About

Canadian Treads (Ontario) Inc. operates a Michelin-branded tire retreading plant in Ingersoll, Ontario. Founded in 2016, the company remanufactures high-performance commercial truck tires by rejuvenating used casings with new tread, offering fleets a lower-cost and more sustainable alternative to purchasing new tires. Its production process uses a proprietary Michelin retread system and supports customers across the commercial trucking and fleet markets. Retread tires incorporate reclaimed casings and recycled materials, extending product life while reducing waste in a sector where durable and cost-effective tire supply is essential.

Project

This project will co-develop and deploy an AI-integrated autonomous mobile robot system to automate the handling and staging of heavy finished retread tires. The system will combine a high-payload AMR, custom gripper and stack clamp tooling, vision systems, AI recognition, an HMI, and ERP traceability integration. Working with the University of Waterloo RoboHub, Canadian Treads will complete system design, digital twin simulation, tire image collection, prototype integration, AI model training, navigation programming, staff training, and on-site deployment at the Ingersoll facility. The system will move cured tires from final inspection to shipping or staging areas.

Impact

The project will reduce ergonomic strain, logistical errors, and production bottlenecks associated with manually moving 100- to 150-pound commercial tires. By automating tire handling and improving traceability, Canadian Treads expects to increase efficiency, improve fulfillment reliability, and unlock additional capacity to meet growing fleet demand. The project supports adoption of AI-enabled robotics in remanufacturing, strengthens Ontario’s circular economy, and positions Canadian Treads as a leader in applying intelligent automation within the commercial tire retreading industry.