New Touchless Tire Changer from BendPak/Ranger

BendPak/Ranger has released its new Ranger RX3040 Touchless RimGuard tire changer.

Announced at last year’s AAPEX Show in Las Vegas, the new unit is now available to tire dealers and service shops.

The new Ranger RX3040 features an integrated wheel lift, pneumatic drop center tool, precision foot-pedal controls, a quick-nut mounting system, and BendPak’s “Turbo-Blast” bead seat and inflation system.

The touchless system also includes a tool head pulling- and mounting-tip controlled by the company’s Target-Lock joystick button, which “performs precision automatic location tasks for both the tool head pulling-tip and the mounting tip, up to 1/8-inch from the wheel’s edge,” the company said.

“Accurate position-sensing data from the robotic upper bead roller generates the exact coordinates for the Target-Lock tool head, so underside tool positioning is as easy as pushing a button,” the company claimed. “A built-in easy view infrared camera located beneath the turntable feeds an eye-level LCD monitor so operators have full view of underside operations, minimizing the risk of wheel contact and simplifying delicate tool-head positioning.”

The 44-inch maximum capacity RX3040 tire changer performs bead breaking duties with a pair of twin bead breaker rollers that clamp on the top and the bottom of the tire for controlled penetration. “Throughout the processes, Ranger proprietary RimGuard technology protects delicate alloy wheels, handling them with the utmost care,” the company said.

Ascot Supply Corporation, based in Newnan, Georgia, has selected Mark Paquette for the newly created position of vice president. In this position, Ascot Supply said Paquette will oversee the growth of the company's products, corporate profitability, manage marketing and advertising and assume many other responsibilities.

He will work under the direction of current President David Kessler and officially begin his new role on June 3. Paquette joined the tire and automotive industry in the early 1980s at his father's tire shop, and his contributions to Mohawk Rubber Sales were instrumental in the company's growth and eventual sale to Myers Tire Supply in 2021, according to Ascot Supply. Paquette eventually was given a promotion to the role of director of operations at Myers Tire Supply.