Intermat Launch for Michelin XHA2

Those in the heavy-duty construction equipment industry have flocked to Paris this week for Intermat 2009. And good thing they did: the trade show, one of the world’s three largest, is the chosen introductory venue for Michelin’s new XHA2 loader tyre.

This is a product that Michelin reports is designed to accomplish three goals – reduce hourly operating costs, ensure that work continues smoothly and safely, and improve operator working conditions. The XHA2 is intended for loaders in quarries and cement plants and on construction and infrastructure worksites. Its introduction into global replacement markets will begin in May.

Loaders often operate on rough terrain and move heavy loads as quickly as possible. If a tyre fails to perform during this critical phase of operations, progress on a worksite can be significantly delayed. Therefore Michelin says it designed the XHA2 as an “unbreakable link in the entire chain of quarry, construction and industrial worksite operations.” In doing so, the manufacturer integrated three new technologies into the new tyre: Additional rubber has been incorporated in the tread, making the XHA2 even more damage-resistant; the sidewalls have been strengthened with a special protective rib and anti-scrape shields; and Michelin developed crack absorbing rubber compounds that help to prevent flats.

Michelin states that the XHA2 lasts up to 9 per cent longer than its predecessor, the XHA. The tyre features a new casing that is said to further enhance its value through greater retreadability.

The tyre will become available in the original equipment market in 2010. Its replacement market rollout centres on four sizes: size 26.5%25, to be launched in May 2009, size 23.5R25, which will be released in July, and sizes 29.5R25 and 20.5R25, both of which are earmarked for release next year.