Off-road tyre manufacturer Mitas has appointed Vladimir Rada its new chief financial officer. Rada is a Czech national who has worked at AcelorMittal Distribution Solutions since 2007 in various finance and controlling related positions. In addition, interim CFO Marek Beran has been appointed head of central logistics, while Mitas’ US investment director Vladimir Dusanek has moved to Prague to oversee central controlling.
Mitas Tyres Limited claims to offer the UK’s largest range of high-spec row-crop tyres, and the company showed the latest products from its range at Cereals 2012 together with Case IH. The company also provided visitors with advice on correct row-crop tyre selection.
Mitas Tyres Ltd will exhibit two new tyres, the HC70 and AC70T, and the Continental SVT CHO (Cyclic Harvesting Operation) harvester tyre on its stand at Cereals 2012. The HC70 is an adaptable 70 series tyre designed for use on 90hp to 180hp tractors. The AC70T has deeper lugs, making it suitable for heavy field work. The show will take place at Boothby Graffoe, Lincolnshire on 13 and 14 June.
Bridgestone Europe presented a strong line-up of off-the-road tyres at INTERMAT 2012, according to the company. The international fair for construction industries, which took place in Paris from 16 – 21 April saw the Japanese manufacturer display the world’s largest tyre and some of its leading OTR industrial radial tyres.
Products on show included: The VJT (V-Steel J-Traction); VRF (V-Steel Rock Fast); VLTS (V-Steel L-Traction S); VSW (V-Steel Snow Wedge); VCHR (V-Steel Container Handler Rib) and VSDT (V-Steel Super Deep Traction).
A little-known claim to fame for Charles City, Iowa is that the word “tractor” was first coined there, in 1901. It is therefore fitting that Mitas chose to establish its radial agricultural tyre factory in that particular US town. On 26 April the plant officially opened, with Iowa governor Terry Branstad, Charles City mayor James Erb and Mitas representatives Tomas Nemec and Oldrich Slemr cutting the ribbon to start serial production of agricultural tyres. Upon celebrating the factory’s inauguration, Mitas also announced it would accelerate its US$52 million investment to achieve full plant production capacity of 13,500 tonnes of tyres a year by 2013, three years earlier than originally anticipated.
The Intermat construction equipment show got underway in Paris yesterday, and Mitas used the occasion to introduce two new European-made tyres intended for material handling machinery. The new FLR-01 and SC-01 can be fitted on straddle carriers, terminal tractors, container handlers and forklifts used in port terminals and intermodal yards to handle bulk goods and large containers.
The latest issue of Russian motoring magazine, Avto-Revyu (No. 6/2012) features a tyre test based on a range of 185/60 R15 products. This size is a mainstay of the Russian market due to strong sales of Volkswagen’s Polo there.
Tyres tested include the Michelin Energy Saver and Energy XM2, Bridgestone Ecopia EP100, Continental ContiEcoContact 5, Goodyear EfficientGrip, Nokian Hakka Green and Pirelli Cinturato representing so-called “green” tyres as well as the Hankook Optimo K415, Kama Euro 236 and Federal Formoza FD1 “normal” tyres.
The rough environs of the UK Speedway scene is dominated by just one tyre brand: Mitas. The company supplies every tyre used on every speedway bike throughout the UK and in a sport that makes particularly stringent demands on its rubber, the company believes this fact says a lot about the quality and consistency of its products. Having supported the sport under an exclusive arrangement with the British Speedway Promoters Association for more than 10 years, filling the void left when Dunlop pulled out of the market, Mitas says it is now the only company that manufactures tyres for Speedway, delivering a high level of commitment and support.
Farmers should exercise caution when switching from conventional wheels and tyres to row-crop equipment this spring, advises Mitas Tyres. As ISO 9000 and Health & Safety regulations now place a heavy responsibility on tyre suppliers and equipment operators, Mitas cautions that fitting incorrect replacements could have severe consequences, including equipment failure or breaches of legal obligations.
Production capacity for tractor and combine radials at Mitas’ factory in Ruma, Serbia has been expanded through a 3.5 million euro upgrade. In announcing the upgrade, the Czech Republic-based off-road tyre manufacturer noted the Ruma plant, which was built in 1981 and acquired by Mitas in 2008, is “strategically placed” to supply the Russian Federation due to the special trade relations between Russia and Serbia.
On 1 March Mitas appointed Jean-Paul Spijker market director for the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg (Benelux). Operating out of Uden, Spijker has the responsibility of increasing Mitas’ market share and improving customer service in the region.
“I can open a lot of doors,” said Spijker, who has an extensive sales background from Toyo Tyres, Van den Ban Autobanden, Solideal and Alliance Tire Europe. Spijker is a Kiwanis associate and is fluent in Dutch, English and German.
In January Claas awarded tyre maker Mitas with the Claas Supplier of the Year Award 2011 for Innovation for Mitas’ CHO tyre. “Mitas won the award from among 900 serial part suppliers,” said Jens Steinhardt, Mitas’ key account manager. Bosch Rexroth and Raba were short-listed for the innovation award. Mitas developed the CHO tyre in cooperation with Claas.
Mitas has cured the first test tyre at its new Charles City, USA facility, which is currently in the testing phase. “Mitas can make tyres in Iowa,” said Pavel Charvat, president and plant director. “This test tyre is the first tyre produced by Mitas on the American continent. Now, Mitas is tweaking the machinery, streamlining processes and training workers for the Charles City plant to be ready for serial production in April.” The exact date of the official opening of the plant and start of serial production will be announced in due course.
Farm buying group AtlasFram has signed an exclusive supply agreement with Goodyear. All of AtlasFram’s 1250 farmer/landowner Members have now been enrolled in the exclusive Goodyear AGRI Club, which offers a number of financial and technical benefits to members.
Members receive a quarterly newsletter which contains the latest news about Goodyear tyres plus the current issue includes a voucher giving up to £150 discount when purchasing a set of Goodyear tractor tyres or up to £100 off a set of telescopic handler tyres. These vouchers can be redeemed at one of the company’s 76 approved agricultural tyre outlets.
UK agricultural tyre distributor, Unity Tyre says it has placed Czech brand Mitas “at the centre” of its business, having built a close and long-standing relationship with the company. Unity says it is the leading distributor of the brand into the UK, achieved by building upon the ever-increasing OEM demand for Mitas tyres and by stocking a truly in-depth range of tyres to satisfy the replacement market. Unity says it has been highly successful in establishing the Mitas tyre with farmers and agricultural contractors as the tyre of choice for keeping their valuable machines running.
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