Bridgestone to show ‘world’s largest’ 4m tyre at Bauma 2019

Bridgestone will return to construction and mining trade fair Bauma in 2019, presenting a selection of tyres, industrial products and targeted solutions developed for the industry. Bridgestone produces tyres for the world’s largest mining trucks, and will display one of these four-metre-tall tyres, the largest in the world, on its stand, alongside several new products.

New Bridgestone tyres at Bauma will include:

• the VSDL Loader in size 33/65R29 – a wheeled-loader tyre combining the benefits of the super-wide-base 65 series with the deep Bridgestone VSDL tread pattern to deliver dynamic stability, low ground pressure, and resistance to cuts and damage;
• the VLTS Articulated Dump Truck (ADT) – a tyre developed for the 60t ADT from Volvo Construction Equipment, with deeper tread than the VLT E3 tyre, delivering traction, strength, and reliability.

Additional Bridgestone tyres displayed will include products for construction machinery and construction vehicles, building-material machines, mining machines, and other construction equipment. As a partner to all major OEMS, Bridgestone tyres will also be present on an extensive array of machinery and equipment to be found throughout Bauma. Bridgestone’s stand will also present rubber tracks, pads, hydraulic hose, cabin and engine mounts.

Bridgestone will also present an expansive selection of industrial products from its Bridgestone and Firestone brands at Bauma 2019. The Firestone Airmount air spring allows users to meet the demands of loads that range in weight by hundreds or thousands of kilos, and to maintain a level surface even as loads shift. They also offer vibration isolation.

The Firestone Marsh Mellow fabric-reinforced rubber cylinders are “virtually indestructible”, Bridgestone states, and do not need to be inflated with air and still protect systems from the effects of structurally transmitted vibrations. They are suited for use on equipment such as vibrating screens, acting as passive isolators at a standard beyond that of steel springs. Bridgestone’s technical experts and application engineers will explain and discuss how these technologies function reliably and durably in driver cabins, engines and other industrial devices, outperforming pneumatic and hydraulic solutions, even when put under the most challenging conditions.

In addition to these products, Bridgestone has developed digital solutions that maximise their potential, making the most of the digital technology that is being increasingly integrated into vehicles and machinery to increase productivity, decrease downtime, maximise operational potential and minimise the risks to personal safety.

Part of the Total Tyre Care approach, two solutions will be presented at Bauma:

• Tirematics TPMS, which focuses on fleet pressure measurements for individual machines. It stops vehicles from running on under-inflated tyres, a trend that almost all fleets are guilty of. Automated pressure checks identify what work is needed without the interruptions and downtime that result from physical checks or damage to under-inflated tyres.
• FleetPulse, a mobile and web application designed to help fleet customers maximise the health and performance of vehicles, while improving uptime and reducing total cost of ownership and digitising operations. FleetPulse also helps reach the high compliance and safety standards required in the industrial world.