Innovations for now, & for the future
Tire Technology Expo 2019 will be held from March 5-7, 2019 at Hannover, Germany. In this interview with Huned Contractor, Conference Director Mark Fenner elaborates about what the forthcoming edition of the show will highlight and why it will be of tremendous benefit to rubber and tyre manufacturers across the world. Most importantly, the event will showcase the engineering innovations that are taking place in the tyre industry across the globe
The 2019 Tire Technology Expo and Conference will once again set a new benchmark for the event in Hannover, Germany. With over 300 exhibitors across more floor space than ever before, 700 conference delegates and more than 5,800 experts through the doors during the three days, this year’s show will perhaps be the biggest yet, in every way! In 2018, the world’s largest gathering of tyre design, development and manufacturing experts was opened by a keynote address from Pierre Loiret of Michelin, who detailed the forthcoming world standards for tyre RFID tracking – just one of many technological developments presented by 180 speakers at the conference.
The other subjects included connected and smart tyre technologies, sustainable materials innovations and disruptive change in the global tyre industry. As Jani Rintala, Project Manager, Nokian Tyres put it, “Coming to Tire Technology Expo means we can learn about what is new, and what is ongoing in the industry – new innovations for now, and for the future. It’s important not to get left behind.” Excerpts from the interview:
Q. Could you provide an update about the features of Tyre Technology Expo 2019?
The year 2019 will be the show’s 19th year and it’s still the world’s largest expo and conference dedicated solely to the materials, design and manufacture of tyres. With over 300 exhibitors, 180 speakers and numerous courses, this year promises to be the biggest yet.
Q. What would be the new technologies that will be under the limelight at this show?
As usual all the latest manufacturing innovations and new materials will be exhibited but also new technologies relating to autonomous vehicles, smart tyres and sustainability.
Q. Could you name some of the leading companies that will exhibit at the show?
Among others, the show will have the presence of companies like Arlanxeo, Evonik, Harburg Freudenberger, Smithers, Bosch, Mitsubishi, Bekaert and VMI.
Q. What kind of participation do you expect from Indian tyre manufacturers?
We will have speakers, exhibitors, delegates and the press from India participating in this year’s event.
Q. What are the prime focus areas or innovations that tyre companies around the world are now concentrating on?
One of prime subjects is the effect that autonomous and electric vehicles will have on the tyres of the future and the impact of recycling and sustainability.
Q. How will this show help take the global tyre industry forward?
It will create a space for discussion and an exchange of ideas as well as pointing the way forward for the industry.
Q. Will there be any seminars or discussions and what would be the subjects?
There will be a total of seven courses and 180 speaker conferences.
Q. Do you expect participation from rubber manufacturers too?
All the main tyre manufacturers are participating and that in itself represents the rubber industry to a great extent.
Q. Could you brief us about some of the technologies that will be on display?
Tire Technology Expo 2019 offers visitors the world’s premier technology showcase, with exhibits of equipment and materials covering the complete spectrum of the tyre manufacturing process. Some of these would include 3D laser surface texturing, acoustic testing systems and components, adhesion resins, automated systems and technologies, bead lines, bias and ply cutter technology, bonding agents, carbon black, chemical dosing systems, clamping and palletisation technology, CNC milling machines, coating resins, conveyor belting, cooling systems and heat carriers, curing systems and technologies, customised storage solutions, cutting technology and data acquisition.
There will be other technologies such as extruder head instrumentation, extruders and extrusion technology, factory management, gantry robots, green tyre technology, handling automation solutions, homologation services, hydraulic systems, in-line quality measurement systems, labelling systems, laser systems and components, liquid dosing systems, logistics solutions, marking systems, materials, measurement technologies, metal printing systems, mill room solutions, motion control components, natural rubber, pressure distribution measurement, process oils, profile scanning systems, reinforcing materials, release chemistry, research facilities and testing, RFID, tracking and identification labelling, rubber calenders and rubber mixing technology.
There will also be a focus on speciality chemicals, synthetic rubber, tension control instrumentation, tyre building machine technologies, tyre cord systems, tyre design and simulation software, tyre lifecycle monitoring solutions, tyre mould technology, tyre sipes, tyre uniformity geometry and balancing, tyre recycling, valve technology, weaving systems, web guiding and X-ray inspection, dynamic mechanical analysers, elastomer characterisation systems and electrical drives as well as rubber process additives, slitting, rewinding and spooling solutions and smart tyres.
Q. Could you highlight some of the important events from last year’s show?
On the exhibition floor at Tire Technology Expo 2018, product announcements included Tekna’s Vision Tire System 3D, a defect detection machine born of a four-year development project; Habasit’s downtime-reducing, timing-belt hinge joint; 4Jet’s strategic cooperation deal with LY Holding’s offer of laser tyre mould cleaning; and Festo’s brand-new Motion Terminal VTEM pneumatics automation technology. At the end of the second day, some 900 attendees enjoyed the presentation of the 2018 Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence at a glittering gala dinner. Winners included Pirelli (Tyre Manufacturer of the Year) and Goodyear, which took home the Environmental Achievement Award for its soybean oil initiative. The evening further confirmed the show’s status as a fantastic networking opportunity for the tyre industry.
“We come every year to keep up with the technology, to follow the papers, to talk to the suppliers and the vendors that are here – it’s an extremely valuable show, and bigger this year than ever before. It’s a tremendous opportunity to see and talk to a lot of key people. There’s always something new and different at Tire Technology Expo,” said Charles Yurkovich, Senior Vice President-Global Research and Development, Cooper Tire and Rubber Company. One of the highlights of the show was the defect detection technology in action at Tekna’s stand. A robotic arm moves the detection units according to a pre-set pattern (depending on the type of tyre being inspected), and is capable of detecting defects occurring on the inside or outside of the tyre. Able to scan a tyre in 30 seconds, the technology attracted interest from attendees at the expo.
Another attraction was the showcasing of the latest barcode scanning system by Datalogic. “We are a manufacturer of cameras and laser marking systems, sensors and automation products in general,” explained Michael Vogt, Key Account Manager for Datalogic, adding, “What we are showing here is a special solution for the tyre industry.
When you have a two-dimensional barcode marked directly on to the tyre, these are difficult to read because it’s black on black, with no contrast. We read these barcodes with 5 MP camera systems that we have on display at the expo.”
Further, next to the physical demonstration of Intralox’s tyre conveyor systems, a virtual reality setup was demonstrating the company’s latest developments in virtual reality modelling for both conveyor belt design and maintenance. On hand to assist visitors, application engineer Reid McCall guided attendees through how maintenance procedures could impact belt performance – allowing guests to remove virtual roller sections and see the knock-on effects. Though it demonstrated a fairly simple example, “we are able to put triggers in and do all kinds of things with this,” McCall explained, adding, “You can imagine a control panel, electrical switches. You can get that level of basic training.” At the event, 4Jet announced a strategic cooperation deal with LY Holding to offer laser tyre mould cleaning as a service. It also demonstrated its next-generation STMCS laser mould cleaning service. The redesigned machine is now available for mould sizes from typical passenger car to truck and bus tyres. “We have been doing this kind of machine for several years, but this is the second version of this machine. We changed the laser to one that is faster – it’s a little more difficult to steer and to control, but it’s a lot faster, and the cleaning result is much better. It looks like a brand new mould,” explained Chief Financial Officer Armin Kraus. “In Europe it’s common to have spring vent-type moulds, but in Asia and the USA it’s not standard. Many people are still sand blasting moulds, which really cannot be used when you move to spring vents – you need to change the technology. Laser, from our perspective, is the best way of doing that,” he further said.
