Goodyear Dunlop Makes Six-Figure Investment in Wolverhampton Site

Goodyear Dunlop Tyres has announced that further ‘substantial’ investment will be made in its Wolverhampton truck tyre retreading facility. The company has just taken delivery of two new state of the art SDS Shearography Machines, representing a six-figure investment.

The Wolverhampton factory, which employs over 400 people, is home to the company’s Next Tread operations, which specialises in retreading used truck tyre casings. The company states its latest investment will add to the high quality levels of the company’s Next Tread products.

The new machinery is used to detect any separation in the used tyre casing when it arrives at the factory. This is done through pressure and vacuum tests followed by laser detection providing an x-ray picture of the tyre, to highlight any potential failure issues. At this point any tyres with separation within the casing can be discarded at an early stage of production. Data collected during tyre testing can then be archived to provide a live review of the tyres history, improving the efficiency, quality and safety of the retread process and products.

Training for the new machinery has taken conducted in both Germany and the UK to ensure that the machines are utilised to their full potential enhancing the Wolverhampton retread site. Goodyear Dunlop says the new equipment will play a vital component in its product and service offering, helping to raise the bar in customer satisfaction.

Ken Wilson QTECH manager, Retread Europe said: “This latest investment is part of a series of planned investments to ensure that Goodyear Dunlop continue to offer the best quality and performance products to our customers. By using these machines we are providing world-class products which are reliable and dependable. Goodyear Dunlop’s Next Tread facility is class leading and this investments highlights our commitment to our customers and the Wolverhampton site.”