L E A D S T O R Y P r a x a i r |
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Even a western New York winter is no match for the
conditions inside Praxair's trailers."This is seriously cold stuff," says Jim
Blitz, "because liquid argon, oxygen and nitrogen will boil at about 300 degrees
below zero, and liquid hydrogen boils at a temperature over 100 degrees below that!"
Since Praxairs's fleet conditions are so unusually critical, we
asked some real questions of Jim Blitz, Garage Supervisor and National Tire Manager for
Praxairs's Bulk Gases Operations Department. We think you'll find his answers candid,
honest and helpful. |
First, Describe Praxair's Business.
"Our products benefit just about every American, every day. Liquid oxygen helps keep
hospital patients alive. You'll find liquid hydrogen in everything from shortening to
rocket fuel and liquid argon is vital to welding. And liquid nitrogen is what freezes
frozen food.
"Our biggest problem is finding the right kind of equipment
that will help us deliver our products safely, profitably and on time. Especially
tires."
What Kind of Problems
Affect Tire Selection?
"Safety is our number one priority. A trailer designed to haul liquified gases is
like a giant steel thermos bottle on wheels. But as we all know, even a sealed thermos
bottle won't keep liquids cold forever.
"When a truck leaves our plant full of liquefied gas, the
pressure inside is actually very low-just a few psi. But even the coldest winter day is
like a heat wave compared to the boiling point of the liquefied gas inside the tank.
"Every hour our drivers are on the road, heat from the
atmosphere finds its way through the insulation into the tank and, little by little, the
pressure rises.
"The D.O.T. regulates our business closely and deter- mines how much time we're
allowed on the road before we have to 'unload' our tanks. They also determine what the
maximum pressure inside the tank is allowed to be.
"Those pressures make tire selection critical."
So, You Can't Afford
to Have Problems With Tires?
"Absolutely not. And that's an understatement.
"We're permitted a certain number of hours to get our
liquefied gases from our plant to the customer. All our cargo is perishable-just like
fruits and vegetables, or frozen food." |
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| EDITOR'S
NOTE: At Press time, Rochester Institute of Technology and USA TODAY announced
that a Praxair customer service team won this year's RIT/USA TODAY Quality Cup in
manufacturing. Team efforts resulted in a 60% improvement in on-time deliveries and a 75%
improvement in customer satisfaction. Congratulations Praxair, on a job well done! |
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What Tires Do You Use?
"For drive axles, we've standardized on Bridgestone M726 radials. We just don't have
problems with the M726.
"We used to get only about 240,000 miles with our previous
brand. Now, I've got a bunch of M726's with 350,000 miles on them and I think some of my
M726's are going to last 450,000 or more.*
"That's pretty surprising when you realize we run pretty
much fully loaded all the time. Hydrogen may be lighter than air but not when it's in a
liquid form.
"Besides, even when our vehicles are empty, they weigh
50,000 lbs or more and that's what some people consider 'loaded.' So we're not getting the
kind of mileage we are by hauling feathers."
* This reflects Praxair, Inc.'s
experience., and is partly the result of Praxair's excellent tire maintenance program.
Your mileage, tread life and casing life may vary depending on equipment, maintenance
strategies and applications. |
Is Tire Maintenance a Big
Thing?
"Bigger than you think. In fact, it's an area that's just as important as specing new
equipment.
"In order to get every pound of payload, we run aluminum
wheels and low profile tires. And, to minimize vibration and irregular wear, I insist my
tire suppliers match the tire's light balance point-indicated by a yellow dot on the
sidewall-with the valve stem of my aluminum wheels.
"I also feel that Bridgestone's training materials-includ-
ing wall posters and videos-are extremely helpful for my tire suppliers to train their
people. That training is essential because I will quickly return tires that aren't mounted
right. As I said, we can't afford any kind of problems."
What Do You Feel Is the Most
Important Value of Your Bridgestone Tires?
"Long tire life, without a doubt. To me, that means safety and profitability.
Cryogenic tankers don't grow on trees. Our regular trailers cost 3 or 4 times what an
ordinary dry van costs, and our liquid hydrogen tanks cost the best part of a half million
dollars. So naturally, we don't want expensive equipment like that out of service because
of tire-related downtime.
"But it's not realistic to assume that no matter how long a
tire lasts nor how safe it is, it won't have problems. We run all over the country and our
drivers occasionally run over nails, bolts, glass and other debris-often right in our
customers' yards. When we do, it's nice to know that Bridgestone tires are available just
about anywhere so we get our rigs back on the road quickly."
Thank You, Jim, For Your
Thoughts.
"You're welcome. By the way, you need to know
that I'm only willing to talk positively about products that work positively. Bridgestone
tires are an integral part of our success. Our reputation is much too important to
compromise." |
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