Bridgestone launches new truck and bus tyre retreading development
A new truck and bus tyre retreading development by Bridgestone will result in both significant resource conservation and enhanced fuel efficiency, it was claimed at the CV Show at the Nec in Birmingham last week.
The new technology called TRISAVER refers to the three types of savings that Bridgestone promises to make – costs, resources and CO2 emissions.
Since acquiring Bandag, Incorporated in 2007, Bridgestone has been working towards a global solutions business using retread tyres and Bandag’s retread technology.
While new tyres are manufactured by vulcanizing*1 all the materials at once, retread tyre manufacturing bonds together a separate and previously vulcanized casing (the original body of the tyre that remains once its initial tread life has been used) and the tread (the rubber component of the tyre that makes contact with the road).
Focusing on this basic difference in manufacturing methods, Bridgestone has discovered that overall performance of the tyre can be improved by manufacturing the casing and tread through a process that is optimal for each component.
Bridgestone’s TRISAVER technology uses this innovative manufacturing method, as well as a revolutionary new compound in both the casing and the tread. This new technology greatly reduces rolling resistance compared to conventional tyres, and at the same time enhances durability, thereby potentially increasing the number of times the tyre can be retreaded.
This revolutionary new technology offers customer value through cost savings, since greater durability means the tyre can be retreaded more times, and improved fuel efficiency through lower rolling resistance. At the same time, the technology benefits the environment by using resources more effectively and reducing CO2 emissions.
With plans to market this new technology in the near future, Bridgestone is in the process of conducting road trials and analysing product marketability.
The Bridgestone Group has established the long-term environmental goals of using 100% sustainable materials*2 and contributing to reaching the globally-agreed target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions*3 (CO2 emissions reduction of at least 50%) by 2050.