Tire Technology Alliance’s “Blue” technology produces BB winter tyre

Dr Hongwei Li, general manager and chief engineer of the Tire Technology Alliance, has a history of working with premium brand tyres, and the labels displayed on her relatively young company's tyres at Reifen China seem to suggest an advanced level of tyre technology. Dr Li was promoting two relatively new brands belonging to Qingdao-based TTA; Primmax and Arcron at the show, alongside two "world premieres" for the company.

While the Arcron brand uses similar technology, the flagship Primmax line was exhibited as the result of the company’s “Blue Tyre Technology”, which aims to take into account energy and raw materials used in the manufacturing process, in addition to producing low rolling resistance tyres.

In order to do this, Blue Tyre Technology uses a one-step mixing stage, including a rubber preparation shredding system, which TTA’s representatives say should increase the life of the mixer while reducing both energy consumption and manual handling. It says the lines it has developed can have a capacity of between 40 and 200 tonnes. Blue Tyre Technology and the “single-step mixing line” were the company’s “two world premieres” at Reifen China.

Focussing back on the tyres, the centrepiece of the Primmax display was the new Blue Snow, which in size 195/65R15 91H proudly wore a BB 71 tyre label. The Landsail brand caused a stir at Reifen in June by displaying two XL V-rated winter tyres with BB grades, but this smaller size is the first self-proclaimed BB winter tyre in a mass market-friendly fitment.

TTA told T&A that the product is produced at the Shengtai factory, and aims to sell “at a similar price level to Hankook”. The Arcron brand, produced at another factory, will be more modestly priced. TTA says that on the back of “lots of interest”, 2013 production across the two brands will be “approximately one million”.