AI is coming for one of America's dirtiest jobs: changing tires.
Why it matters: Demand for tire service is accelerating, in part because EV tires need more frequent replacement — just as service shops struggle to hire technicians.
- Changing tires is noisy, back-breaking work.
- And nobody wants to spend half their day waiting for a tire rotation.
Automation is the answer, says Andy Chalofsky, a serial tire entrepreneur whose family has been in the tire business for four generations.
Driving the news: His latest company, Automated Tire Inc., developed SmartBay, a robotic system that can inspect vehicles, swap tires and balance wheels with minimal human help.
- Instead of relying on fixed routines, the AI-powered system adapts to each vehicle, collecting and analyzing data along the way.
- That data can generate real-time insights that can be shared across ATI's network of customers including dealerships and auto service shops.
How it works: The SmartBay system, which fits a standard 12-foot service bay, enables a single technician to manage up to three bays simultaneously.
- While tire service takes about 75 minutes when performed by a human, a robot can do it in as little as 30 minutes, says Chalofsky.
- That means a technician could handle up to 24 tires an hour, compared to four tires in an hour and 15 minutes today.
Follow the money: ATI leases the system to dealerships and tire shops for $4,900 per month — about $60,000 a year — less than what it costs to hire an experienced technician, and with triple the efficiency.
Zoom out: Chalofsky knows tires. He built Traction Tire, a wholesale tire distributor near Philadelphia, into a $100 million business before selling to a private equity firm in 2018.
- He also built an online tire marketplace, SimpleTire, that grew to nearly $1 billion in sales before it was acquired by Dealer Tire, a portfolio company of Bain Capital.
What's next: His previous companies improved wholesale and retail tire distribution. Now installation is due for an overhaul, he says.
- "It's been a guy with a hammer banging your car, caveman style," he said. Meanwhile, customers are stuck in a noisy, smelly auto shop for hours.
- "I thought, "There has to be a better way."
