The partnership between Trelleborg Wheel Systems and Giants Software continues for a fifth year with the two firms teaming up in the new Farming Simulator 19 game. Trelleborg has also decided to field an official team in the 2019/20 Farming Simulator League competition.
A concept tyre displayed at Nokian Tyres’ stand at Agritechnica 2017 will return to this year’s show – in an evolved form – as a new range aimed at tractor and machine contractors who seek a product that offers a combination of “on-road endurance, traction and grip on a soft terrain and a high load-bearing capacity.”
Nokian Tyres says it has taken the first step towards digital, real-time tyre management with the launch of Nokian Tyres Intuitu. This new digital monitoring system combines sensor-equipped tyres with a mobile application that records the sensor data, keeping the user informed about vital tyre pressure and temperature. Intuitu will initially be available for agricultural and contracting tyres, however Nokian Tyres intends to extend the system to its entire commercial tyre range.
Ceat Specialty will launch two new agricultural tyres at the Agritechnica 2019 show in November, the Ceat Torquemax for high-powered tractors and the Ceat Yieldmax combine harvester tyre.
When Tyrepress.com first saw the Bridgestone VX-Tractor tyre at Agritechnica 2017, the very first of these tyres ever made was on display – and was so new it was still warm to touch upon arrival at the exhibition hall. A year later, and the range is now on the market, targeted at users looking for longer on-road wear life and the ability to carry larger loads.
A concept displayed by Nokian Heavy Tyres at Agritechnica suggests what form tomorrow’s tractor tyre may take. With this tyre, known simply as the Concept Tyre, Nokian has aimed to address declining of specialisation amongst small scale-farmers and a growing tendency to diversify activities, such as farmers who earn a portion of their income through carrying out contracting services.
When it comes to market share, 75 per cent is a very respectable figure indeed. This is, according to Hubert Plouchart, EMEA region director of sales at the Carlstar Group, the share the company’s Carlisle tyre brand holds in the US small tyre market. This isn’t the case here in Europe, however the Carlisle brand is well-known for its lawn and garden, ATV and UTV tyres. What it isn’t yet known for is its tractor tyres, and at Agritechnica the Carlstar Group set out to change that.
Amongst the products shown by the 2,900 or so exhibitors at this year’s Agritechnica fair were two new tyre and wheel combinations from STARCO. Introducing the HT Pro solution for hay tedders and the HS Flotation for agricultural implements, the company’s segment director for Agricultural Implement, Frédéric Ivancich, commented that while wheels and tyres are often not considered when looking at ways to optimise the performance of an agricultural vehicle, machine or implement, STARCO and its customers “know their true potential.”
Prometeon Tyre Group isn’t maintaining a presence at this year’s Agritechnica, however that doesn’t mean the new Pirelli agricultural line is entirely absent from the show. Heuver Tyrewholesale is displaying the Pirelli PHP at its stand in its capacity as distributor of the Pirelli agricultural range in several European markets, including Benelux and Germany. A Heuver Tyrewholesale representative commented that negotiations to determine UK distribution rights were “still ongoing” at the time Agritechnica commenced.
A joint project by Trelleborg and AGCO tractor brand Valtra brings customisation to tyre sidewalls. By adding the Trelleborg YourTire service to the Valtra Unlimited Configurator, customers can personalise their Trelleborg tyres when they configure their Valtra tractor, adding their own name or the Valtra logo to the sidewall. The YourTire collaboration was unveiled at Agritechnica 2017.
When Bridgestone announced its flagship brand’s entry into the agricultural tyre business in Europe in 2014, the range it introduced was one featuring the latest innovations, such as the Very High Flexion (VF) technology seen in the Bridgestone VT-Tractor. Standard agricultural tyres remained the preserve of the company’s Firestone brand, however this is no longer the case – at this year’s Agritechnica fair in Germany, the tyre maker unveiled the first standard segment agricultural tyre for Europe to wear the Bridgestone name.
Activity in the original equipment segment currently accounts for no more than 20 per cent of Alliance Tire Group’s business in Europe, however the company intends to change this. In order to place a greater emphasis on supply to OEMs, ATG has set up a dedicated original equipment team. The new OEM team is headed by Andreas Sarfert, who in April was named ATG’s head of business development OE Europe. ATG introduced Sarfert and the team during the Agritechnica show this week.
Today, Vredestein has announced the end result of what it describes as “years of extensive research into the particular needs of tractor manufacturers and end users.” This end result is the Traxion Optimall, the next generation of Vredestein VF (Very high Flexion) tyre for the upper tractor segment.
At Agritechnica 2017, Trelleborg will unveil YourTire, a new online service that allows customers to personalise their Trelleborg radial tractor tyres. Using the YourTire online configurator tool, customers can add their name or logo to new tyres, bringing a new level of personalisation to farm machinery.
Trelleborg has announced it will launch a smart wheel “designed to produce more, with less” at next month’s Agritechnica trade fair. Called ConnecTire, the new product is a sensor-based smart wheel that enables data sharing at multiple levels, reducing the risk of tyre slippage on the rim. It allows farmers to leverage the Internet of Things for safer and more efficient operations.
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.