This is not yet a trend, but Atlas Copco Compressors would like it to become one. The company is encouraging employees at its Hemel Hempstead headquarters in the UK to replace the air in their tires with nitrogen — using, of course, Atlas Copco nitrogen generators. If this sounds like a gimmick, consider: unlike oxygen which gradually seeps through tire walls leading to under inflation, poor vehicle performance, and increased fuel consumption, nitrogen is slower to permeate rubber. It is also inert, halting oxidation and premature tire aging.

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