The holy grail of off-highway tyre development is a tyre that is robust and durable yet delivers eco-friendly performance in its given application. Sharing its experiences in this area, Trelleborg Tires credits continuous research and “the right dose of AI” as indispensable factors.
Hexpol AB (publ.) has appointed Klas Dahlberg as CEO and president of the company effective 1 July 2024 at the latest. Dahlberg’s appointment follows the sudden death of predecessor Georg Brunstam who died suddenly on 1 September 2023.
Yokohama Rubber hopes to speed up its tyre development process by implementing new rubber compounding technology that draws upon the power of artificial intelligence (AI). It is turning to a process that utilises AI-based compound generation technology to achieve user-set target property values.
Sailun Tire Group says it has developed a technology that will “create a rubber revolution in the tyre industry.” Utilising liquid phase mixing, this new proprietary technology is known as EcoPoint³. According to Sailun, EcoPoint³ matches or exceeds tyre performance across the three key functional attributes of rolling resistance, wear resistance and wet grip performance. It will, the tyre maker confidently adds, “change the way that tyres are manufactured.”
Hexpol completed the 48 million euro acquisition of 100 per cent of Unión de Industrias C.A., S.A. (Unica) from Espiga Capital, a Spanish based Private Equity firm on 7 July 2021. Unica’s turnover in 2020 amounted to 40 million euros, with a profitability “below Hexpol Group”, according to the business’s new owner. Unica will be consolidated into Hexpol from 1 July.
Versarien plc, which makes nanocompounds for tyre applications amongst other things, is was awarded a product development funding from the Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), a part of the Ministry of Defence at the end of November 2020.
Versarien plc, the AIM-listed the advanced materials engineering group, announced on 7 January that it has appointed Dr Stephen Hodge as the company’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Dr Hodge joined the company’s board with immediate effect.
Vipal Rubber is researching the possibility of using rice husk residue as a raw material for the rubber industry, the result of a partnership between Vipal, the University of Caxias do Sul, in Brazil, and Lodz Poland University of Technology. Goodyear released a rice husk silica tyre in China in mid-2015, before announcing in November 2020 that is would double its rice husk usage by 2021; and Pirelli announced that it was researching the use of rice husk ash in new tyre compounds back in April 2009; but Vipal is the first retreading compound maker to go public with its use of rice husks in compounding.
Hexpol AB (publ) has appointed Georg Brunstam as president and CEO of Hexpol AB (publ) effective 20 November 2020. Georg Brunstam is currently chairman of the Board for Hexpol AB (publ) and had previously been President and CEO for Hexpol AB (publ) 2007-2017.
Berwin Industrial Polymers, which is part of Hexpol AB, was recently named amongst the winners of the Queens Award for International Trade 2020.
A new technique to observe and analyse individual materials within tyre rubber offers “enormous potential” for the development of high-performance tyres with unprecedented levels of efficiency and wear resistance, engineers at Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) and Ibaraki University claim.
Hexpol AB (publ.) has appointed Kenneth L. Bloom as new president of Hexpol Compounding Americas. Ken succeeds Tracy Garrison who decided to leave the company in November 2019. The new appointment took effect on 1 January 2020.
On 1 July Hexpol announced that it has acquired Preferred Compounding from the Audax Group, a US-based Private Equity firm. Preferred Compounding is described as an “advanced rubber compounder in North America”. Key markets include general industry, automotive, power and infrastructure. Hexpol paid approximately US$232 million on a cash and debt free basis. Preferred’s 208 turnover worked out as roughly US$240 million. The firm has around 540 employees in six facilities, five in the US and one in Mexico. The business will be consolidated from 1 July 2019.
Continental has inaugurated a new, state-of-the-art rubber compound mixing facility at its tyre plant in Alor Setar Malaysia. The tyre maker invested more than MYR 65 million (£10.6 million) in the 3,200 square metre facility at the Alor Setar factory, which produces two-wheeler, car and light commercial vehicle tyres for the domestic and APAC region markets. Its entry into operation is expected to lead to increased capacity and flexibility.
Almost 10 years after Hexpol embarked on a prolonged growth-by-acquisition strategy, here Tyres & Accessories examines the company’s overall progress as well as the particular example of UK-based Hexpol Group member, retreading compound supply specialist Berwin Polymers.
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