Brazil’s Vipal Rubber reports that its VL130 ECO pre-cured tread has become the company’s first product to be approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Partnership. As expected from a SmartWay approved tyre, the tread’s design and compound aims to maximise fuel efficiency; Vipal reports that the trailer axle tread has a low bearing resistance that generates less heat, thus ensuring less casing fatigue and helping to improve retreadability.