New Sava truck tyres to take advantage of eastern upswing

Slovenian tyre brand Sava Tyres – a Goodyear Dunlop brand – launched its new range of 22.5” truck tyres in an event in Ljubljana, including a visit to the Goodyear Dunlop manufacturing facility in Kranj, earlier in the year. The new range, which comprises the Avant 4 steer tyre and the Orjak 4 drive tyre, has been developed to provide enhanced performance and lower cost per mile on both long and short haul transport operations. Goodyear Dunlop also suggested that an upswing in the European truck tyre market would be experienced in the eastern half of the continent.

Sava was established in 1920, joining a Goodyear JV in 1998, until the American tyre giant acquired the firm in 2004, positioning its products close to the Fulda brand in the Goodyear Dunlop portfolio. It added the Goodyear Dunlop name to its title this year (see textbox), and manufactures tyres from all associated brands at its Kranj facility, which produces 8 million tyres per year, with 85 per cent exported. It has a capacity of 19,100 14-18” passenger car tyres per day, though it is also capable of producing 19” tyres; in the light truck segment in sizes between 15-17.5” the factory has a capacity of 2,150 per day.

The new Avant 4 steer tyre has a cavity shape optimised using “Finite Element Analysis” to give a better footprint shape, providing uniform and enhanced tread wear, the company states. The tyre also has wide and shallow bladed shoulder ribs, which offer resistance against shoulder wear and improve the handling feeling. An additional tread feature is improved blading geometry for improved wet skid and all season performance as well as reducing noise.

Sava says the tread compound technology has been focused on mileage performance and reduced tyre weight means economic payload advantages. In comparative performance, the Avant 4 is better in key aspects than its predecessor, the Avant A3. In developing the tyre to produce improved cost per mile, decreased rolling resistance has been an asset, meaning the tyre can boast the economic benefit of lowering fuel consumption, without compromise on mileage, according to the manufacturer. The tyre also improves on its predecessor’s handling and wet braking performance, and, in a move that chimes with Goodyear Dunlop’s welcoming of labelling legislation, noise is lower.

The Orjak 4 also features FEA-developed footprint shape, giving it greater uniformity and thus improved tread wear. It yields greater mileage and traction through a deep tread depth, while what the manufacturer calls “multi-decoupled blocks” give an even wear profile as well as good winter and wet traction. It features a semi-open shoulder design, which helps in winter snows and mud, improving traction and skid resistance with a self-cleaning tread. The tread compound technology has also been focused on mileage performance and cut resistance.

The Orjak 4 improves on its predecessor, the Orjak O3, in all key performance areas, according to Sava. The company says the tyre has a 6 per cent reduction in rolling resistance, again without affecting the mileage potential, and a similar reduction in noise to the Avant 4. The tyres also boast a reduction in weight, helping to increase potential payload, meaning the tyres offer “more profit for cost conscious truck operators,” says the manufacturer.

The new tyres are available in the following sizes:
295/80R22.5 152/148 M; 315/70R22.5 154/150 L (152/148M); 315/80R22.5 156/150L (154/150 M). The Avant 4 replaces the Avant A3 Plus and the Orjak 4 replaces the Orjak O3 Plus in these sizes, and also complement the Sava Cargo C3 Plus trailer tyre, produced in size 385/65R22.5. The latest Sava truck range is also regroovable and retreadable

Truck balance shifting east

According to Goodyear Dunlop marketing director Boris Stevanovich, presenting at the launch of the new tyres, the European truck sales market experienced an upward trend in 2010; after the 49 per cent crash from 2008 to 2009, it grew by 8 per cent in 2010. The trend looks to be accelerating this year, with first quarter registrations up 65 per cent year on year.

In terms of truck tyres in the EMEA regions, both the original equipment and replacement markets are showing significant upwards movement after a 29 per cent fall between 2008 and 2009. The total truck tyre market recovered by 18 per cent in 2010 – 15 per cent in the replacement market and 42 per cent in OE – and Goodyear Dunlop estimates a further 12 per cent year on year increase in 2011. The company says that 2011 figures will be around 13 per cent lower than in 2007, suggesting that there may be more room for growth in the coming years.

In those years, Goodyear Dunlop is projecting a return to similar levels of truck and trailer production to 2007 to return, but that the export of Western-manufactured trucks to East will increase from 40 to 50 per cent (2007 compared with 2015). Exemplifying this switch in growth market locations, Sava said that Poland is now ranking third in terms of its European truck markets.