Mitas will be showing one of the largest agricultural tyres in the world at the Fendt Field Day in Wadenbrunn, on August 27th. On this occasion a new Fendt 211 Vario will be equipped with Mitas AC65 and exhibited at the Fendt technology pavilion. Another crowd puller is the Mitas 1250 / 50R32 SFT, one of the largest agricultural tyres in the world.
Another sign that Mitas is looking ahead to the day when it relinquishes the license agreement for Continental-brand agricultural tyres can be seen in the Czech Republic-based tyre maker’s decision to solely market its newest Super Flexion Tyre (SFT) range in Europe under the Mitas brand name. The six Mitas SFT sizes previewed at last November’s Agritechnica show – 900/60R42, 710/60R34, 650/60R34, 710/65R46, 750/65R26, 580/85R42 – go on sale this month and three further dimensions – 620/75R26, 1050/50R25, 1250/50R32 – will enter the market later in 2014.
Mitas has announced plans to invest the expansion of its Ruma, Serbia factory. In the first part of the planned upgrades, Mitas will build a new logistics centre. According to the company, this will help satisfy the rising demand from South European, East European and Middle East markets. In practice this means Mitas will soon also prepare an upgrade of Ruma’s production capacities for radial agricultural and forestry tyres. Mitas’ Serbian factory now produces both bias and radial agricultural tyres. The investment will be completed in mid-2016, at which point the Ruma plant will have a capacity of 35,000 tonnes a year.
Mitas is proud to announce its selection by TM Racing as an OEM tyre supplier for motocross, enduro and supermoto motorcycles. Mitas will supply C-21 Super and EF-07 Super tyres for enduro motorcycles (EN 300, EN 450FI, EN 530F, EN 125, EN 144, EN 250 and EN 250FI), C-19 and C-20 for motocross motorcycles (MX Junior) and Sport Force radial tyres for its supermoto models (SMM 530F, SMR 530F, SMM 450F, SMR 450F).
The world of tractor pulling awaits Mitas following the development of the company’s first prototype tractor pulling tyre and the signing of a sponsorship agreement with the European Tractor Pulling Committee (ETPC). The Mitas Powerpull has been developed using a similar manufacturing process to that used for the Czech tyre maker’s high-power tractor tyres, and Mitas says the production version of the Powerpull will be available this year. The first test prototypes were cured at the company’s Otrokovice factory in April.
Ask many Subaru owners if they’re familiar with Fuji Heavy Industries and you’ll receive a negative response, even though one of the company’s products is parked in the driveway. Czech Republic-based tyre maker Mitas has faced a similar situation in recent years. Even though the off-road specialist’s share of the European agricultural tyre market (not counting imports from outside Europe) is said to be around 35 per cent, recognition of the Mitas name doesn’t necessarily reflect this. The company now intends to change this state of affairs, and the percentage of tyres it produces under the Mitas brand name is set to markedly increase over the coming five years.
Mitas is celebrating a decade of manufacturing Continental agricultural tyres under licence. Following the signing of the the licence agreement in 2004, Mitas has produced more than 300,000 tonnes of Continental tyres. Currently, Mitas offers more than 200 variations of agricultural Continental tyres. Mitas recently extended its Trademark License Agreement with Continental Tyres through to 2019.
Mitas has announced that it will extend its range of Sport Force tyres for sport and touring motorcycles. One new rear and two new front tyres will be added to the range, first introduced in September 2013 with three rear sizes and one front size. The Mitas Sport Force includes technologies such as OGT 3D (3-D Optimum Groove Technology); SCT (Strong Carcass Technology); and an FEA (Finite Element Analysis) optimised footprint. The new sizes will allow riders of models from BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and more to fit Mitas Sport Forces.
Mitas has announced that the Czech tyremaker signed a long-term agreement with Claas at the recent Agritechnica event. “Our cooperation with CLAAS is excellent. We are continuing our collaboration, which dates back to 2004, when Mitas acquired the Continental farm tyre manufacturing division,” said Andrew Mabin, Mitas’ marketing and sales director.
In August, tyrepress.com brought news of the world’s largest ice cream van. This very vehicle will be pressed into service at January’s LAMMA show, dispensing chilly treats for visitors at the Mitas stand (B57). The 5.5 tonne, ŠKODA Octavia vRS-based van is fitted with Mitas tyres sourced from Farmers Tyre in Leamington Spa.
At Agritechnica Mitas unveiled its Very High Flexion (VF) tyre for sprayer applications, the VF HC1000. The company displayed the new VF 380/90R46 173D HC 1000 TL on its show stand ahead of the range’s 2014 commercial launch.
During the Agritechnica show, Mitas reported that its new factory in the Czech Republic town of Otrokovice has commenced full capacity tyre production. The company built the 24,000 square metre plant within one year and invested approximately CZK 1 billion (£30.9 million) in the project. The new Otrokovice plant produces Mitas and Continental-branded agricultural radials and has a 42,000 tonne per annum capacity.
It’s neither a traditional tyre, nor is it a rubber track – the latest agricultural product from Mitas, the PneuTrac, is described by its creator as “bringing together the best of both worlds.” The tyre concept displayed at the Mitas booth during Agritechnica 2013, combines a traditional pneumatic tyre with a rubber track – and the result, says Mitas, is a 53 per cent larger footprint compared with a standard tyre.
New sizes have been added to the Mitas Super Flexion Tyre (SFT) range. At this week’s Agritechnica fair in Germany, the tyre maker gave word of six new fitments for the SFT, a range designed for high horsepower tractors and initially sold in the North American market prior to their global release next year. The new sizes are 900/60R42; 710/60R34; 650/60R34; 710/65R46; 750/65R26 and 580/85R42.
The global premiere of the Mitas “PneuTrac” concept tyre will take place at the upcoming Agritechnica fair in Germany. Mitas describes the concept tyre, which pairs a traditional pneumatic tyre with a rubber track, as revolutionary.
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