Black Donuts CEO Kai Hauvala and Nemus business unit CTO Antti Laukkanen explain how the company has become a valued partner to the tire industry, employing state-of-the-art technologies and approaches to develop new production processes and materials – as well as partnering with major players from across the sector in the design of new tires.

They also highlight how Black Donuts can work with customers on their existing facilities to optimize processes and maximize capacities – giving their partners the tools they need to meet the ever-evolving challenges of a dynamic industry.

Laukkanen also highlights how new bio-based and sustainable materials developed by Black Donuts can help tire manufacturers replace fossil fuel-based materials without having to change their production processes.

Continue reading VIDEO | Black Donuts’ Kai Hauvala and Antti Laukkanen explain how they became a one-stop shop for the tire industry at Tire Technology International.

Founded in 2003, Quechen Silicon Chemical has turned its attention to the development and production of rice-husk-ash silica in recent years, in response to increasing demand from tire makers for sustainable, bio-based materials. Interviewed at Quechen’s booth at Tire Technology Expo, foreign trade department director Tim Shu and key customer manager Jessica Xiao tell Tire Technology International about the company’s renewable products and its plans for expansion worldwide.

“In recent years, we have seen that the global community is greatly concerned about carbon neutrality,” said Shu. “We are trying to make our own effort to contribute more for the planet.”

Watch the video to learn more.

Continue reading VIDEO | Quechen Silicon Chemical’s Jessica Xiao and Tim Shu explain why the company is focused on rice-husk-ash silica at Tire Technology International.

Mithun Nagabhairava is principal director for data science & AI at Rockwell Automation. He shares some really interesting insights with Tire Technology International during this interview at Tire Technology Expo 2026 (March 3-5), including why the industry has been hesitant to adopt AI and how Rockwell Automation is implementing AI in its automation processes.

“The tire industry has had a more cautious approach to AI than many other sectors and it’s actually well justified,” he says. “Modern AI systems are inherently probabilistic in nature. The outcomes they generate are based on statistical likelihood rather than deterministic guarantees.

Continue reading VIDEO | Rockwell Automation’s Mithun Nagabhairava talks about best practice for using AI in the tire industry at Tire Technology International.

Speaking with Tire Technology International at Cheeshine‘s booth at Tire Technology Expo 2026, the company’s senior business director, Yubin Wu, extols the virtues of the many bio-based materials in the company’s portfolio. These include rice husk ash silica, modified natural rubber, modified cashew nut shell oil and modified vegetable oils as plasticizers, modified terpene resin and modified rosin resin.

Watch the video to find out more!

Click here to register for your FREE pass to Tire Technology Expo 2026 or here to register for your Tire Technology Expo Conference pass. The event runs from March 3-5 at Deutsche Messe in Hannover, Germany

Continue reading VIDEO | Cheeshine’s Yubin Wu on the advantages of the company’s bio-based materials at Tire Technology International.

One of the highlights of this year’s Tire Technology Expo Conference has been Andreas Topp’s thought-provoking presentation on the development of tires for AVs. With commercial operation of AVs really kicking off in the US and China, particularly, Continental is developing tires to meet the specific needs of vehicles in each region. What is required, Topp says, is a flexible technical toolbox to create bespoke, tailored solutions that satisfy not only the unique technical requirements of autonomous vehicles but also the classical needs of fleets.

“If you look at AV needs and fleet needs, you find out that a fleet application in a certain region has very specific needs,” he explains.

Continue reading VIDEO | Continental’s Dr Andreas Topp on developing tires for autonomous vehicles at Tire Technology International.

Fresh from their Day 1 presentation at the Tire Technology Expo Conference in Hannover, Germany, Bridgestone’s head of end-of-life tire and circular economy, Marco Musaio, and Bridgestone Americas’ principal applied researcher for sustainability and circular economy, Marcela Castaño, talk Tire Technology International through the company’s path to circularity on a global level and the importance of mass balance.

Musaio explains, “Each market might have its peculiarity, which requires an ecosystem with a different pathway. Of course, there is knowledge sharing among projects, but nevertheless, there is a uniqueness that we need to tackle at regional level.”

Castaño adds, “In our journey to sustainability, we are highlighting the long-term vision and what we are doing to enable that ecosystem development.

Continue reading VIDEO | Bridgestone’s Marco Musaio and Marcela Castaño talk about circularity and mass balance at Tire Technology International.

Talking to Tire Technology International on the show floor at Tire Technology Expo 2026, Comerio Ercole’s Riccardo Comerio and Alessio Ceriani discuss how the 140-year-old calendering and mixing company works with customers to improve their skills and knowledge and build machines that meet their specific requirements. “It’s important that we supply new machines but it’s very important to establish a very long cooperation with our end customers,” explains Ceriani.

The executives go on to report that the company’s constant investment in innovation is what keeps them ahead of the competition. In 2025, Comerio Ercole invested around 2.5% of its sales in R&D.

Continue reading VIDEO | Comerio Ercole’s Riccardo Comerio and Alessio Ceriani discuss how the company stays relevant after 140 years in business at Tire Technology International.

ContiBladders is the primary bladder supplier to Conti tire plants and other manufacturers around the world. In this interview conducted on the show floor at Tire Technology Expo 2026, company director Dipan Shukla discusses the trend toward bigger tires and the consequent requirement for bigger bladders, and explains how ContiBladders is rising to the challenge with new, flexible compounds. “A few years back, 16-18in was considered a big size,” he says. “Now everything above 20in is key for us; so, the UHP and UUHP segment. With the trend toward bigger tires, we obviously need bigger bladders and that’s what we’ve been focusing on.”

He also explains how ContiBladders’ worldwide network of manufacturing facilities enables the company to handle any shortfalls in the supply chain while maintaining the high quality and durability of its products.

Continue reading VIDEO | ContiBladders director Dipan Paresh Shukla on meeting the challenges of trend toward larger tires at Tire Technology International.

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Tested by the Outback: Five days. 3,000km. One record-breaking victory.

In the final episode of Building Nuna, follow the Brunel Solar Team as Nuna 13 conquers the Australian Outback and secures the 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge title. See how performance, resilience and split-second decisions shaped the race – and a record-breaking result.

Throughout this journey, advanced materials such as Twaron Next from Teijin Aramid played a key role in delivering performance, efficiency and reliability under extreme conditions.

Episode 1: The Reveal

Episode 2: Engineering the Future

Episode 3: Tested by the Outback

Continue reading Building Nuna – Episode 3 at Tire Technology International.

*Sponsored content 

One moment, Nuna 13 was stable. The next, it flipped in the wind tunnel. Episode 2 of the trilogy series Building Nuna follows the Brunel Solar Team as they face setbacks yet still manage to win the 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.

Building Nuna documents the team’s journey, from early design and testing to conquering a 3,000km challenge across the Australian Outback.

Throughout this journey, advanced materials such as Twaron Next from Teijin Aramid played a key role in delivering performance, efficiency and reliability under extreme conditions.

Continue reading Building Nuna – Episode 2 at Tire Technology International.