Agricultural
The tyre described as a “game changer” when awarded a SIMA Innovation Gold Medal last November has now been launched at the Paris agribusiness fair. This game changing product is the Michelin EvoBib, a ‘2 in 1 tyre’ containing patented tread pattern and casing technology that enables the tyre’s shape and profile to change according to inflation pressure.
Trelleborg has announced the global launch of the Variable Inflation Pressure system (VIP) at SIMA 2017 in Paris, France. The VIP system is a smart and autonomous complete wheel capable of self-adjusting the pressure of a combine harvester’s tyre during operation according to its precise load, optimising the tyre’s footprint in order to reduce soil compaction.
A new size has joined the Alliance 380 range. Alliance Tire Group has unveiled a size 800/60R32 version of the flotation radial at the SIMA show in France. The new product is aimed at trailers, tankers, sprayers and loaders.
Trelleborg Group tyre manufacturer Mitas has launched a new advertising campaign emphasising the needs of farmers for quality equipment they can rely on. It highlights the various types of machinery and applications, terrains and locations, and weather conditions and terrains encountered by agricultural professionals. Mitas’ campaign, showing how reliable tyres can help farmers to improve the overall effectiveness of farming, will be presented during the SIMA show in Paris from 26 February to 2 March (Stand C060, Hall 7).
Since its debut in 2014, the Bridgestone range of agricultural tyres has included fitments for high horsepower tractors. Now, with the introduction of the VT-Combine, the company has extended the line-up to cover combine harvesters. Designed specifically for Cyclic Field Operations (CFO) and featuring Improved Flexion (IF) technology, the VT-Combine offers 20 per cent more load compared with standard tyres (as set out by ETRTO standards). The tyre also allows a maximum speed during CFO of 15km/h, as opposed to the 10km/h maximum with conventional tyres.
An additional size is joining the Trelleborg TM3000 range of tyres for spreader applications. The new VF1050/50R32 product will be unveiled at the SIMA 2017 fair in Paris later this month following its debut at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, USA, which begins tomorrow.
Kings Road Tyres (KRT) is building on its position as a major wholesale distributor of agricultural tyres with new products from two of its exclusive lines, Taurus and house brand, Kingstone.
The SIMA international agribusiness show in Paris will serve as a platform for Apollo Vredestein to introduce the widest available radial implement tyre with a diameter below the crucial 1,250 millimetre mark. From 26 February to 2 March, the company will showcase the 800/40 R 22.5 168D Flotation Trac radial, a product it developed with agricultural equipment manufacturers.
The world premiere of the latest Mitas agricultural tyre, the metre-wide 1000/50 R 25 SFT, will take place at the SIMA show in Paris later this month. The tyre is designed for use on high-horsepower agricultural machinery such as potato harvesters and self-propelled spreaders, and offers flexibility when it comes to load and inflation pressure.
In 2015, the production of STARCO GS wheels was transferred from Switzerland to the STARCO factory in Beli Manastir, Croatia. At the time, the facility was only equipped to manufacture wheels up to a maximum diameter of 30.5-inches, however demand from customers – both existing and new – has necessitated the installation of new facilities to handle the production of larger wheel sizes. STARCO reports that, after searching the market for suitable equipment, it set about developing its own solution.
The Alliance Tire Group (ATG) claims a world first with the launch of its Alliance 389 VF, a flotation tyre featuring VF, or very high flexion, technology. The off-road tyre specialist states that the 389 VF is the first product to bring together the reduced soil pressure offered by flotation tyres and the superior load carrying/tyre pressure combination of a VF design.
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.
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