The new headquarters of the Group, which has a history of 165 years of steady growth, serves the business units HF TireTech Group and HF ToolTech Group.

The designing of the new office is tuned to the needs of the Group’s forward march. Direct access from the office facilities to the assembly hall and machine testing area brings all fields of work close together and ensures optimised communication. The established and well proven production unit in Belišće, Croatia remains. Continuous investments in logistics, painting, warehousing and machining under highest economic aspects guarantee state of the art manufacturing.

Back on track

The COVID 19 pandemic and the global lockdown that came with it saw HF being tested hard for its resilience and the capability to help its partners put their production process back on track through its engineering and other services.

“For HF, partnership means to support its valued customers with benefits that will help to keep their production back on track,” says HF TireTech Group Managing Director Dr. Joern Seevers.

HF´s benefits & services for the tyre production are many:

• Technical support for restarting the HF Curing Presses

• Inspection and readjustment of mechanical settings

• Inspection of safety-related components

• Performance check and functional analysis of hydraulic/pneumatic systems

• Software check-up and functionality test

• Close coordination and supply of spare parts

• Individual training for technicians and service people for a smooth and efficient production ramp-up; trainings can take place on customers site or in Hamburg at the Group’s testing press. Virtual support is also available

Dr. Seevers said: “Together with our customers we analyse production processes, optimise, adjust to changed situations, look behind the production and develop new strategies to achieve more flexibility, increase quality, reduce costs and raw material - get into action with a higher level in automation and smart retrofitting and be ready for sustainable tyre production.”

Tandem Mixer technology:

HF takes it to the next level

HF Mixing Group is supplying Tandem Mixers for more than 15 years and has kicked off a revolution in mixing since then. The concept appears to be simple, but all those years of experience have shown that the highest degree of machine engineering has to be combined with extensive process know how to make a Tandem Mixer successful. And a mixing line is only successful if the calculated output and productivity is achieved – combined with a reliability which enables stable production for years.

As matter of fact to develop the process to mix on a Tandem Mixer takes some time and efforts – not to forget the technological know-how of the mixing process itself. HF offers the possibility to accompany this development by offering extensive trials and engineering studies – to shorten the time from ordering a machine up to the point of running in full production.

The goal of a Tandem Mixer is to reduce the specific cost of mixing a compound – on many occasions, HF has proven that overall cost reductions of 15% can be achieved compared to standard lines with a single mixer. This, in between other, is achieved by reducing the mixing steps for a PCR compound from 2,5 to 1,5 steps.

But productivity is not the only driving factor to invest in a Tandem Line – the quality of the compound overall and specifically constant and repeatable mixing of modern compounds is to be ensured. To optimise dispersion, distribution, temperature control and process stability makes a significant difference in today’s production of more complex compound recipes. The intermeshing mixers produced by HF and used in a Tandem Line guarantee to meet these requirements more than any other mixers on the market.

Experiences have shown that no compromise on quality can be made – and HF is supporting this approach with delivering a control system for Tandem Lines which enables their customers to not only run the machine efficiently but also uses online condition monitoring to always reflect on a reliable compound quality which is repeatable.

HF emphasises on result driven production concepts for its customers – further innovations in terms of integrating industry 4.0 solutions to the mixing process are on its way and the focus is clear: Intelligent machines will integrate new digital solutions into the mixing process and will ensure to meet the expectations of the future.

Brownfield projects

The COVID pandemic put a stronger focus on replacing existing machines instead of adding new capacities to a production plant. Also, productivity as well as sustainability aspects are driving many tyre companies to have a closer look to the installed base.

But inspecting a mixing line which has run for more than 15 years (or sometimes even 25 years) brings to light what challenges may come up if this line will be replaced by a new one. Output values need to be increased, a new mixer technology should improve the quality of compounds, modern automation solutions should support the daily production procedures and increase process stability – many more requirements should be met. One of the largest challenges is limited space when looking at an upgrade of machinery.

Not only the pure space but also intralogistics within a mixing line can create headache – from upstream equipment feeding a mixer all the way to downstream machinery processing the batch further – many modern solutions can be used today but looking at the available space installing them is the challenge.

With a clear focus on such brownfield projects, HF has managed several conversions from old to new with unmatched success. A key in such projects is the planning and pre-engineering process. Starting with an inspection of not only the mixer but all surrounding factors in the building – considering also the material flow – and then continuing with a 3D- scan of the existing equipment including pipe and cabling routing the basis for planning can be laid. Supported by this 3D-scan HF engineers plan and design with 3D models the complete mixing mill room.

By keeping the existing machinery as the base layer and inserting new equipment in an over-lay collisions of steel constructions, limitations in space and optimised pipe and cable routing can be identified. Furthermore, an improved process flow chart is the basis of planning material flow, work processes and even manpower to operate the new mixing line. Finally, new controls and automation solutions – on the basis of industry 4.0 – will improve operating and monitoring the equipment.

One of the largest benefits using HF’s Pre-Engineering is shortening the planning and execution time – and last but not least the reduction of financial funds is possible by starting up the new line much quicker compared to the conversion of lines in earlier years.

Safety first

Supporting all major tyre manufacturers with mixing technology HF constantly strives for improving operational procedures in the mixing mill room. When it came apparent that the variety of compounds increased more and more – driven by many more types and technologies in tyres today – the changeover times from one recipe to the other was put in the focus of operational optimisation. Not only flexible automation solutions are required but also quick availability of the mechanical equipment after the last batch of the current recipe was dispatched. In between other HF identified the cleaning of the mixing chamber as a critical action during changeover in two aspects: First it needs to be safe for the maintenance personal to enter the mixing chamber and secondly time can be saved if the access to the chamber can be optimized.

In order to meet both requirements HF’s engineers designed a maintenance box, the so-called mBox©, which is mechanically integrated directly underneath the mixer – combining the mixer with the chute of a dump extruder for example.

In the moment the mixing line is switched to cleaning mode and all movements of parts are blocked a moveable platform – the floor of the maintenance box – is inserted horizontally underneath the mixer. A door of the box can be opened, and maintenance personnel can enter the box safe and secure, standing underneath the mixer with easy access to the mixing chamber.

Besides the safe working environment customers from HF have noticed saving time and having the opportunity of even inspecting the mixing chamber easier and more frequent during a changeover.

Especially in new installations of a mixing line the mBox© can be integrated in the design of the line easily and right from the start – benefitting the safety and operation of the line daily.

HF Screw Presses

The production of screw presses is one of HF`s core competences for decades. The screw press has gained recognition during its affiliation with KRUPP. Thus, the presses operate all over the world and more than 2.500 presses are installed in various industries for example the edible oil industry, biomass technology and rendering. And, most interesting for the tyre industry, the presses accomplish benchmarking results in the dewatering of natural and synthetic caoutchouc. As a more efficient and space saving solution instead of band dryer systems or similar the screw press has its strong eligibility in dewatering process.

HF Curemaster

HF brought the first hydraulic column type curing press to the tyre industry in 1997. Since then, it continued to develop this product to meet the demanding requirements of its customers.

The HF Curemaster was launched two years ago and since then the patented truck tyre curing press has been successfully installed in multiple locations and in efficient operation. The press provides a flexible and compact footprint, making it possible to replace older presses with potentially more presses per existing trench.

The HF Curemaster also focuses on optimising energy efficiency to ensure the lowest total cost of ownership in the curing plant. The HF Curemaster´s hood design incorporates insulation inside the hood to provides the best insulation effect. In addition, the HF Curemaster provides an extremely fast cycle time to minimise the overall amount of heat loss during the open and close sequence of the press.

HF PCR Design

Delivering for a new greenfield plant is relatively straightforward. However, HF understands the important need of the replacement market as well. It is important to be flexible to meet all the varying trench layouts (pit, shelf, pitless, and so on). Equally important is the need to be able to replace existing 42” – 45” old mechanical presses with 48” – 52” modern presses in order to meet the growing demand for larger tyre sizes.

All replacement projects are analysed carefully together with customers. Attention is paid closely to all details related to operation, maintenance access, mould & bladder change requirements as well as all local safety regulations. HF´s long experience with curing presses provides a large variety of modular options to be used for finding the optimised fit for each specific request.

HF Stack Passenger Car Inflator (PCI)

The requirement for post cured tyres continues to grow in the market and HF has designed a simple and compact solution that can be incorporated in all HF presses as well as behind most all existing older presses.

The patented HF Stack PCI design allows for the PCI to be integrated into even the tightest footprints. This solution eliminates any movement or rotations of the PCI body itself and greatly reduces the amount of moving mechanical components and maintenance.

HF Digitalisation

HF recognises the important trend of digitalisation for the tyre manufacturers and has developed reliable, customised software solutions for machine data communication between machine control and customer IT systems. The main steps were to focus on MES, SCADA and Recipe Management interfaces.

HF Smart Curing enables customers to get started quickly and effectively with a future-oriented digitisation solution. The main advantage in this case is that software for machine data acquisition is supplied directly by the supplier and not by IT service providers.

OPC server technology and efficient network solutions are tailored to the machine enable secure data acquisition. This software can provide feedback in regard to condition monitoring, diagnostic function, machine services, energy monitoring and remote service.

The benefit of connecting your equipment with digitalised solutions clearly accelerates a target-oriented development and improves the Total Cost of Ownership of the equipment.

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Michelin has secured a significant expansion of its partnership with the DHL Group, taking over complete tyre management for 11,000 new all-electric delivery vehicles from the DHL’s Post & Paket Deutschland division. This brings the total number of DHL vehicles under Michelin’s care to 45,000 across more than 2,000 locations, covering a substantial portion of the German last-mile fleet operated by the world’s largest logistics company. The newly signed contract, valued in the mid-double-digit million range, extends for up to 12 years and deepens a collaboration that has lasted 14 years.

Under the arrangement, Michelin oversees the entire tyre lifecycle for the 45,000-vehicle Post & Parcel fleet in Germany, which consists mainly of vans and passenger cars alongside some trucks supplying parcel centres. Services encompass tyre assembly, seasonal switching between year-round and winter tyres, mobile breakdown assistance and comprehensive wear management. Michelin expects roughly 70,000 tyres to be changed annually, about 20,000 service operations and some 6,000 roadside assistance calls, each with a reliable two-hour response commitment.

To handle this volume, every vehicle is clearly identifiable, allowing Michelin to immediately determine the required tyre type when a breakdown or wear limit is reported and resolve the issue on site swiftly. The company deploys its MICHELIN Agilis CrossClimate all-season tyre and the MICHELIN Agilis Alpin for winter road conditions. A nationwide network delivers the service promise, with Euromaster managing DHL locations alongside more than 220 additional partners, while Michelin staff across Germany monitor quality from urban parcel centres to rural delivery bases.

The outsourced tyre management keeps Deutsche Post and DHL’s German fleet reliably operational, letting the logistics group focus on its core business. Michelin impressed DHL with a competitive tender offer and an innovative overall concept, including a more transparent cost structure and simplified processes for tyre management and roadside assistance. This major order for networked fleet solutions strengthens Michelin’s standing as a high-performance partner for large delivery and parcel services, particularly in the growing electric delivery fleet segment.

Eva Tschan, Director Connected Solutions DACH and Nordics at Michelin, said, “DHL Group assigns us complete responsibility for tyre management on the last mile in Germany and thus for the most critical part of the daily letter and parcel delivery. We completely take the work of our customer around the topic of tyres and ensure that the feed fleet stays on the road – reliably, predictable and efficient. Our aspiration is to make the complex topic of tyre management for the postal and parcel Germany division as simple and transparent as possible.”

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Tyrecycle has been honoured with the Closing the Loop Award at the 2026 WasteSorted WA Awards, recognising its groundbreaking InfinitySeries partnership with Fenner Conveyors. The accolade highlights a significant shift in how end-of-life mining conveyor belts are managed, moving away from traditional landfill or stockpiling methods that had long posed challenges for the industry.

Through collaboration with Fenner Conveyors, a genuine belt-to-belt circular solution has been established, recovering valuable materials from used conveyor belts and reintroducing them into the manufacture of new ones. So far, the initiative has diverted over 4,000 tonnes of end-of-life belts from landfill, with recovered materials incorporated into Fenner's InfinitySeries products, each containing a minimum of 10 percent recycled content sourced from locally recovered belts.

The award reflects the potential of coordinated efforts among recyclers, manufacturers and industry stakeholders to keep resources in circulation and transform complex industrial waste streams into new products. Tyrecycle extended appreciation to Fenner Conveyors, its customers and its team for bringing this circular economy innovation to fruition.

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Hankook Tyre UK has secured exclusive sponsorship of the Transport Association Traffic Managers’ & Engineers’ Conference 2026, an event that draws fleet and logistics professionals together to exchange knowledge and examine the issues influencing commercial transport’s future.

The Transport Association, established in 1955, represents a UK-wide network of roughly 65 independent, family-owned logistics firms. Its members operate some 5,700 vehicles from 175 locations, delivering transport, storage and distribution services domestically and across Europe, while the organisation promotes collaboration and best practice.

Scheduled for 25–27 September 2026 at Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s Crowne Plaza Hotel, the annual gathering will convene senior figures from the Association’s national network. As exclusive sponsor, Hankook will address tyre efficiency, safety, sustainability and total cost of ownership – topics of growing importance amid decarbonisation, cost pressures and electrification. The partnership reinforces Hankook’s dedication to collaborating with fleet operators and industry bodies on practical solutions for commercial mobility’s future.

Jon Cottrell, Network & Operations Manager, Hankook Tyre UK, said, “We’re delighted to support The Transport Association and its members at this year’s conference. The transport sector is evolving rapidly, and close collaboration across the industry will be essential. We look forward to sharing our experience, hearing different perspectives and contributing to the practical discussions taking place throughout the event.”

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Pirelli has introduced its new SCORPION Gravity range, a mountain bike tyre lineup created for gravity riding and covering trail, enduro, freeride and downhill disciplines. The Italian manufacturer has completely redesigned the platform while introducing a new naming system intended to simplify how riders identify the best tyre configuration. Compared with the previous line, the range substantially increases the number of available combinations, as each model can be paired with different casing and compound choices.

The selection process follows three stages. Riders first choose a tread pattern, with three distinct scorpion species each representing a different terrain and riding style. They then select a casing based on the level of support and protection required. Finally, they choose a compound from Medium, Soft or Supersoft to achieve the desired balance of grip, rolling efficiency and durability.

Three tread names form the foundation of the new architecture: Black Sting, Emperor and Red Claw. Each draws inspiration from a different scorpion species, with the name reflecting the creature's characteristics and natural habitat to create a direct link with the conditions and riding style the tyre is engineered for.

Black Sting takes its name from scorpions living in deserts and arid environments. Developed for riders prioritising speed, precision and responsiveness, the fast-rolling tread combines low rolling resistance with controlled braking, suiting hardpack and firm, compact terrain where stability under high loads and at speed is critical. Emperor is the range's most versatile option, building on the previous RACE M tread but fully re-engineered. Like the scorpion it represents, it performs across mixed terrain and changing conditions, balancing traction, control and rolling efficiency. Red Claw, inspired by tropical scorpions in wet, humid environments, targets maximum traction and control. Based on the earlier RACE T design, it is optimised for loose-over-hard, dusty and off-camber terrain.

Pirelli has also evolved its four casing constructions, all now fully eMTB-ready for conventional and electric mountain bikes, including Light and Full Power models. ProWALL is the lightest with sidewall protection, weighing 700 to 900 grammes, and favours responsiveness and climbing efficiency. HardWALL, at 900 to 1,100 grammes, adds structural support and reinforcement against pinch flats. DualWALL, weighing 1,100 to 1,300 grammes, uses a dual-ply build for enduro racing, bike parks and freeride. DH+ WALL, from 1,300 to over 1,500 grammes, is the most protective option, employing tougher base fabrics and extra reinforcement for elite downhill racing.

Three compounds complete the range. Medium, marked yellow, balances grip, comfort and durability. Soft, marked red, provides intuitive handling and consistent grip in dry and wet conditions without sacrificing durability. Supersoft, marked purple, is engineered for the most demanding conditions, offering maximum grip, vibration damping and impact absorption. The range was developed by Pirelli technicians with three-time Downhill World Champion Fabien Barel and world-class athletes including Brendan Fairclough, Jack Moir, Thomas Genon, Juan Diego Salido, Fabio Wibmer and Lachlan Blair.

Fabien Barel said, “Having worked closely with Pirelli, I’ve seen firsthand how deeply their expertise runs, from Formula 1 to the Motorcycle World Championship, from motocross to high-performance cars. That same racing DNA is now driving innovation in mountain biking – across compound technology, casing construction and tread design. What’s particularly interesting is seeing how the company is bringing into cycling that wealth of cross-discipline knowledge built up over years of success at the highest levels of motorsport. What stands out most when riding these new tyres is how consistent the grip feels across the entire tread, no matter the terrain, and how stable the casing stays even when conditions get rough – it’s the kind of confidence you notice within the first few turns.”

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