Agricultural
Trelleborg has extended its digital portfolio with the launch of the ‘Tire Efficiency’ app for use on iPad and Android tablets. Based on the concept of total cost of ownership, the app measures the benefits provided by a set of Trelleborg tyres for one axle both in terms of cost savings and reduced working time.
Effective tomorrow, James Clark will take over as president of Alliance Tire Americas. He fills the position left open since May, when Manny Cicero announced he was leaving the company he’d led since 2007. Clark will be based in Alliance Tire Americas’ headquarters in Wakefield, Massachusetts.
Liverpool-based wholesaler Kirkby Tyres & Wheels has expanded to become one of the biggest – if not the biggest – wholesalers of agricultural tyres and wheels in the UK and Ireland during its 60-plus year history. The distributor now boasts a range of more than 6,000 different product lines, with sole distributorship deals on Alliance, Double Coin, Longmarch, Malhotra and Sailun brands within certain segments. It was also appointed as the wholesale distributor for Trelleborg’s premium agricultural tyre products, alongside Trelleborg Wheel Systems’ direct tyre dealer network.
Speke-based wholesaler Kirkby Tyres continues to supply the latest speciality tyres from Indian manufacturer BKT and exclusive brand Alliance to the UK. The latest fitments from both ranges include a number of port tyres, solid forklift tyres and an E rated high speed crane tyre from BKT, while Kirkby will now supply a new tyre […]
Although tyres made for the mining sector are by far the world’s largest, the latest release from Mitas is certainly no runt by agricultural standards: This month the company is releasing a new 1250/50R32 SFT tyre intended for use on grain carts and combine harvesters. The 1250/50R32 SFT 188A8/185B is produced at Mitas’ North American plant in Charles City, Iowa and weighs 555 kilogrammes, making it the heaviest tyre in the manufacturer’s product portfolio. It has a diameter of 2.02 metres and a volume of 2.3 m³, and it contains 76.5 m² of cord. The tyre is capable of carrying loads of up to 16 tonnes (10 km/h cyclic).
The agricultural tyre market appears particularly well suited towards specialised manufacturers; Trelleborg Wheel Systems acquired Pirelli’s agricultural business in 1999, with the branding switched between 2006 and 2010. Since acquiring various technologies from Pirelli, the Trelleborg Group has invested heavily in order to make its tyre and wheel operation a premium brand player in the agricultural and forestry tyre market. The Tivoli facility, with its buildings showing a manufacturing history dating back to the 1940s, but also incorporating the latest agricultural tyre building machinery, represents “a history full of innovation for farming professionals,” in president of the Agricultural and Forestry Tyres business unit, Paolo Pompei’s words.
Staff from the Michelin Training Centre in Stoke-on-Trent recently held their third agricultural tyre fitting course in Scotland in just over 12 months, following unprecedented demand from local dealers.
Carlisle Transportation Products has released two new heavy duty farm implement tyres intended for fitment on hay rake machines. Both are size 16×6.50-8 tubed fitments; the 6-ply version bears the product code 6A02351 and has a 280 kilogrammes (615lbs) load capacity with a load index of 64, while the 10-ply 6A02361 has a load capacity of 515 kilogrammes (1,140lbs) and load index of 85. Both are A6 speed rated, which means they can be driven at speeds of up to 20mph (30km/h).
On 11 July 2014, a team from Trelleborg Wheel Systems undertook a challenge that few have completed – climbing the highest peak in each of the four countries of the United Kingdom in just 48 hours. They travelled with flags representing each of the 28 UK and Ireland Trelleborg Professional Centers (TPCs), a network of dealers that supply Trelleborg’s complete agricultural tyre range. The expedition took the newly-launched TPC partners to each of the highest peaks, all in aid of the Trelleborg charity initiative, the Antonio Bianchi House.
The second quarter of 2014 was, in the words of Titan International’s chief financial officer, “disappointing in terms of performance.” John Hrudicka reports that the 11.7 per cent year-on-year decline in sales to US$523.7 million occurred against a backdrop of price reductions, a downturn in the mining segment and a decline in agricultural markets. Gross profit also decreased 74.0 per cent to $22.6 million and was 4.3 per cent of net sales, as compared to 14.6 per cent of net sales a year earlier. Loss from operations amounted to $29.5 million in the second quarter of 2014, compared with a profit from operations of $36.9 million in the second quarter of 2013. Net income went $20.5 million into the red. Dividend declared per common share was $0.05.
Michelin has expanded its range of Ultraflex technology tyres with the launch of the CargoXBib High Flotation tyre for trailers and farm machinery. The product is the first trailer tyre containing the technology, which is designed to offer farmers increased productivity and profitability through lower operating pressures. The manufacturer says dedicated agricultural trailer tyres could be an attractive alternative to remould truck products, as farmers come under increasing pressure to increase yields with greater efficiency.
Arguments about greater steering precision aside, the chief reason for fitting low profile tyres to a car is to enhance its appearance. But a narrow sidewall is favoured by some in the off-road sector for entirely difference reasons. Titan International developed its first low profile – it calls it low sidewall, or LSW – off-road tyre in the 1990s and initially introduced the technology on the Caterpillar-brand skid steer tyre in 1999. The company believes that when the benefits of LSW are more widely known the technology will gain widespread acceptance, and to spread word about LSW a new, dedicated website has been rolled out.
Last year, Trelleborg introduced its new TLC – Trelleborg Load Calculator app for iPad and desktop users, and has now extended its potential user base by making it available on further platforms, and in one further key language. Following its introduction in iOS and android formats, the app can be used by all main mobile devices and operating systems, and the addition of Chinese to the latest version means that the app now covers 13 languages. Trelleborg comments that it is the “first global player in the agricultural industry to develop a professional app targeted to the Chinese market in its local language.”
Bridgestone Americas reports that Kenneth Allen, president of Bridgestone Agricultural Tire, U.S. & Canada Commercial Tire Sales, retired on 30 June after leading the division for more than six years. Kurt Danielson, President, U.S. & Canada Commercial Tire Sales, is leading the division until a successor is named.
ATG used Reifen 2014 as a platform for presenting itself as a company and for presenting its goals. At a press conference during the Essen show, CEO Yogesh Mahansaria led top management, including chief of marketing and sales Angelo Noronha and head of research and development Dr. George Ronai in a talk about products and plans.
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