Tyres have been made from rubber for more than 100 years, using the same fundamental manufacturing processes. However American tyre corporation, Amerityre, claims to have invented a polyurethane material that will replace rubber and revolutionise the entire tyre manufacturing industry, within the next 15 years.

This proposed polyurethane elastomer tyre production is essentially a unique process. Revolutionary it may be, but what does it mean for the tyre manufacturing industry?

The new polyurethane elastomer material can be used in the manufacture of tyres and automated manufacturing equipment. The significance of the new material is placed on the cost efficiency of the manufacturing process. According to Amerityre, manufacturing tyres from polyurethane is considerably more efficient than manufacturing tyres from rubber.

It may be new to the market, but the company has big objectives for its new technology. The company claims that polyurethane will ultimately replace rubber in tyres. It also predicts that the transition from rubber to polyurethane tyres will occur quickly, because of the amount of benefits it provides. It estimates that this conversion will begin in the next 12 months, and will be complete in the next 12 to 15 years. And on top of this, its prototype tyre, ‘ARCUS,’ awaits its launch into the market and its opportunity to silence critics. Whichever way you look at it, these are high aims for a product the industry knows little about.

The company was originally formed in 1995 as the American Tire Corporation. Its initial business objective was to take advantage of, and develop, existing urethane formulations. At first the company used these formulations to produce Flatfree bicycle tyres from polyurethane foam. In 1999 the company changed its name to Amerityre Corporation. Located in Nevada, it occupies a 49,200 square foot site. And has now developed two distinct proprietary chemical systems for tyres: a polyurethane elastomer and a closed-cell polyurethane foam.