Firestone has launched what it claims it the world’s widest agricultural tyre. At 1250 millimetres wide, the company reports that the agricultural tyre is a full 200 millimetres wider than the nearest competitor.
(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America (MNA) has added the Michelin X One XDA-HT Plus drive tyre to its X One line of wide singles.
The German Agricultural Society ‘Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft’ (DLG) has road tested two Goodyear farm tyres, the super wide Optitrac DT818 and the super volume Optitrac DT830 concluding that at speeds of up to 50 km/h, both tyres were “as comfortable as driving a passenger car.”
Firestone is beaming about the quality of its R7000 tyre after a recent visit to Suffolk farmer Ray Smith. Mr Smith made an enquiry about some new front tyres for his New Holland 8560 as the tread was low. Upon investigating the tyres, Terry Brown, Firestone area sales manager, found that the tyres were 11 years old. It was estimated that the tractor completed about 1000 hours a year, of which 40 per cent was roadwork.
Michelin is set to sell its wheel business to the German Mefro group. According to Michelin, the new owners will keep both manufacturing plants and their 1800 strong workforce intact. Mefro, a family-owned company, has an annual turnover of approximately 160 million euros and aspirations to become the “number one European wheel manufacturer.” Now in light of the recent purchase, the company sees itself as a significant competitor to European steel wheel producers Gianetti and Hayes Lemmerz.
The All India Tyre Dealers’ Federation has urged the Indian finance ministry to rationalise excise duty on automotive tyres, supporting the introduction of radial tyres. In its pre-budget memorandum, the federation requested the government to fix excise duty on radial tyres at the rate of 16 per cent on heavy vehicles and at 8 per cent for tractors to boost the sales of radial tyres. The federation has also been pressuring the authorities to lower import duty on tyres.
According to Firestone the European market for vineyard (and orchard) tyres is likely to grow, despite the wet weather of 2004 it claims that farmers are re-evaluating their crops and considering fruits and vegetables that may not have been viable decades ago. Hence it has introduced a new range of radial tyres for the Central European market, and UK vineyards.
German tyre major Continental AG has decided to source as many as 30,000 two-wheeler tyres and tubes per month from Metro Tyres Ltd. (MTL). Continental has also firmed up plans to source as much as 50 per cent of tubes to be manufactured by MTL for cars, tractors and light commercial vehicles, according to Indian media sources. These tyres and tubes would be sold in Germany and Europe under the brand name Continental. Meanwhile, MTL has also entered into talks with Bajaj Automobiles, Hero Honda and Yamaha for catering to the original equipment manufacturing segment.
Bandag Inc has agreed wide-ranging, six-year contract with US Xpress, the fifth largest publicly owned haulage company in the US, Modern Tire Dealer has reported. The agreement will come into effect at the beginning of January 2005 and will see Bandag manage a “total tyre programme” for 5,500 tractors and 14,500 trailers.
“Our tyre management services will help US Xpress better predict and manage tyre costs, and allow them to focus more time and resources on their core strength of meeting shipping customers´ needs,” says Martin Carver, Bandag´s chairman, CEO and president.
“By consolidating all of our of tire management tasks, we will reduce operating expenses,” commented Max Fuller, co-chairman of US Xpress. “We also believe we will increase our fleet´s uptime, which will ultimately lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction.”
ATS Euromaster’s Holt centre has be granted a Royal Warrant. For the last five years the fast fit centre has supplied tyres for cars and lawnmowers at the Queen’s Sandringham residence.
Michelin North America has announced a three-year supply agreement Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks. As a result of this continuing relationship, Michelin fleet customers will be able to specify the Michelin line-haul products they value on every Mack line-haul truck and Volvo VN highway tractors.
India’s largest four wheeler tyre manufacturer celebrates its silver jubilee. J. K. Tyre is a division of J. K. Industries, which is itself a flagship company of the J. K. organisation; one of the largest industrial groups in India. As well as tyres, the group’s manufacturing activities include paper, cement, textiles, hybrid seeds, cosmetics, power transmission – the list is as varied as it is extensive. J. K. Tyre was established in 1977 and has established itself as India’s number one manufacturer of tyres for four wheel vehicles under the JK Tyre and Vikrant brands. In this sector, J. K. Tyre claims a domestic market share of 20.8%. In the truck and bus tyre market, which accounts for around 80% of the Indian tyre market by value, J. K. Tyre claims a market-leading 25.8% share. In 1997, J. K. Industries took a major strategic decision to acquire Vikrant Tyres Ltd., an ailing tyre manufacturer. With the input of J. K. Tyre’s expertise, systems, marketing and work practices, Vikrant achieved a remarkable turnaround, returning to profit after only ten months. Today, J. K. Tyre has four Indian production facilities, with a capacity of 5.5 million tyres. This growth is set to continue, with production over the next two or three years rising to some eight million tyres. The company also boasts India’s first, and only, all-steel truck and bus radial plant. Being a pioneer of radial technology involved J. K. Tyres in a great deal of hard work and effort to spread the word about the benefits of radials, but this has been rewarded as the J. K. Tyre brand is strongly associated with radial tyres. The company’s marketing strategy was focused on offering high performance radials with service being the brand differentiator. One aspect of this was the establishment of a chain of retail outlets, offering a one-stop sales and service centre. Going under the name “Steel Wheels”, there are more than 100 such outlets in India and J. K. Tyre claims that they have revolutionised tyre retailing in India – offering services such as wheel balancing and alignment and advice on tyre care by well-trained technical staff. Another marketing initiative is the “Dial-a-Tyre” service, which allows customers to have tyres delivered and fitted in the comfort of their own homes. This is the latest in a line of innovations, which includes India’s first T-rated tyre, the first H-rated tyre and the country’s first Dual Contact tyre, the “Aquasonic”. The company manufactures a range of tyres to suit all four-wheel applications, from cars to trucks and buses, agricultural vehicles and tractors, plus there is also a range of tyres for animal-drawn vehicles. Both radial and bias ply tyres are produced.
For this year’s Agritechnica, Titan Europe is focusing interest on its two main agricultural product areas: high speed wheel and tyre systems and brake applications for high speeds. The newly developed Titan “Relocator” wheel for high speed road use, will take centre stage at the show along with the new range of wedge ramp brakes, developed by the Italian Sirmac division of Titan, and which have made a significant impact on tractors of the power range 60 to 300 HP.
Only two years after the joint venture, the company has launched the “TM 900 High Power”, the latest generation of radial tyres ideal for equipping high power tractors over 250 HP, and those requiring high load capacity. Furthermore the company is going to launch the first Trelleborg radial implement tyre in Hanover, which is the result of the technological synergy between the two brands. At the same time the Trelleborg “TM2000” is being shown; the new generation of radial tyres for combine harvesters, created using Pirelli’s considerable agricultural experience.
Michelin wants to underline its reputation for innovation concerning agricultural tyres with the presentation of three new tyres: “MACHXBIB”, “XM 28” for tractors exceeding 180 horse power and the trailer tyre “CARGOXBIB”. The first one comes in two versions: an on-land version (650 mm wide) for transport and for work along the furrow and the in-land version (900 mm wide) with significantly reduced soil compaction and excellent traction performance. Highlight on the Kleber stand is the new “FITKER” a 70-series tyre that will be available in the two dimensions 480/70 R28 and 580/70 R38, and which replaces its predecessors, the “Super 8L” and “9L”.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
