Asian tyre maker acquires self-inflating tyre technology licence

Czech Republic-based company Coda Development s.r.o., inventor of the Self Inflating Tire (SIT), winner of the Tire Technology of the Year award at the 2009 Tire Technology Expo, has signed a commercial licence agreement with an Asian tyre maker, and says it has already generated its first revenues. Although Coda Development has not named its new industry partner, it refers to the company as a “major” tyre producer. The contract grants rights to manufacture and sell SIT technology in specific territories of Asia.

Together with this industry partner, Coda says it will accelerate the development and of SIT at the technology’s introduction into global tyre markets. “It is a major milestone for our company,” states Frantisek Hrabal, the inventor of SIT and CEO of Coda Development. “We believe that our work will soon serve as the single solution, eliminating all the negative consequences of tyre underinflation,”

Coda Development believes that when SIT technology proves viable in the low-purchase power Asian markets, it will become very attractive in many other parts of the world. At present the company continues to seek business partners to participate in the introduction of SIT technology in Asian markets, including Japan and South Korea, as well as in European and American markets. Coda Development says the door is also open for further discussions with investors and investment groups to raise funds for the final stage of research and development the technology requires and to expand SIT technology into global markets.

“This novel technology will become the industry standard and change the entire tyre market,” opines Radomil Novák, president of CzechINVENT Technology agency, the private non-profit agency that facilitated the contract negotiations. : Not many inventions have this potential. We are proud that the idea comes from a common Czech and Slovak development team.”

SIT uses atmospheric air to automatically inflate a tyre when a vehicle is in motion, compensating for natural loss of pressure and ensuring maintenance-free, constant tyre pressure over the tyre’s lifetime. Coda Development describes simplicity as the key design feature of SIT, a feature that makes it the first tyre inflation system capable of global use across various tyre market segments. The whole system consists of only two key components – the tube chamber, which acts as a peristaltic pump for the tyre, and a managing valve to automatically control inflation.