Saylor Wheels set to start producing wheel, tire assemblies in U.S. | Tire Business

Dave Saylor

GREENWOOD, Miss. — There will soon be a new source for steel wheels manufactured in the U.S.

By the fourth quarter, Saylor Wheel L.L.C. plans to begin producing 14- to 16-inch steel wheels and supply tire and steel wheel assemblies to the trailer and recreational vehicle industries, as well as tire distributors.

The Mississippi start-up plans to open a factory in Greenwood, Miss., which founder, CEO and part-owner Dave Saylor said will offer a strategic advantage compared with overseas competitors by filling orders quickly and supplying steel wheels and assemblies to U.S. customers.

"Once we begin producing wheels here, our response time to customers will be one week or less with any size or color they need," he told Tire Business. "Customers don't have to place container-load orders, and there are no lead times for shipping across the ocean. And we can lighten the load for companies that can't afford to invest a lot in inventory."

The company initially plans to manufacture 16-inch wheels in October and will be producing 14 variants of 14- through 16-inch wheels by year-end.

Since January 2024, Saylor Wheel has been importing a limited number of steel wheels to serve approximately 200 small- and medium-sized trailer manufacturers in nine Southern states. It will continue to import wheels between 13 inches up to 17.5 inches once production begins.

The full range of products to be offered can be found online.

Saylor has more than 40 years of experience in steel-wheel manufacturing and has overseen steel wheel manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Asia. He founded Indiana Wheel Co. and was its president until 2020.

After leaving Indiana Wheel, Saylor set out to start a new company. He raised approximately $23 million in 2023 from investors and Mississippi government agencies and purchased a 30-acre site in Greenwood, a city of about 15,000 residents in north-central Mississippi, about half-way between Jackson, Miss., and Memphis, Tenn.

He has used those funds to convert an existing warehouse to a manufacturing facility and purchase equipment needed produce steel wheels.

While selling to tire distributors was not a part of its original business plan, the company recently signed its first tire distributor, Dunlap & Kyle Tire Co. Saylor said tire distributors that service the auto aftermarket should welcome a new source of domestic wheels since it will provide them with consistent access to this product.

"Steel high-speed trailer wheel supply from overseas can require lead times of three to seven months, and U.S. capacity is limited," he said. "Tire assemblers for the trailer industry are the largest buyers of these wheels and get priority allocation of the production of these wheels. As a result, distributors are left waiting in line."

The company employs approximately 20. As production begins in Greenwood, the company plans to employ around 150 people working two shifts sometime in 2025.

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