Bandag Delivers Strong Reifen Essen Presence in Golden Jubilee Year

For its 50th year of business Bandag delivered a strong presence at the Essen show with a sizable booth, in which was displayed the company’s latest product and technological innovations. The running of the Reifen Essen was also chosen as an opportunity to give several new Bandag released their first public airing, including the company’s new Application Specific product line featuring Bandag designed premium retread products.

Part of this range is the new BTR-WB (E), the Bandag Trailer Regional-Wide Base. A premium offering for the 3-axle trailer segment, the BTR-WB (E) is, says Bandag, the result of exhaustive testing. Wide base trailer tyres used in regional applications are used under tough operating conditions and must cope with endless tight turns and manoeuvring. The result can often be irregular wear patterns, and Bandag had this in mind when it began developing the new tyre. Several prototypes, hundreds of test tyres and many millions of test kilometres later, Bandag introduced a product it believes performs well in all circumstances.

The BTR-WB (E) is, says Bandag, a totally new design based on specific requirements. In the tyre a new version of Bandag’s ECL platform is used, increasing the length of the skirts and making them thinner. The BTR-WB (E)’s robust shoulders give the new tread resistance to scrubbing, while at the same time, the ECL platform matches perfectly with the 385/65R22.5 casing and the longer skirts produce a new tyre appearance. The footprint of the tread has also been designed to optimise braking ability without neglecting mileage performance throughout its entire service life.

Numerous options were trialled and evaluated when developing the tyre’s tread compound, says Bandag, and the company believes it has thus been able to deliver a compound that combines excellent mileage with a high level of resistance to tearing and cuts.

The J speed rated BTR-WB (E) complies with all European regulations, and is scheduled for release in June. The new tyre replaces the BWBT (E), which will remain available until the end of 2008.

Also introduced at Reifen Essen was the BDR-HG – Bandag Drive Regional-High Grip – a new offering in the winter traction segment. Bandag says this new product provides an answer to today’s unpredictable weather conditions, and great winter traction with outstanding mileage performance. Furthermore, says the retreading giant, the BDR-HG performs just as well when the weather turns hot.

The non-directional BDR-HG tread has been designed to be tough enough for the most powerful trucks and while meeting with ease all ECE109 performance targets and noise regulations. The tyre has been tested extensively in Northern and Central Europe, says Bandag, resulting in the best possible solution for traction, braking capabilities, tearing resistance and mileage performance. Scheduled for release in August, The BDR-HG is available in a wide range of tread sizes, making it the obvious choice for retreading many popular tyres. The tread is M+S rated and has a K speed rating.

In addition to these two new premium items, improved versions of existing Bandag products were announced at the show, plus new products from the successful Continuum OTR range.

A section of the company’s booth was also dedicated to Bandag equipment. New machines on display included the 8410 Automatic Buffer, the 8310 Manual Buffer, the EB-TR2 Inspection Spreader and the 5210E Manual Builder. On top of this, Bandag introduced the Bandag Plaza, an exclusive and interactive extranet site for Bandag dealers and sub-dealers providing them with a single point of commercial, technical and market information in support of their overall Bandag business.