Agricultural
On 23 January the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association published its members’ sales for the year 2016 and the last quarter of 2016.
Consumer tyres were up 2 per cent in 2016 – despite minor fluctuations during the third quarter and with a strong performance in the last quarter (+4%). OE consumer tyres sales followed the performance of new car registrations, albeit it more slowly, rising 3 per cent.
Last June, Sweden’s Trelleborg AB finalised its acquisition of Mitas parent company CGS Holding. At the time, Trelleborg chief executive officer and president Peter Nilsson stated the intention to integrate Mitas into the Trelleborg Wheel Systems business unit. Tyres & Accessories asked what is changing, and what will remain the same, for the Mitas brand.
As the largest manufacturer of tyres and rubber products in the world, Bridgestone knows a thing or two about producing quality, technologically innovative goods and services. The company’s flagship VT-Tractor agricultural tyre range, which targets large operations that use advanced, sophisticated and often heavy equipment, is testament to this.
The largest stock of agricultural tyres in the UK can be found at Kirkby Tyres. More than 30,000 agricultural products – a range covering more than 600 tread patterns, over 800 sizes and at least 2,500 agricultural SKUs – are currently housed in the wholesaler’s warehouses in Liverpool and Dublin. Marketing manager Adam Bromilow tells to Tyres & Accessories that Kirkby’s agricultural range is “unrivalled” in the UK and Ireland, and it is this availability (Kirkby recently doubled the size of its Liverpool facility), combined with a policy of free next day delivery that is supported by a new warehouse management system, that led to Kirkby Tyres being voted Truck and Agricultural Tyre Supplier of the Year for a second consecutive year at the 2016 Tyre Industry Awards.
Further sizes have joined the Alliance range of row crop tyres, thereby increasing the brand’s offer for heavy duty and high speed self-propelled sprayers and tractors. A size VF 480/95R50 fitment has been added to the Alliance 354 AgriFlex+ line, while the 363 AgriFlex gains four new sizes, VF 270/95R48, VF 230/95R48, VF 270/95R54 and VF 380/90R46.
The LAMMA show got under way today at the East of England Showground in Peterborough, and Michelin is using the occasion to host an exclusive UK preview of its all-new AxioBib 2 tyre range, allowing farmers and contractors to view the new agricultural tyre ahead of the planned international launch in June 2017. The new Kleber Cropker is also on display – both tyres can be viewed on stand G33.
Four new sizes have joined the Nokian Heavy Tyres’ CT trailer tyre line-up, complementing the 650/55R26.5 CT tyre introduced at the Agritechnica exhibition three years ago. The new sizes –560/60R22.5, 600/50R22.5, 600/55R26.5 and 600/60R30.5 – are available as of this month.
Michelin has appointed Martyn Pointer as its new commercial director of agriculture, with responsibility for the UK, Ireland and the Nordics. He replaces Mike Lawton, who has taken on the position of head of communications, after five years in the role.
A new app from Mitas aims to help farmers easily find the correct pressure for their tyres when using them in the field and on the road. Versions of the app are available for Android, iOS and Windows devices and can be downloaded at https://www.mitas-info.com/ . To obtain a tyre pressure recommendation, users only need to select the appropriate tyre size, set up speed and cargo weight.
With over 60 years in the tyre trade, RH Claydon Ltd has established itself as a leading national tyre wholesaler. It services almost every sector in the tyre market and is able to cover most of the UK from its five regional depots. In order to provide the most accurate, fast and reliable service, the company prefers to deliver using its own vehicles and drivers whenever possible.
The pressure to produce higher yields at lower prices is a theme common to most aspects of the agricultural industry; dealing with that pressure is, both literally and figuratively, the task of tyres fitted to the larger, more powerful machinery designed to deliver on this goal. For tyre manufacturers, field tests and demonstrations with the farmers’ and contractors’ own equipment provide the best opportunity to show how their particular products and solutions can help them to achieve increased productivity. It also allows those brands who work most closely with original equipment manufacturers to demonstrate their tyres’ interaction with agricultural machinery and components such as central tyre inflation systems. Tyres & Accessories recently visited Maxwell Farms, near Turriff in Aberdeenshire, to see Michelin conduct such a demonstration.
Sri Lankan industrial tyre maker Global Rubber Industries, or GRI, has laid the foundation for its new off-road tyre factory. Groundbreaking took place 4 January and marks the start of construction on a plant that will be built with an investment of US$40 million. The facility will be built adjacent to GRI’s current solid industrial tyre factory in Badalgama, Sri Lanka.
Last year, Heuver Tyrewholesale announced its intention to place greater emphasis upon the agricultural tyre segment, and backed this statement up with the rollout of the Barkley brand, a range the wholesaler holds distribution rights to throughout all of Europe, including the UK. In response to customer demand, Heuver Tyrewholesale has now expanded the Barkley range through the addition of a new, wider BLA01+ tractor tyre sizes.
Trelleborg has announced a five per cent price increase on agricultural and forestry tyres in Europe, effective 1 February 2017.
Mitas, part of the Trelleborg Group, has announced a five per cent increase in agricultural tyre prices in Europe. The new prices, which will affect both Mitas and Cultor brand agricultural and light agricultural application tyres, will come into effect on 1 February, 2017. The manufacturer said the rise is “driven by the recent increase in raw material prices.”
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.