Agricultural
With exports of its off-highway tyres (OHT) particularly healthy at present, India’s Ceat Limited has decided to increase its strategic focus in this area and will more than double agricultural radial capacity by mid-2023. Existing plans to expand truck and bus radial (TBR) production are thus taking a back seat.
Cornwall-based contractor Grigg-Agri has invested in another set of VF 420/85 R34 Michelin YieldBib tyres for its two Bateman RB35 sprayers after the original equipment rubber lasted twice as long as the tyres it had run in the past. The two sprayers are used to support a wide range of arable crops across the county, clocking up significant mileage on country roads as they travel between farms.
The overall trends illustrated by the most recent ETRMA tyre market data are undoubtedly useful to all parties, however some of the figures will raise eyebrows. For example, According to ETRMA’s full-year 2021 passenger car tyre data, Great Britain is the fourth-largest passenger car tyre market some way behind third-placed Italy. And is Turkey really Europe’s leading truck tyre business?
Following reports that Continental had sold its South Africa agricultural tyre production assets, company representatives have confirmed that the plant ceased operation a little more than two years ago.
Continental Tyre South Africa has sold the manufacturing assets it used to make industrial and agricultural tyres in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Prior to the sale, Continental manufactured bias-ply and radial agricultural tyres at the Port Elizabeth location. Continental’s ongoing production operations, such as its passenger car and light truck lines, are not affected by the news.
The German Agricultural Society (DLG) has awarded Continental a silver medal in its Agritechnica innovation awards 2022. It bestowed this honour upon the tyre maker for its Agro ContiSeal technology, a patented polymer applied to the inside of an agricultural tyre that can prevent punctures by immediately sealing any foreign object penetration.
From November 2021, Continental is supplying its TractorMaster and Tractor85 agricultural tyre ranges to John Deere’s factory in Iowa, USA for original equipment fitment on the John Deere 7R and 8R tractor lines. These sizable machines require tyres with external diameters of up to 2.05 metres and rim diameters up to 50-inches. This arrangement builds upon Continental’s supply to John Deere in Europe, where its tyres have been fitted to tractors produced at the Mannheim factory in Germany since 2019.
Goodyear Farm Tires will provide a significant boost to UK and European farmers in 2022 by offering an enhanced supply of radial tyres. These will come from production in Turkey, a site that has traditionally made cross-ply tyres but is now about to benefit from a new plant. From early 2022, Goodyear will source radial agricultural tyres there too, initially offering the UK and European markets 20 key radial sizes. This figure should double by the end of the year.
Trelleborg AB’s share price has risen sharply following reports that the company is in talks relating to the sale of Trelleborg Wheel Systems business.
Tyre makers have a lot on their minds these days. In addition to experiencing an extraordinary couple of years that began with a virus and then mutated into a succession of rising input prices, they also need to think far beyond the traditional product development cycle. Legislation and end user expectations are driving manufacturers to explore new materials and achieve greater sustainability, while at the same time evolving technology means a growing focus upon connectivity and services. We recently caught up with Paolo Pompei to find out how Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS) is addressing these key issues.
On 14 December, Tyrepress.com shared information from sources who anticipate a Yokohama Rubber bid to acquire Trelleborg Wheel Systems. While the parties involved have neither confirmed nor denied such a transaction, the chairman of Titan International Inc. (TWI) has commented on a deal he apparently views as problematic.
COVID-19 is limbering up to cast its shadow over us for a third year, and exhibition organisers are cancelling or postponing shows scheduled for the early months of 2022. Agricultural sector fair the LAMMA Show is the latest to announce that it won’t take place on the previously announced dates.
BKT develops specific tyres for the colder months of the year, solutions designed not only to deal with muddy or snowy surfaces but also to provide maximum performance in normal conditions on dry soil. It gives these products a tread pattern and compound that maintain the tyre’s characteristics even at low temperatures and provide traction and grip on wet, snowy or slippery terrain.
Mitas has introduced two additional sizes into its HC 1000 range of Very High Flexion (VF) tyres for sprayer applications. The newcomers are NRO (Narrow Rim Option) dimensions designed for the next generation of self-propelled agricultural sprayers, VF 650/65R38 and VF 750/60R46. Mitas says both are made to handle high load capacities and operating speeds.
Yokohama Tire has bid around $2 billion for Trelleborg Wheel Systems in a move that could further expand the Japanese company’s growing off-highway tyre business. Sources close to the bid told Tyres & Accessories that Yokohama is currently in a due diligence process that is likely to be completed during the next month or so. Yokohama previously bid for Prometeon, the ex-Pirelli industrial/off-highway tyre business at the end of 2019. Despite ongoing discussions over the following year or so, that deal wasn’t completed. Yokohama appointed the former global head of Prometeon, Gregorio Borgo, as its European president earlier this year. Trelleborg Wheel Systems executives declined to comment on the reports.
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