Mitas expands range of agri tyres, invests in automated technologies
Yokohama TWS has announced that the Mitas range of agricultural tyres will be expanded with 19 new sizes and designs by the end of 2024, many of which are specifically tailored for modern agricultural vehicles.
The company has also shed a light on recent investments in automated technologies made at its plant in Otrokovice, Czech Republic, where Mitas agricultural tyres are produced.
New sizes
A significant portion of these new products feature VF technology and have been developed to meet the demands of leading global agricultural equipment manufacturers.
According to Yokohama TWS, these manufacturers highly value Mitas tyres for their reliability and performance, making Mitas their preferred original equipment tyre choice.
The HC 2000 radial tyre range for high-performance tractors, sprayers and spreaders will be expanded with four new sizes, while three new HC 1000 tyre sizes are being added in the CFO version (Cyclic Field Operation).
Two new sizes of HC 3000 tyres are also available for harvesters and other heavy-duty agricultural vehicles. The VF 900/60R42 CFO 198A8 version has been developed specifically for large seed drills and high capacity grain carts. The second new size, VF 1000/55R32 CFO 197A8, has an HC 3000 R (Rounded) tread pattern, with rounded shoulders for better protection of grassy areas, and is mainly intended for European agricultural machinery manufacturers.
The Agriterra 02 range in the standard version will now be complemented by a new 560/60R22.5 169D Agriterra 02 HD version with a higher load capacity compared to the same size already available.
Further new sizes will also be added to Mitas’ most popular ranges of SFT (Super Flexion Tires), AC 85 and HC 70.
Investments in automated technologies
In recent years, Yokohama TWS made a multi-million Euro investment into production and innovation capabilities at its Mitas plant in Otrokovice, Czech Republic. Throughout 2019-2021, most investment expenditures were directed towards increasing the production capacity of this plant. However, in the last three years, investments have focused on automation and innovative technologies.
According to Yokohama TWS, all of these investments improve production process consistency and result in higher product quality and reliability for Mitas tyres, which will be appreciated by farmers.
“Thanks to automation, we can guarantee our products’ conformity, improve operators’ comfort, and eliminate the risk of errors. However, we wouldn’t be able to launch any of these new technologies without our skilled operators,” said Josef Křemeček, head of the Otrokovice Yokohama TWS production plant.
The latest investment in Otrokovice is a new, automated robotic line for bead-wire production. Bead wire is a key part of the tyre bead, which ensures that the tyre fits firmly and securely in the rim.
“The benefit of the new technology lies in the automation and association of the three operations in the production of bead wires. Until now, each of these operations was carried out separately. This will result in the dimensional consistency of our tyres and thus their high quality,” explained Křemeček.
Another example of a key investment is a unique calendering line for steel cord and fabric. The investment is said to have increased the productivity of this operation by 20-30 per cent.
Cord rubberising is one of the key operations at the very beginning of tyre production. The textile cord forms the frame of the tyre, while the steel cords in the buffer section reinforce the tyre, increase its load capacity, and reduce tyre wear.
“Our new line is unique in many ways. Thanks to the layout of the main calendering rollers and the feeding method, this technology handles both operations – i.e. rubberising both textile and steel cords,” Křemeček added.
“Only a few such machines have been introduced by global tyre manufacturers to date. We appreciate that we put the line into operation in just seven months, which is an admirable achievement.”
During this time, Křemeček says the line has had to fully adapt to the range of all the Mitas tyres produced in Otrokovice. The production line can now supply cords for Mitas tyre production at all Mitas plants.
To date this year, Yokohama TWS claims the new calandering line has already rubberised 900,000 square metres of textile cord fabrics and almost 265,000 square metres of steel cord.
This has contributed to reducing the number of trucks needed on the Czech Republic’s roads. Previously, trucks transported rubberised semi-products from the plant in Prague to Otrokovice, some 300 kilometres away.