Mitas has been named the official sponsor of Mitas Eurocup Series 2022, the agri-flavoured competition organised by the European Tractor Pulling Committee (ETPC). This season, competitors are battling it out at nine outdoor events, with the European Championship taking place in Great Eccleston at the end of August.
Key wear resistance qualities previously found on the Vredestein Traxion+ now feature in the Traxion 70 thanks to a complete renewal of the brand’s 70-series line-up. Apollo Tyres released the first dimensions in the new 15 size, 25 SKU range this month; all are available in the aftermarket, and a number of tractor manufacturers will also fit Traxion 70 as original equipment.
Kirkby Tyres’ stand in Lamma 2022’s Hall 9 focused on the comprehensive technical tyre support the large tyre specialist can offer to farmers and the Alliance Agri Star II. Kirkby Tyres is the exclusive partner of Yokohama Off-Highway Tires’ (YOHT) Alliance brand in the UK and Ireland, and it describes the tractor tyre as a great success. The company also displayed new sizes of the versatile Alliance 590 tyre for a broad range of transport applications, and the Alliance 372 VF and Alliance 389 VF tractor trailer tyres. On the latter tyres, Kirkby showed evidence presented by Danish SEGES Innovation which evidences the effective soil protection, and therefore yield increases, the tyre combination can achieve during the application of liquid manure.
Lincolnshire-based Tathwell Farms has taken delivery of a New Holland T7.270 tractor and a Horsch Avatar 6.16 drill, both fitted with Michelin’s latest generation agricultural tyres, as part of an ongoing strategy to protect its soil and boost the sustainability of its operation. Supplied by local dealer Lincolnshire Motors, the T7.270 will be the farm’s new frontline tractor and has been specified with Michelin AxioBib 2 VF 600/60 R30 & VF 710/60 R42 tyres. The Horsch drill has been converted onto Michelin TrailXBib VF 710/50 R26.5 fitments, following a recommendation from Michelin agricultural account manager, Ian Whitwell.
The Maxam Agrixtra range of agricultural tyres has been approved for original fitment on select New Holland T5, T6, and T7 SWB and LWB tractors around the world. “The homologation, approval, and commercialisation of our radial agricultural tyres is a significant step in the evolution of the Maxam brand as a long-term supplier to CNH Industrial and New Holland Agriculture,” says Kevin Buckley Maxam OE sales director Europe. The Sailun Group brand added that the approval represents a “major milestone” for the brand and its agricultural tyre series, which was introduced in 2014.
Titan International, Inc. has entered into an exclusivity agreement with Kubota Tractor Corporation and Kubota Canada Limited, the Japanese agricultural machinery company’s businesses in North America. The agreement will see Titan Trac Loader II tyres fitted in selected sizes on Kubota products. These tyres will be branded with both the Titan and Kubota names on the sidewall.
BKT develops specific tyres for the colder months of the year, solutions designed not only to deal with muddy or snowy surfaces but also to provide maximum performance in normal conditions on dry soil. It gives these products a tread pattern and compound that maintain the tyre’s characteristics even at low temperatures and provide traction and grip on wet, snowy or slippery terrain.
With immediate effect, the Steyr Expert CVT, Profi Series, Impuls CVT and Absolut CVT tractor ranges are available with factory-fitted Continental TractorMaster and VF TractorMaster tyres. Steyr is a CNH Industrial brand; Continental also supplies tyres to its sister company, Case IH.
Michelin has introduced a new 540/80 R38 size in its CrossGrip tyre range for loaders, telehandlers and small tractors. The new model is the largest size in this all-season range, which is suitable for applications on road, grass and snow. The new CrossGrip fitment expands the range to 13 dimensions for original equipment and replacement fitment.
Agricultural tyres generally appear quite similar irrespective of brand, making it difficult to spot at a glance the difference between discount tyres and higher-priced premium products. Bridgestone observes that price thus “wrongly becomes a differentiating element” with these products. The tyre maker is concerned that some may gain the impression they’re paying extra for the brand rather than the tyre, and wishes to set the record straight.
An in-depth study into the impact of traffic and tillage on soil compaction has found agricultural machinery running low pressure Michelin Ultraflex Technology tyres could boost farmers’ yields by 4 per cent, helping to ‘feed the world’ for years to come. Harper Adams University – a specialist provider of higher education for the agricultural and rural sector – has been leading the investigation, utilising one site at its campus in Newport and another site in the USA in conjunction with the University of Illinois.
Tractor manufacturer Fendt has approved the Continental TractorMaster tyre combinations 600/65R38 and 540/65R24 as well as 540/65R34 and 440/65R24 for its 200 Vario and 300 Vario series tractors. Continental says further approvals “could follow.”
Apollo Vredestein is enhancing its European agricultural tyre production activities at its Enschede factory in the Netherlands by bringing a new 104-inch tyre press into service in mid-March. The newly-installed tyre press will mainly produce tractor tyres for the XL segment (up to 2.30 metres in diameter and weighing up to 550 kg), products suitable for tractors between 200 and 500 hp. The tyre maker says the commissioning of the press represents a “significant increase in capacity” for this tyre segment.
We first saw the Ceat Torquemax tractor tyre at Agritechnica 2019, and Ceat Specialty has now expanded the range to include very high flexion tyres. The Torquemax VF, aimed at “farmers investing in tyres that offer greater operational efficiencies” for their high-horsepower tractors, is available in sizes VF 520/85R38 170 D TL and VF 710/70R42 185 D TL.
26 journalists with expertise in agricultural mechanisation are currently judging contenders for the European Tractor of the Year (TotY) award. Sponsor of the award, off-highway and agricultural tyre specialist BKT, says the details on innovations presented by entrants forms “the identikit of the perfect tractor.” The futuristic developments now available from many equipment manufacturers represent in their totality a vision for what will be possible in a single machine, BKT says. These innovations include data connectivity and digitalisation, high-tech safety features, increased sustainability, and autonomous driving, as well as tyres that assist in delivering such improvements in the field. The TotY sponsor calls its role “certainly the richest experience of 2020.”
Kirkby Tyres
Maxam Tire
Jonathan Gill, Harper Adams University