The Poling Group is certified ISO 9001:2015 with design ( View Certificate )

The History of ASM-Akron Special Machinery

In 1978 David Poling Sr., founder and president of the Poling Group started his first engineering company, Akron Special Machinery. With determination and innovation, Poling continually guided his company toward becoming a world-class equipment supplier for the tire industry. After enhancing his company's capabilities by entering the manufacturing field in 1983, Armstrong Tire Company hired ASM to rebuild tire uniformity machines. This opportunity allowed Poling to sharpen ASM's design expertise and conceive of improvements that could be made to this small, but essential field of machinery production.

ASM drastically improved tire testing machine potential in 2001, when they produced and installed the first X-Frame TU, the X100. This groundbreaking design distributes the forces on the machine evenly throughout its frame to maintain more accurate, and therefore faster, testing results. ASM has since expanded the X Series to include the CX111 TU (tests all current passenger and light truck tires), and the X150 TU (tests truck/bus commercial vehicle tires), all taking advantage of the X-frame technology. Two decades later, the X-Frame series of TU testers continually proves to be the pinnacle of tire testing capability, durability, and technology.

Today's Focus

The Poling Group's ASM Division remains dedicated to enhancing the final finish stage of tire testing, with a strong focus on continuous innovation and refinement of the CX111 and X150 TU tire testers. Virtually every aspect, encompassing software and hardware functionalities of the Tire Uniformity Machine, has undergone a thorough reimagination and reengineering process. This includes tire inflation mechanisms, automatic adjustable width chucks, lubrication systems, grinding and marking components, electrical systems, data acquisition processes, product traceability features, and geometry testing capabilities.

The ASM Division provides a range of more than 30 options and upgrades for their X-Series TU testers, enabling tire manufacturers to fully customize our products according to their unique requirements. Each machine is backed by 24/7 remote support, on-site assistance as needed, a 'spindle exchange' program, and spare / replacement parts available for all machines ever manufactured.

In addition to the ASM Division's tire uniformity machines, they also manufacture other machines for the final finish line, such as Tire/Wheel Assembly Testing, Tire Geometry, Balance Testing, Profile Generating, and Universal Flash Trimming.