Alliance Agri Star II and farmer support centre stage at Lamma 2022 for Kirkby Tyres, YOHT

Kirkby Tyres’ stand in Lamma 2022’s Hall 9 focused on the comprehensive technical tyre support the large tyre specialist can offer to farmers and the Alliance Agri Star II. Kirkby Tyres is the exclusive partner of Yokohama Off-Highway Tires’ (YOHT) Alliance brand in the UK and Ireland, and it describes the tractor tyre as a great success. The company also displayed new sizes of the versatile Alliance 590 tyre for a broad range of transport applications, and the Alliance 372 VF and Alliance 389 VF tractor trailer tyres. On the latter tyres, Kirkby showed evidence presented by Danish SEGES Innovation which evidences the effective soil protection, and therefore yield increases, the tyre combination can achieve during the application of liquid manure.

Speaking prior to the show, Ole Baek, regional head Northern Europe & France at YOHT – Europe, explained the opportunity the show provided the company and its distribution partner: “We feel it is the right time to support farmers and the agricultural industry in the UK as a whole, and to make this support visible through our presence at Lamma. Farmers are indispensable to ensure the supply of safe wholesome food, renewable energy and raw material for various industrial uses, and we want to highlight our recognition for the enormous amount of work that farmers all over the country do day after day. So, and in addition to our recent virtual press event in the UK, we are proud to present some of our bestsellers such as the Agri Star II and the Alliance 590, and to communicate the convincing research results on our VF tyres from Denmark.”

Alliance Agri Star II

The 12 new sizes recently added to the Alliance Agri Star II radial tractor tyre range are available to order now through Kirkby Tyres in the UK and Ireland. The Alliance Agri Star II excels in terms of performance, prolonged traction, durability and design, thus offering excellent value for money. Michael Rosenthal, marketing director of Kirkby Tyres, is pleased with the Agri Star ll’s qualities: “We like spreading quality news to our customers. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the UK’s leading farm machinery show, we [displayed] five Alliance tyres.”

He added that Kirkby has been cooperating with YouTube personalities to increase the prevalence of the leading Alliance product for tractors. Rosenthal said “cooperating with popular online (YouTube) influencers Adrian in Ireland (iFarm WeFarm) and Tom Pemberton in the UK (Tom Pemberton Farm Life)… has helped to skyrocket the presence of the Agri Star II in farmers’ minds.”

New sizes – even more versatility

Seven new sizes were also introduced in the range of the Alliance 590. Kirkby says the tyre sets the bar in terms of versatility and performance in agricultural, construction and industry transport applications. Developed by Yokohama Off-Highway Tires (YOHT), a global leader in flotation tyres, the Alliance 590 features a robust, triple-layered steel-belted construction for improved strength and better puncture protection, enabling this flotation tyre to gently handle heavy loads in fields, on roads and on construction sites. The high rubber to void ratio of the non-directional tread ensures optimum grip and traction as well as lower soil pressure in the field along with a smooth and comfortable ride on the road. At the same time, low deflection along with superior cut and chip resistant compounds allow for high stability and lasting operation on various surfaces. Kirkby concludes that the tyre “excels in terms of its higher non-skid depth and in part also higher load indices, thus clearly outperforming its key competitor in this segment.”

Kirkby Tyres’ stand at Lamma 2022 (Photo: Kirkby Tyres)

Top research results for Alliance VF tyres

As reported during a virtual event of Yokohama Off-Highway Tires in March this year, SEGES Innovation from Denmark presented highly interesting results of scientific field trials comparing soil compaction and yield effects of Alliance 372 VF and 389 VF tyres versus conventional tractor and trailer tyres. Despite optimum dry soil conditions and a correspondingly high stability and load carrying capability of the soil, the low inflation pressure of the Alliance VF tyres cut the track depth during the application of liquid manure almost in half – from 79 to 45mm. At the same time, wheel slip was reduced by 4.4 percent, and measurements with a penetrometer showed significantly lower soil compaction in the VF tyre tracks at a depth of 20 to 25cm. As further proof of the positive effects, maize yields in the tracks on VF tyre plots exceeded those in the tracks on the conventional tyre plots significantly by about 12.9 harvest units per hectare, around 10 per cent. In sum, this translates to yield increases between 1.5 and 2.2 percent per hectare, and calculated profit gains between 21.8 and 32 EUR per hectare.

Kirkby brand portfolio on stand

In addition to its Alliance product offering, Kirkby Tyres also displayed its full range of brands at Lamma. Kirkby is a major importer and wholesaler of BKT tyres in the UK. The Indian OTR brand, best known in Europe for its agricultural tyres, supplied to Kirkby’s stand its new V-Flexa range of steel-belted radial flotation tyres for trailers and tankers; the flagship V-Flecto range of VF tractor tyres; the Ridemax FL693M designed for trailers and implements (now available with VF technology); Agrimax Spargo VF tyres developed for row crop and sprayer application; and Agrimax Siro tyres developed for high-horse powered tractors working in tillage operations.

Kirkby is an exclusive importer of MRL products into the UK and Ireland too, and exhibited this “value range” of agricultural tyres. Tyres shown on the stand included bias and radial tractor fitments and tyres for agricultural implements. Kirkby showcased the RC950 series of radial row crop sprayer tyres, the Farm Maxx RRT 770 range of radial 70 series tractor tyres, the popular FLR 333 radial flotation application for agricultural trailers, the utilitarian GT375 designed for agro-industrial applications and the Mega Sol RRT 650 for tankers.

Rounding out its product offering to Lamma 2022 visitors, Kirkby Tyres displayed its range of Pirelli-branded agricultural tyres from the Prometeon Group. Fitments included the PHP:1H in the super high volume size, 900/60R32, designed for high-powered tractors, and the brand new to market IF 650/65R34 PHE:65, which Kirkby said is currently on test with some impressive initial feedback. Kirkby Tyres has been the distribution partner of Pirelli since Prometeon returned the brand to the agricultural segment in 2017.