On 11 October, a 59/80R63 radial engineering tyre rolled off the production line at Aeolus’s Jiaozuo manufacturing base. This giant OTR tyre has a diameter of over four metres and a weight of nearly six tons. It is mainly used for giant mining weighing about 400 tons.
Yokohama Off-Highway Tires has introduced two further sizes into its Galaxy LSDR 510 range for wheel loaders and dozers operating in mining and earthmoving applications. The new 17.5R25 and 20.5R25 tyres join existing size 23.5R25 in the LSDR 510 line-up to provide fitment options for an even broader range of machinery.
Wheel loaders, articulated dump trucks and graders are typically used on major infrastructure projects that have tough cost and timescale targets. After researching operator requirements, Goodyear has introduced a new tyre for these vehicles, GP-3E. It says the increased the operational versatility of its latest tyre generation makes “tyre choice easy for the operator.”
Netherlands based, family-owned OTR tyre manufacturer Magna Tyres returned to the Tire Cologne show last month with a determined agenda to meet once more with their growing worldwide customer base.
Stephan van Leeuwen, Magna’s sales director (Original Equipment), with additional responsibility for the Italian, UK and Eire markets commented: “We have always considered international tyre shows as a strong priority to meet new companies and obtain new sales leads so being at a ‘live’ show’ once more is a very positive move forward again.”
Trelleborg Wheel Systems has released a new radial for earthmoving operations, the Trelleborg EMR1031. Designed to perform on the most demanding terrain, from sand to rock or extra hard surfaces, EMR1031 features a cut-resistant compound and a sidewall protector for damage protection and longer tyre life, along with a multi-surface tread design for superior traction.
Off-highway tyre specialist BKT is reaching out to a younger demographic by opening its own TikTok channel. It launched tiktok.com/@bkt.tires in March and with it aims to gain the attention of Gen Z and Gen Alpha – the age groups representing “the future of agriculture and of our planet.”
Hitachi is selling around half its 51 per cent shareholding in Hitachi Construction Machinery Co Ltd for 200 billion yen (£1.271 billion; 1,524 billion euros; US$1.7 billion) to Kwik-Fit’s owner Itochu and investment fund Japan Industrial Partners, according to reports published by Nikkei on 13 January 2022. Itochu confirmed that it is “considering this matter”, but declined to give further details later the same day in a statement that read:
moveero (the new name for GKN Wheels) has appointed Hugo Burgers to the position of chief sales officer (CSO). Effective 1 September 2021, Hugo joins the business with experience of senior level appointments in businesses across the off-highway industry, including at Yokohama Off-Highway Tires (where he was sales director/head of Europe West for four-and-a-half years), Warn Industries and John Deere.
Railways are typically best suited to vehicles with metal wheels, and a backhoe is thus not on home turf in such an environment. It requires a tyre able to cope with driving over thin metal rails, something which can cause uneven wear and shorten tyre life. Nokian Tyres says it has been perfecting a specific tyre for railway use for several years and is now introducing the Nokian Ground Kare Semi-Slick. With this new tyre, the manufacturer says it “solves many problems that were previously typical when using a backhoe loader on railroads.”
Mahansaria Tyres Private Limited (MTPL) has made an agreement in-principle with Tyres International Inc (TI) to buy a majority stake in the US-based tyre wholesaler. According to MTPL, the move is the latest part of its bid to build a global, market leading off-Highway tyre business and the first part of MTPL plans to build its distribution network in North America.
Michelin continues to expand its network of approved dealers north of the border, with the addition of Redpath Tyres to its Quality-Approved Centres list. Specialising in commercial, agricultural and earthmover tyres, the family-run business has grown substantially since it was founded in the Scottish Borders by Peter Redpath in 1974.
With 150 years in the business, Continental may well just be the oldest firm in existence still making tyres today. The company has been offering solutions since the days when horsepower was indeed horsepower, but Continental’s off-highway tyres are a much more recent addition – it’s only a little under a century since the first products came to market. As its celebrates its sesquicentennial jubilee, Continental looks back over its activities in this sector from the very earliest days.
Continental launched its first earthmoving tyres under the General Tire brand name early last year, and is now expanding its General Tire portfolio for the earthmoving industry with the General TE95. The tyre maker says the General TE95 “impresses with high traction, especially for soil compaction work” in road and construction applications, and the tyre is equipped – as is the entire product line – with V.ply technology.
Michelin is now offering expert tyre fitting and maintenance training for operators of industrial and heavy-duty machinery via two new one-day courses. The Safe Earthmover Tyre Fitting and Safe Crane Tyre Fitting programmes are delivered at the customer’s site by experts from the Michelin Training & Information Centre (MTIC). The sessions are appropriate for in-house technicians, or tyre dealers, working in a variety of sectors, including surface mining, underground mining, quarries, construction and materials handling.
Yokohama Off-Highway Tires Europe Middle East and Africa (YOHT EMEA) has announced across-the-board price increases of 4.5 to 5.5 per cent. An official statement specified that the first price increase of 4.5 to 5.5 per cent was implemented on 1 Jan 2021. The new pricing will apply to the entire portfolio of Yokohama Off-Highway Tires EMEA (including the Alliance and Galaxy brands) and will take effect from 1 April 2021.
Aeolus
Magna Tyres
Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV
moveero
Yokohama OHT EMEA