With the launch of Vredestein Traxion CropCare, Apollo Tyres Ltd now offers a VF sprayer tyre within its agricultural range and believes this product will “set new standards in the row crop tyre segment for stability, self-cleaning and long life.” Engineered specifically for trailed and self-propelled sprayers, Apollo will initially offer the new Vredestein tyre in two sizes – VF 380/90 R46 and VF 380/105 R50 – from early 2025.
A further Nokian Tyres range is joining the Nordic Tyres portfolio, the Soil King VF product family for high horsepower tractors. Introducing the newcomer, Nordic Tyres points to benefits such as increased efficiency and productivity, noting that DLG testing shows significantly better fuel efficiency both in the field and on the road.
Maxam Tire has added VF sizes to its AgilXtra I3 range of agricultural implement flotation tyres. Commenting on the new VF560/60 R22.5 and VF600/55 R26.5 tyres, Greg Gilland, the tyre maker’s VP of global agriculture, says their introduction represents “another symbol of Maxam’s commitment to delivering business solutions to the global agricultural market and for the future of the industry.”
The demands on the agricultural industry around the world are evolving rapidly. Spiralling cost pressures mean an uphill battle for farmers transforming their operations to feed a growing global population more sustainably. While there is substantial variance in the global market, this context means there is substantial demand for innovative, high-technology solutions for agricultural tyre supply, which increasingly transcend the boundaries of the tyre itself. Since it re-entered agricultural tyre manufacturing in 2016, Continental has supported the development of its European agricultural tyre business with heavy investment in its production line at Lousado, Portugal; Tyres & Accessories profiled the factory in the November 2023 issue. For this year’s agricultural tyre feature, T&A spoke to Tom Godwin, sales manager – agricultural for Conti in UK and Ireland, about the development of the company’s agricultural tyre business in our home markets and its strategy for taking on well-established agricultural tyre premium brands, as well as seeing the Conti TractorMaster VF in action with Dave Oldershaw Groundworks and Contracting in rural Herefordshire.
Petlas Tire Corporation was represented at this year’s Agritechnica 2023 with its two brands Petlas and Starmaxx and presented its wide range of agricultural tyre solutions. Products on display included new flotation radials and VF tyres for tractors and sprayers.
Following independent field and laboratory testing, the German Agricultural Society (DLG) has given the BKT Agrimax V-Flecto its DLG Approved quality mark. The quality assurance organisation tested the BKT tyre in sizes VF650/65 R42 and VF540/65 R30 before granting the quality mark on the basis of its performance in the ‘Resources Protection’ and ‘User Friendliness’ test modules.
When Elena Bounimovitch from Yokohama Off-Highway Tires (YOHT) showed us a prototype of the new Alliance Agriflex+ 373 at Agritechnica 2023 earlier this month, she commented that the hybrid tyre offers the “best of two technologies.” Specifically, the Agriflex+ 373 brings together VF technology and Alliance’s Stratified Layer technology, but it also combines lug and block tread elements so that it will “perform well in the soil but also on the road.”
TVS Eurogrip is a well-known name in the motorcycle and scooter tyre market, but this brand recognition doesn’t carry over into Europe’s agricultural segment. Not yet, at any rate. But brand manufacturer TVS Srichakra has its sights set on growth and is expanding its off-highway tyre plant. The company is now contemplating further investment.
In 2016, Continental took the decision to bring back the manufacture of Conti-branded agricultural tyres under its own control. Production of Continental agricultural tyres had been carried out by Czech tyre maker Mitas from 2004, when it acquired the license, and had been due to continue until 2019. However, the acquisition of Mitas by agricultural tyre manufacturer Trelleborg Wheel Systems meant the Continental brand became surplus to requirements. Conti saw this as an early opportunity to re-enter the lucrative, high-technology agricultural tyre segment with a premium brand intended to compete at the top of the European segment and manufactured at the Continental Mabor plant in Lousado, Portugal with the help of an initial 50-million-euro investment and the recruitment of a manufacturing and R&D team.
Flexforce VF is a new technology from Nokian Tyres, and don’t worry if you haven’t heard of it yet. The tyre maker is about to bring this technology to market and intends to debut two tyres featuring Flexforce VF at the Agritechnica show in November.
At next month’s Agritechnica fair in Germany, ZC Rubber will present the latest additions to the Tianli agricultural tyre range, the Agri King VF agricultural radial for high horsepower tractors and Land Care cross-ply tyre for wheeled excavators and backhoe loaders.
In addition to the forestry tyres announced last week, Ceat Specialty will use the Agritechnica 2023 show as a platform for introducing its new VF flotation tyre range. The company considers these products “a significant addition” to its line-up.
Apollo Tyres has bolstered its Vredestein agricultural tyre range with a further six sizes of the Traxion Optimall VF. The new additions focus on bringing the tyre to powerful tractors of 160hp and above. The Traxion Optimall series boasts good self-cleaning properties, grip, comfort and a long tyre life, the manufacturer states. The six new sizes are: VF750/70R44, VF900/50R42, VF650/65R38, VF650/60R38, VF710/55R30 and VF540/65R28.
In 1997 Vredestein introduced the Traxion+, which featured a – quite literally – ground-breaking tread pattern that combined a reinforced central area with a graduated and non-parallel lug design for both traction and improved self-cleaning properties. 25 years down the line, the Vredestein Traxion concept has played a key role in Vredestein’s current tractor tyre range – something that can be seen in the VF Traxion Optimall, the Traxion XXL, Traxion 65, Traxion 70 and Traxion 85. As part of the celebrations, the company launched two new Vredestein trailer tyres – the new Vredestein Endurion Trailer and the Vredestein Flotation Optimall.
Titan International has evolved the agricultural tyre technology seen in Increased Flexion (IF) and Very High Flexion (VF) tyres and has combining this with conventional tyre construction to create what it says is a “universal solution” for tyre replacements. It is introducing this Ultimate Flex Technology (UFT) at the Farm Progress 2022 show in the USA next week.
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Andrew Bogie/Tyres & Accessories
Continental
Apollo Tyres