand our efforts into the global market, Marubeni is an important element of our distribution strategy," said Jesko von Windheim, Tyrata’s CEO. 

"Marubeni not only gives us a capable and trusted sales and service partner in Japan, but they also offer established channels into many other Asian markets."

As part of the partnership, Marubeni will carry out demonstration tests with logistics companies in order to verify demand for automatic tire wear measurement, improvement of driver safety, and reduction of tire maintenance costs. 

Following the verification, Marubeni plans to conclude an exclusive distributor contract with Tyrata, the statement said. 

"We see a demand for low-cost, automated tire monitoring across our customer base and we believe that Tyrata’s products meet the cost and performance requirements in this market,” said Kazuyoshi Hosoi, Marubeni general manager, tires and rubber materials department.

Based in Durham, North Carolina, Tyrata is a sensor development and data management company, offering wirelss tire wear sensors and monitoring systems. 

In collaboration with Duke University, Tyrata has developed the IntelliTread tire sensor technology using carbon nanotubes that allow for "millimetre-scale changes" in tread depth to be measured. 

Tyrata was a finalist in ERJ’s inaugural Journey to Automation (J2A) Awards for the global tire industry.