Where would our vehicles be if their tyres weren’t appropriately tested? Well, probably not in the best or safest condition. While it’s thanks to testing companies, it’s no less thanks to testing solutions and equipment manufacturers, too. The latter’s accuracy and reliability make the former’s job easier, making our tyres safer and more efficient as vehicle wheels. In a tete-a-tete with Tyre Trends, Markus Winter, Director – Sales and Marketing, Kokusai Europe GmbH, a leading test and measurement solutions manufacturer founded in Tokyo, Japan, threw light on testing strategies, the need for indoor tyre testing, the company’s plan to establish itself in Europe and more. Read on…

Kokusai began as a sales company for dynamic balancing equipment and has since grown to become a major supplier in the Japanese and Asian industries. The test and solutions manufacturer really started with the balancing of electronical components, which was a huge business about 30 to 40 years ago. It is still a business of Kokusai’s, of course – the balancing of smaller part vans, electrical motors etc.

However, while transitioning to test and measurement (for the tyre industry in particular), it was testing for automotive parts. “And when it comes to automotive parts, it is the tyres, other rotary parts, shafts and drive shafts etc,” Markus Winter, Director – Sales and Marketing, Kokusai, told us. “So it was clear that in an encapsulated market, you start with everything that rotates. And therefore, Kokusai started with all the automotive components, and then tyres and wheels. In fact, we are the leading supplier in Asia. Moreover, we have expanded to the United States with a subsidiary 30 years ago. Plus, we expanded to Europe about five years ago,” he said.

Kokusai’s presence in Europe
In truth, Kokusai is available around the world but is just establishing itself in Europe more and more, which is part of the global strategy. “We do have a lot of very unique testing solutions that are not available in other markets. This is because other markets develop from Asia into Europe,” Winter pointed out.

Kokusai’s equipment
Speaking of interesting testing solutions, Winter asserted that they have tyre performance and tyre wear testing equipment, where they are just leading the market with the innovative ideas that Kokusai has developed.

“For example, for tyre performance testing, we have some competition from the United States and Europe,” Winter explained. “However, we have developed, for instance, an indoor 50-metre flat testing equipment to test tyre performance parameters – the machine named FLATROAD TESTER. And this, in fact, is the test bench with the highest repeatability that is available in the market. As for Kokusai, we have a solution where we accelerate the traversing carriage with a single tyre. We can manipulate all parameters in real-time during the movement and record the measured performance values.”

Winter further went on to throw light on testing the performance of a tyre on FLATROAD TESTER. He cited, “Our mechanical system is like a high-speed linear axis – it is computer controlled and has the precision of a Japanese CNC machine.”

“Hence, we can control all the parameters on the tyre in such a precise way that it’s not like driving a car and pressing the brake. We are exactly controlling the movement and rotation of the tyre. So it is more precise – it’s like having a CNC machine doing the testing,” Winter explained.

“There is another point that makes this kind of indoor testing more reliable,” Winter continued. “Using our indoor test bench, all the outer surrounding conditions affecting the measurement are significantly reduced. Hence, we can do the testing, and the results we measure are the real tyre behaviour between the tyre and the road, without any influence of weather, the driver skills or driving behaviour, car suspension or pavement. It is such a massively built machine equipment that one can be really assured of avoiding all the external factors and focus on the effects between the tyre and the road.”

Surrounding atmospheres affecting the testing
While it is an excellent circumstance to be able to focus completely on the parameters between the tyre and the road, it’s always safer to be aware of the external factors that might come in the way.

“Those are mainly humidity and temperature,” Winter told us. “If you’re doing outdoor testing, starting early in the morning and the sun shining on the pavement, you have a pavement temperature of maybe 15 degrees. If you’re doing breaking tests, it will really affect the results. Additionally, if there’s higher humidity, then there’s a little bit more of sliding that takes place.”

“Of course, you can conduct very long tests over a span of many days,” he further highlighted. “Hence, if you conduct the outdoor testing for a few weeks and also use reference tyres, then you can compensate a lot.”

“In fact, one can put on one tyre on our measurement machine and run it three times, and the measurement curves will be overlapping perfectly three times. That would be the final result,” Winter put across.

More knowledge, better tyres
Outdoor testing brought us to the subject of tracks. This is when Winter informed us that Kokusai has analysed tracks. The complete 50 metres installed in the machine are divided into exchangeable segments.

Winter pointed out that they can use individual road segments with different surface characteristics in the area where they are doing the test. “We can look into factors such as what kind of friction do we want to have, what kind of macro structure do we need, do we want to have the stepping from a high friction value to a low friction value and so on,” he shared. “Thus, we can manipulate all the surfaces, do the testing and then see the effect.”

However, outdoor testing can be complicated, and sometimes they need to test on different standard asphalt pavements, tiles, water floating etc. “In such scenarios, we can exchange the pavement segments at our tester and do another test, which is much easier,” Winter explained. “Moreover, with the knowledge of these small changes – which even the tyres will go through from one test to another – the tyre development engineers will have more detailed information in order to take better steps in the development of the tyre. This is because the repeatability of our processes is so high. Of course, if you have an outdoor process, you can conduct a certain number of tests and do an average. But if your sigma is already that high, you don’t know if you’re developing into the right direction.”

Good or bad tyre?
While every aspect of testing is taken care of by the testing companies themselves, we know that customer demands are changing every day. If we consider a tyre, there are two different departments that Kokusai is serving. “One is tyre testing,” Winter put across. “When it comes to tyre testing, it involves the results for tyre engineering, tyre development, performance testing, wet grip testing, wear testing and so on. This is in order to meet regulations, or to even just develop the best tyres.”

The second part of the Kokusai production is the final finished testing. “This involves the end-of-the-line testing,” Winter further explained. “This is dynamic balance testing, uniformity testing and geometrical testing. However, we’re not doing X-ray. But we’re specialised in dynamic balancing, uniformity and the geometrical measurement. So companies do expect a low cycle time because they want to test as many tyres as possible. In addition, the testing equipment should not be the bottleneck for tyre production.”

Of course, stating the obvious, Winter told us that testing companies and tyre companies need high accuracy and repeatability. This is because only when they have very high accuracy on the testing equipment that they can make calls on whether the tyre is an okay tyre or if it needs to be rejected or downgraded etc.

“A tyre is not always good or bad – it is graded, and only the best tyres are available for the OEMs,” he pointed out. “As for the others, they might be available for the aftermarket, while some go through refinishing in order to get them to a better rate. A very accurate equipment allows the tyre manufacturer to do a very precise grading, which saves costs. And it is better to invest a little more in the precise grading technology than to scrap the tyre or to put it back into the process.”

Tyre wear test
No matter how, tyre testing goes beyond this. Here, we came to discuss tyre wear testing. Winter told us that a standard outdoor tyre wear test entails driving a couple of cars in convoy on selected routes in public road traffic.

“You have a representative circuit in a region with low traffic volume and stable weather forecast. The route needs to fit the logistics, such as hotels for the staff, a workshop, test equipment and so on,” Winter said.

He added, “Now you will drive the test tyres and a reference tyre in a convoy around the track in both directions and change the tyres and the drivers in a certain order. After a mileage of about 25,000 kilometres, you can well identify the wear results and the mass loss of the tyre.”

“This always takes a number of cars, and you have to do a high mileage on driving,” Winter further explained. “Normally, one can say that each kilometre driven on the car comes to about EUR 1 – that’s what we are calculating, including the driver.”

The cost of testing
While many discuss the cost of testing equipment, everybody also has to take the cost of tyre testing, along with the time, into consideration.

“That’s because you first need the tyre test, and then the results from that tyre test, in order to continue with your development,” Winter expounded. “So if you want to make a 25,000-kilometre test to see how a tyre is wearing over a certain distance, you have to conduct the test. The test takes one month, and once you have the results, you can move on to the next step. Therefore, there’s a waiting period of one month.”

Testing strategy for final finish
Nevertheless, is every tyre that we see out there tested at the end of the production process? That depends on the testing strategy of every respective company. Winter emphasised that normally one can say that newcomers or smaller companies are trying to test at least 100 percent for OEM tyres and may conduct some statistical testing for aftermarket tyres. The processes of the really well-known tyre manufacturers are so good that they can reduce to statistical testing. Therefore, it’s just a question of how good the process and the process in tyre building are.

“On the other hand, there are a lot of companies that are still in the learning curve or are cautious about getting some tyres rejected,” Winter said. “These companies are conducting 100 percent testing. But one can say that the very old, established tyre plants, from Continental to Michelin, are doing a lot of statistical testing.”

Staying together while far apart
Yet, tyre testing does not stop at the grading or the testing process. It becomes pivotal for testing equipment manufacturers to make sure that their solutions and equipment are aligned with the current and upcoming regulations of the tyre industry. For this, Kokusai has its sales and application colleagues around the world.

Winter shared, “Our colleagues in America have their network and talk with all the big tyre manufacturers, the government, and attend various conferences to get a feel for what is happening in the market. Our Chinese and Japanese colleagues, too, are doing the same.”

“So we have a high number of offices and manufacturing plants around the world and in all the very important areas,” he further highlighted. “We have a direct network and contact with them. Hence, that’s one of our advantages. Internally, we are putting all this information together to see where there’s an overlap. For example, I have discussions with our European contacts that I meet at site or conferences. And I ask them their views on aspects. My colleagues in the US and Asia do the same and forward their feedback. Hence, it is local networking on one side and then getting the information together again on the other side in order to concentrate that internally. So it’s a big task.”

With Kokusai’s large number of offices and manufacturing plants across the globe, and moreover, all of them being highly connected with one another, the company uses this connection to be flexible with its suppliers as well.

“As we have a manufacturing plant in Japan, Korea, China and the US, if there’s a bottleneck somewhere, we try to get the same components from suppliers that are normally supplying to our other plants,” Winter commented. “To boot, we are looking for some components from Europe and the United States as well. Hence, there are different local purchasing organisations that we have within our group, and if they need to help one another, then our supply chain is quite well organised for that.”

More on Europe
While Winter mentioned that Kokusai has sales and application colleagues around the world, that is also one of the reasons why the company is pushing for the European market. Its manufacturing plant in Europe is in the planning phase.

“Although we think that the basic technology is developed in Japan, this is the heart of our engineering,” Winter put across. “Besides, the localisation and customisation are made where the customers are located and where they have their specifications, their needs and even need their technical support, which is why we are going to develop the main system in Japan.”

“As you know, China wants that certain percentage of the equipment to be built on the site,” Winter further remarked. “And it’s the same in the United States as well. Thus, we are pre-manufacturing the systems in Japan, sending them over to the United States and then making the final assembly, with all the specific American needs, on site. We will be doing the same in Europe in order to compete better against our local competitors in Europe.”

Also, while the test and measurement manufacturer is looking to establish itself in Europe, Asia happens to be its focus right now.

“I’m personally targeting the European market,” Winter told us. “Having been working for the tyre industry for many years, I’m just spreading out the network to get Kokusai well known in the continent by talking to the right people and getting the right enquiries. On top of that, I’m talking about the very interesting future projects for the new labelling topics, new testing devices, testing concepts and more.”

On these lines, Kokusai hasn’t been left behind in terms of aftersales services either. With all of its local offices and manufacturing plants proving to be a great strength, the company has engineers and a team for setting up its machines and servicing them.

“We’re actually building this up for Europe with our partner; we have gone for an established partner, as we would not be building up a complete company with all the service structures and everything else from scratch,” Winter explained.

Investment in technology
Kokusai certainly has big plans for Europe. But at the same time, as mentioned by Winter earlier, the basic technology is developed in Japan. And that is the heart of the company’s engineering. In fact, Winter claims that he is very happy that Kokusai started investigating on its technology over the years.

“Kokusai has invested so much money in its own engineering over the last years that it has its own testing centre just to make the application development. In truth, we are the only company within the tyre testing equipment manufacturers to do so,” Winter shared. “Additionally, we have a new 1,200-square metre testing facility in the Greater Tokyo Area; we are inviting customers to bring their tyres and parts, and we are developing the applications with them. I think this is very unique around the world.”

Furthermore, Winter cited that during the period of the pandemic, the company made Teams presentations with video systems and presented the equipment in China and Japan, along with doing conferences. “Our customers were so happy that we were even able to show them this kind of equipment and make tests on their tyres just through web meetings.”

Also, Kokusai provides new testing concepts, where some of the systems are still being developed. However, the test and measurement solutions manufacturer already offers to start making all the tests with tyre companies’ tyres and develop their customised application.

The need for indoor testing
While Kokusai’s plants and offices across the world stay linked in order to keep up with regulations and be on the same page in general as a group, there are no standards at the moment for the very technical specification of the equipment themselves.

“The European Union is just developing the standards for wear testing. And they are, in fact, developing the standards for outdoor driving,” Winter explicated. “However, we will need indoor testing in the future. The tyre engineers will especially need it because they will want to have the results in a couple of days and not months. Therefore, there is a need for the development area and the future regulations to also focus on indoor drum testing.”

One leap at a time
Kokusai is clearly spreading its wings gradually, not just by expanding geographically but even by enhancing itself by really investing in engineering and development. It is one of the few major players in testing equipment and invests tremendously in further building up itself.

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Toyo Tire Corporation said Mitsubishi Corporation has ceased to be a major shareholder after tendering its entire holding through a treasury share buyback, ending its status as the company’s largest shareholder.

The change took effect on 10^th August , 2026, following Toyo Tire’s acquisition of its own shares through off-auction trading (ToSTNeT-3). Mitsubishi tendered all its shares, excluding less than one unit, as part of the transaction.

As a result, Mitsubishi is no longer classified as a major shareholder or associated company of Toyo Tire, the company said.

Before the transaction, Mitsubishi held 30,822,206 shares, equivalent to 20.07 percent of total voting rights, and ranked as the largest shareholder. Following the change, its holding has effectively been reduced to zero.

The move follows Toyo Tire’s earlier announcement on August 7, 2026 regarding the termination of its capital and business alliance with Mitsubishi, alongside plans to repurchase its own shares.

Toyo Tire said the change would have no impact on its consolidated financial results.

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Linglong Tire has become the first Chinese tyre manufacturer to join the Global Data Service Organization (GDSO) as a full member, marking a step in the industry’s efforts to standardise and exchange tyre-related data globally.

The company joins the non-profit body as its fourteenth member. GDSO was established in January 2022 by Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear, Michelin and Pirelli to facilitate the digital exchange of tyre data and develop common standards across the sector.

Moh Wahi, Head Of Truck And Bus Tyre Development at Linglong Europe, said: "By joining the GDSO as a Full Member and providing reliable data, we want to be the first Chinese tyre manufacturer to make a positive contribution to the further development of the tire industry and set new standards for the efficient processing of tire data in the digital age."

Riccardo Giovannotti, Secretary General of GDSO, said: "With Linglong Tire as a Full Member, GDSO is gaining one of the leading Chinese tire companies which is committed to digitalization and sustainability in the industry. Together, we will further make progress in developing standards for data processing and future-oriented solutions."

Shandong Linglong Tire Co., Ltd., founded in 1975, operates seven research and development centres globally and employs almost 20,000 people. The company runs nearly 200,000 sales outlets and exports products to 175 countries.

It supplies tyres to more than 200 production bases for over 60 automakers and has manufacturing facilities across China, Thailand and Serbia, with plans to expand further overseas.

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TyreSafe, UK’s charity dedicated to raising tyre safety awareness, has joined forces with Sussex Police’s Road Safety Team to introduce a pioneering digital reference tool for frontline officers. The initiative equips police with immediate, device-accessible tyre safety data during roadside stops.

Developed as a local pilot, the application enables consistent vehicle examinations and improves driver communication regarding tyre dangers. It offers specific checklists for diverse vehicle categories, including motorcycles, cars, heavy goods vehicles, light commercial vans and towed trailers. The system further incorporates guidance on part-worn tyres, common queries and educational talking points.

Following its Sussex trial, the programme holds potential for nationwide adoption across UK police forces. This deployment underscores Sussex Police’s dedication to roadway innovation and reinforces the essential contribution of proper tyre maintenance to overall public safety.

Stuart Lovatt, TyreSafe Chair, said, “This partnership with Sussex Police is a landmark moment for tyre safety enforcement and education. By putting reliable, accessible tyre safety guidance directly into the hands of frontline officers, we can ensure safer vehicles on our roads and help prevent avoidable collisions and breakdowns. Sussex is leading the way, and we hope this model will soon be adopted nationally.”

Superintendent Jo Grantham, Head of Roads Policing, Sussex Police, said, “Our officers are committed to keeping road users safe, and having instant access to this tyre safety resource makes a real difference on the ground. It supports enforcement while also giving us the tools to educate drivers more effectively. We’re proud to be working with TyreSafe on this project and to be the first police force in the country to pilot it.”

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The UK Towing Safety Alliance (UKTSA) has published a comprehensive four-year analysis of incident data from National Highways’ Strategic Road Network, covering 2022 to 2025. The findings reveal a 23 percent rise in total towing-related incidents, driven primarily by a maintenance crisis affecting utility and commercial trailers. While traffic collisions involving towed vehicles decreased by 17 percent, mechanical breakdowns now constitute 77 percent of all towing-related incidents, highlighting vehicle and trailer condition as the sector's foremost challenge.

The data coincides with SMMT Motorparc 2025 figures showing Britain's vehicle fleet at its oldest recorded level, with average car age reaching 9.7 years. The summer harvest season has also arrived, bringing agricultural trailers back to roads after months of disuse. NFU Mutual research indicates collisions involving agricultural vehicles are 56 percent more likely between May and September, reinforcing the need for pre-journey roadworthiness checks.

Utility and agricultural trailers now account for nearly half of all towing-related callouts, surpassing 3,000 incidents in 2025. Regionally, the North West has overtaken the South East as the most incident-prone area, with trailer failures surging 60 percent since 2022, while the North East recorded a 55 percent increase. A growing divide exists between leisure and commercial towing sectors.

Leisure sector improvements, including fewer horsebox incidents and regional caravan reductions, suggest awareness campaigns are yielding positive results. However, utility trailer failures continue climbing, indicating maintenance standards across commercial and domestic sectors require greater attention. Regular servicing, correct loading and proper coupling remain essential to prevent avoidable incidents.

For working trailers, summer represents peak operational period, with agricultural and utility trailers seeing intensive use while rural roads become busier with tourists and cyclists. The Alliance emphasises that trailers stored for extended periods require thorough inspections before returning to service.

The UKTSA urges all towers to perform three essential checks covering tyres, load and connection before every journey. Tyres must be inspected for pressure, tread and deterioration; loads correctly distributed and couplings and electrical connections verified. The Alliance will place ‘The Working Trailer’ at the centre of safety campaigns, collaborating with industry partners to boost maintenance awareness and reduce preventable breakdowns across the Strategic Road Network.

A spokesperson for the UK Towing Safety Alliance said, “It’s encouraging to see fewer collisions involving towing vehicles, which suggests that drivers are becoming more aware of safe towing practices. However, that progress is being undermined by a growing number of preventable mechanical failures. The challenge is no longer simply about how people tow – it’s increasingly about what they’re towing and the condition it’s in. As both tow vehicles and trailers get older, regular maintenance has never been more important.”

Stuart Lovatt, Chair of TyreSafe, said, “Harvest season places extra demands on both vehicles and trailers, particularly those that may only be used for a few months each year. One of the most common issues we see is tyres that appear to have plenty of tread but have deteriorated through age, weathering or prolonged storage. Whether you’re towing a livestock trailer, plant trailer, horsebox or caravan, tyres should always be inspected for correct pressure, damage, cracking and signs of ageing before every journey. A few minutes spent carrying out these checks can prevent breakdowns and significantly improve safety for everyone using our roads.”

Sarah Smithurst MBE, COO, National Trailer & Towing Association (NTTA), said, “Across the NTTA network, we’re seeing a noticeable increase in enquiries from people looking to refurbish older trailers or source second-hand trailers, including imported models, as a more affordable alternative to buying new. While extending the life of a trailer is often entirely appropriate, it’s essential that owners understand that trailers are not maintenance-free. Many have been in service for years, sometimes decades, and components naturally deteriorate over time, even if the trailer has seen relatively little use. Every trailer should be thoroughly inspected before it returns to the road, with particular attention paid to tyres, brakes, bearings, couplings and lighting. Investing in regular servicing and maintenance is far less costly than experiencing a breakdown – or worse, being involved in an incident. The NTTA continues to help and advice new and old trailer users about safety and many are asking for help when towing, especially the reversing aspect of a trailer, now the B&E test was withdrawn. We are also seeing more trailers being repatriated from North America and Europe rather than purchasing new in the UK.”

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