A new robotic system is accelerating tire service across auto dealerships and repair shops, completing the job in roughly 30 minutes instead of the traditional 75. The speed gains come as tire demand surges, driven partly by electric vehicles that wear out tires faster than conventional cars, while shops struggle to recruit trained technicians.
SmartBay, developed by Automated Tire Inc., uses artificial intelligence to adapt to each vehicle in a standard 12-foot bay. The robot inspects vehicles, swaps tires, and balances wheels with minimal human oversight. Instead of running preset sequences, the system collects and analyzes data in real time, generating insights that can be shared across a network of service shops and dealerships.
The efficiency gain is stark. A single technician can supervise up to three bays at once, theoretically managing 24 tires per hour compared to four tires in the same timeframe today. ATI leases the SmartBay for $4,900 monthly, or about $60,000 annually, positioning it as cheaper than hiring a full-time experienced technician while delivering three times the throughput.
Andy Chalofsky, a fourth-generation tire businessman, built the company after scaling two previous ventures. He grew Traction Tire into a $100 million wholesale distributor near Philadelphia before selling to private equity in 2018. He also launched SimpleTire, an online marketplace that reached nearly $1 billion in annual sales before being acquired by Dealer Tire, a Bain Capital portfolio company.
Chalofsky says the tire installation sector has been ripe for disruption. Traditional tire service remains labor-intensive and unpleasant: technicians work in noisy, odorous bays doing repetitive, physically demanding work. Meanwhile, customers endure long waits for a task that feels routine and could be faster.
The robotic system targets a genuine market pain point. Tire wear has intensified as EV adoption spreads, since heavier batteries put more stress on wheels and require more frequent rotations. At the same time, many auto shops face a shortage of skilled technicians willing to do the work, creating both a service bottleneck and an opening for automation.
Author James Rodriguez: "Chalofsky's past wins suggest he understands how to solve real problems in the tire ecosystem, and this play on labor scarcity and rising demand could reshape the service bay faster than the industry expects."
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