Operational excellence is the engine behind efficient, reliable and high-performing manufacturing of carbon black, a critical material to the performance, quality and sustainability of tire and rubber goods. This business approach – which emphasizes continuous improvement across all aspects of the business by creating a culture where management and employees are invested in outcomes and empowered to implement change – raises the quality of both processes and products, enhances throughput, strengthens safety and improves profitability by establishing disciplined systems and a culture of continuous improvement.

What is less explored is how this same discipline can shape a more sustainable future for carbon black producers and, by extension, the tire and rubber industries.

Continue reading OPINION: Why operational excellence is key to advancing sustainability in carbon black manufacturing at Tire Technology International.

Each time a vehicle is driven, friction and the transfer of force between the tire and the road cause particles to be released from both the tire tread and the road surface. These are known as tire and road wear particles (TRWP) and are made up of approximately a half-and-half mixture of tire tread and road pavement materials.

Despite decades of academic and industry research, there is still a lot more work to be done to understand the real-world risks of TRWP. With growing environmental pressures and policy interest, the need to accelerate scientific knowledge is higher than ever.

Continue reading OPINION: Harmonization is the superpower tire emissions research needs now at Tire Technology International.

In 2006, Michelin’s laboratories embarked on a journey to develop a non-toxic, high-performance resin solution. This ambition gave birth to ResiCare, a dedicated subsidiary to make this innovation accessible to the entire industry, including Michelin’s competitors. The results speak for themselves: over 100 million tires have been manufactured using ResiCare resin, marking a major milestone in sustainable tire production.

A plug-and-play innovation, ResiCare resin replaces the resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) component in the traditional RFL (resorcinol formaldehyde latex) solution, enabling manufacturers to maintain adhesion and peel strength, without modifying their existing dipping lines. This approach ensures a smooth transition to safer chemistry, with minimal disruption to production.

Continue reading Opinion: How Michelin’s ResiCare helped make 100 million tires at Tire Technology International.

Tires were once considered a passive component or an afterthought, but now the rise of smart vehicles is transforming their role. They are becoming a critical node in the connected vehicle ecosystem. As advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicle technologies continue to evolve, the need for smarter, more responsive tires is accelerating. For SUVs in particular, this evolution is critical.

Why SUVs? Heavier weight, higher center of gravity and varied driving conditions on and off road all contribute to faster wear. Meanwhile, consumer expectations around safety, ride quality and efficiency are rising. To meet these demands, manufacturers are looking for ways to make tires last longer without compromising performance.

Continue reading OPINION: Extending tire life with smarter tech – a new chapter for SUVs at Tire Technology International.

Many major players in the tire production industry are looking to pyrolysis-based chemical recycling to meet ambitious sustainability goals. Nevertheless, regulation such as RED II and the ‘Fit for 55’ package are driving heavy competition for material from the refinery sector.

Chemical recycling is an umbrella term for a number of technologies that alter the molecular structure of end-of-life materials, reverting them to an earlier state. In traditional mechanical recycling, the molecular structure remains unchanged throughout the process.

Pyrolysis is expected to be the dominant form of chemical recycling by capacity. It uses heat and pressure in an inert atmosphere.

Continue reading OPINION: EU regulations boost demand for tire-derived pyrolysis oil in chemical recycling at Tire Technology International.

In the last of this year’s series of 30th anniversary look-back articles, TTI technical editor Joe Walter recalls his first encounter with the publication and how he wound up being such a consistent part of its identity.

When Tire Technology International (TTI) appeared on the scene 30 years ago, I arrived in Rome as the newly appointed head honcho of Bridgestone’s European Technical Center. The somewhat inconsistent Italian mail system was such that I would occasionally receive issues of the newly launched Tire Technology International Annual Review followed thereafter by the inaugural magazine – all during my five-year tenure as an Akronite living the dream in the Eternal City.

Continue reading OPINION: Joe Walter recalls his first encounter with TTI at Tire Technology International.

TTI’s technical editor, Joe Walter, recalls how a difference in specified tire pressure caused Firestone to recall millions of tires developed for the Ford Explorer

To understand vehicle rollover and what went awry with the Ford Explorer fitted exclusively with certain Firestone tires from 1991 until 1999, consider the origins of the sport utility vehicle in the USA, starting with the rollover-prone World War II US Army Jeep – the progenitor of today’s quintessential SUV.

More than 600,000 Jeeps were produced during the war effort. When hostilities ended in 1945, about 200,000 Jeeps remained unused but were never sold in a car-starved nation.

Continue reading Opinion: Why Firestone recalled tires developed for the Ford Explorer at Tire Technology International.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning have both been the subject of breathless, ceaseless hype in the media and C-suites around the world, but what does all of it actually mean for the automotive sector? It might seem that just mentioning these buzzwords will magically raise your valuation, but the reality is that an AI-powered solution is not innately better than a solution that doesn’t use AI. As with many other transformative changes in the industry, getting the most out of AI is a matter of pointing the right technology at the right problem – and bringing the right tools for the job is innately a human problem.

Continue reading AI and the tire industry: sorting fact from hype at Tire Technology International.

TTI’s technical editor explains why maintaining tire pressure remains a persistent problem in pneumatic tire design.

The persistent problem of the pneumatic tire is the never-ending lowering of internal pressure in otherwise robust components of cord and rubber. Inflation pressure drops continuously by a chemical process known as permeability while a temperature drop reduces pressure without loss of air mass (gas laws of physics). Relatedly, self-inflating tires (which stabilize pressure during roadway service) achieved some recent notoriety with a US$65m jury award to Coda Development against Goodyear in September 2022. The case centered on patents, trade secrets and non-disclosure accords; the Prague-based plaintiff alleged Goodyear stole its ideas for self-inflating tire technology.

Continue reading Opinion: Joe Walter  at Tire Technology International.

Tire manufacturing is an incredibly energy intensive process, with a typical plant consuming between 120GWh and 275GWh of energy per year. Naturally, this is one of a tire plant’s biggest yearly expenses, costing between US$12m and US$27m. With natural gas consumption also very high, managing electrical and gas loads is a priority for plant managers aiming to provide the most efficient and cost-effective manufacturing system.

At present, there are several challenges that prevent full site optimization. Many manufacturing plants do not record real-time energy consumption data that can be acted on quickly, but instead rely on monthly reports and billing data.

Continue reading Rockwell Automation: Developing an energy management platform capable of increasing energy efficiency in manufacturing  at Tire Technology International.