PneuTrac – commercial launch for tyre/track combination

We first encountered PneuTrac at the Agritechnica show four years ago. Back then, Mitas described the combined track and tyre concept as a “revolution” in tyre design, however a spokesperson admitted there was still “some way to go” until a commercial product came to market. Since then we’ve gone some way, and Trelleborg, which acquired Mitas last year, has now announced the launch of a market-ready PneuTrac product.

Trelleborg views PneuTrac as combining the advantages of both agricultural tyres and tracks, a pairing that provides the ability to operate on steep terrain or in narrow spaces, such as between vines or trees. “PneuTrac delivers unbeatable performance on both steep slopes and muddy terrain, reducing downtime to zero in demanding conditions,” comments Lorenzo Ciferri, vice-president of marketing at communications, Trelleborg Wheel Systems. “PneuTrac combines the advantages of a radial agricultural tyre in terms of fuel efficiency, comfort and handling, with the footprint and traction benefits of a track.”

PneuTrac is said to contain the best-in-class features of Trelleborg agricultural tyres along with a sidewall utilising CupWheel Technology developed by Galileo Wheel Ltd. The innovative ‘Omega’ design of the sidewall helps the casing to sustain load, simultaneously providing flexibility and an extra-wide footprint, resulting in very low soil compaction.

This new design, explains Trelleborg, allows the tread to work at 100 per cent of its potential efficiency. The Progressive Traction technology on the tread itself enhances traction whilst the inter-lug terraces improve the self-cleaning capability of the tyre. The wide lug bases combined with a robust shoulder feature, increase lateral stability, especially on slopes.

Ciferri, continues: “When designing the PneuTrac, we focused on the specialist requirements of key producers. For example, the roots of vines are incredibly precious and susceptible to damage. As with conventional agriculture, the top soil needs to be protected and machine slippage could easily be a disaster for both the soil and roots.

“We firmly believe that PneuTrac is a game changing innovation and that it again demonstrates our commitment to sustainable farming, helping to protect some of our most valuable agricultural assets.”

PneuTrac will be on display at Agritechnica 2017, between 12 and 18 November.