Weaving through the almost 3,500 square miles of Yellowstone National Park are more than 460 miles of roads. Each year, these roads are used by some 1.1 million vehicles carrying around 3 million visitors. And while grizzly bears, wolves and elk are not generally a tiremaker’s area of expertise, Michelin believes it can help make a difference when it comes to the beasts that roam the park. To do so, it serves as the official tire of the Yellowstone Park Foundation and has announced it is helping the park achieve its goal to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions within Yellowstone by 30% within the next five years by providing its energy-saving tires for the park fleet.
“Since Michelin became the official tire of the Yellowstone Park Foundation in 2009, the park’s fleet managers have reported fuel savings on the first seven vehicles of as much as 20% compared to the previous tires,” said Don Baldwin, product category manager for Michelin Americas Truck Tires. “This translates into emissions savings of more than four tons of CO2 each year per truck. In addition, the Michelin tires are lasting twice as long as the previous tires, further reducing environmental impact.”
Michelin provides its fuel-saving tires to a wide variety of vehicles in the park ranging from haul trucks and dump trucks to front-end loaders and other service vehicles. The tiremaker’s most popular wide single truck tire, the Michelin X One XDN2, is used on work trucks that operate both on- and off-road. Often unseen by visitors, these vehicles are essential to maintaining the park.
In addition to providing tires, Michelin field engineers frequently visit the park to consult with fleet managers about optimizing tires for the harsh Yellowstone environment. By doing this, the field engineers not only help the park operate more efficiently, they also gain fresh insights into how Michelin tires respond in extreme conditions. “Yellowstone is the ideal proving ground for developing the best tires for our customers,” commented Baldwin. “These trucks operate in extreme conditions all year round. From very low to high temperatures, in varying altitudes, in both dry and wet weather, and on all kinds of surfaces—from pavement to gravel, sand to snow—these trucks have to keep working. What we’re hearing is that Michelin tires have helped them do that more efficiently.” (Tyres & Accessories)
