Sibur Launches First All-Steel TBR

Sibur Russian Tyres Holding (SRT) has launched the first all-steel truck radial tyre made in Russia. Tubeless truck radials (branded TyRex) were recently produced at one of the company’s tyre plants and are reportedly fitted to MAN, Volvo, Scania, MAZ, KamAZ vehicles.

Sibur is planning to reach 370,000 units per year in all-steel truck tyre production. About 30 per cent will be exported. There are already said to be potential clients among leading distributors in Eastern and Western Europe. Increasing demand is expected from the Middle East and Northern Africa.

A new truck tyre programme is scheduled to go into production towards the fourth quarter of 2006. According to Sibur, SRT is the only Russian player in all-steel truck tyre sector and its products are said to offer: higher performance, lower rolling resistance, retreadability and more. Describing its latest product, Sibur representatives say: “New 100 per cent natural rubber compounds in the tread layer ensure resistance to abrasive wear.”

According to an official statement, Sibur-Russian Tyres spent two years developing its latest truck product and relied on the services of experienced consultants from Germany and South-East Asia. SRT invested $40 million into production modernisation.

“This is the first Russian competitive truck tyre not aimed at the low-end. That means we didn’t just move to more profitable segment B we broke through in Russian tyre industry. Our new offering meets customers’ demand and brings higher margins. Our next strategic step is to produce premium-quality truck tyre to compete in equal footing with the world’s brands”, said Igor Karavaev, CSO of Sibur-Russian Tyres.