After two years of virtual conferences, the Tire Society has returned to an in-person format for the 41st Conference on Science and Technology, to be held September 12th and 13th at the University of Akron. With the return to the University of Akron, where it was originally held, the Tire Society Conference will kick off Tire Week in Akron, officially proclaimed September 12-16 by the Mayor of Akron. Tire Week also includes the International Tire Exhibition and Conference (ITEC), which is the largest tyre manufacturing trade expo and conference in North America. Tire Week will be a can’t-miss opportunity for those who want to achieve a broad grasp of leading-edge Tire Design and Manufacturing technology. 

Please click to the link for the detailed programme: Programme schedule  

Alexis Garcin, Chairman and President, of Michelin North America, will deliver a keynote address at the conference. Tracey Norberg, Senior Vice President & General Counsel of USTMA, will give the plenary lecture titled ‘The Road Ahead – Technology and Policy in the Tyre Industry’ at the conference. Dr Nohoon Ki, Engineering Manager at John Deere, will speak on ‘Round and Green: Engineering for Agriculture’.

The welcoming address will be delivered by Dr Gary L Miller, President of the University of Akron. Under Dr Miller’s leadership, the University of Akron has reaffirmed its reputation as a leading public urban research university, committed to fulfilling its long-standing promises to the people of Akron and Northeast Ohio. 

Wide range of topics

The conference is attended by engineers and scientists from around the world, representing the tyre and vehicle industries, academia and governmental agencies. A wide range of topics on tyre applications, ranging from passenger, high-performance, truck and electric vehicles to off-highway, including aircraft to far off-highway Mars Rover, will be covered in the paper presentations.

There will be a wide array of more than 20 interesting and significant original works by top technologists, presented by the authors themselves.

With this year’s theme, New Horizons in Tyre Evaluation, the papers will cover the characterisation of tyre performance, both physically and with vehicle simulators. Other subjects include numerical predictive methods, data analytics, tyre performance and construction, and rubber compound development.

A panel discussion titled ‘The Future of Tire Testing’, moderated by Heather Bobbitt, Tire Modeling Group Manager, General Motors, will be joined by Christian Bachmann, Senior Manager – Tyre Technology, FKA GmbH; Henning Olsson, Director of Technology, Calspan Corporation; Jonathan Darab, Operations Director, Global Center for Automotive Performance Simulation (GCAPS); Matt Kent, Technical Director of Tire & Wheel Test Lab, Smithers, USA and Sonny Huisman, Manager, Siemens Digital Industries Software.

These experts will discuss the challenges ahead for the tyre industry and provide insights into the next steps in tyre testing. Predictive methods in the emerging ‘digital twin’ era require improved testing methods to understand the physics of tyre mechanical behaviour under circumstances that can cause uncertainty in virtual assessment. Temperature effects, wear behaviour, wet surfaces, soil interaction and snow sinkage are some factors that are not necessarily well understood or integrated when a vehicle-level assessment is concerned.

They will also discuss the testing requirement in developing speciality tyres for racing, agricultural or heavy industrial applications that will remain a challenge for characterisation and parameterisation. Big data, machine learning algorithms and databasing methods and increased leverage of simulation environments are critical enablers for faster turnaround in early vehicle development, which is emerging as an OEM requirement.

Back to roots

This year’s edition will be held at the University of Akron near downtown Akron. In the last 12 years, the conference has only been held downtown once. With the conference’s return in September to its historic home, where it was held for the first 28 years, it is fitting that the Awards Banquet will be kicked off by an address from Mayor Dan Horrigan. 

With the conference’s return downtown to the University of Akron and being aligned in the same week as the International Tire Exhibition and Conference (ITEC) to be held at the John S Knight Center, this ‘Tire Week in Akron’ will provide a nostalgic and informative homecoming, said the organiser.

The conference will be held in a hybrid format.

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MAXAM is set to showcase its advanced agricultural tyre solutions at Agritechnica 2025 in Hannover from 9 to 15 November. Visitors can find the company at Stand A04 in Hall 20, where the exhibition theme ‘More Pull. Less Fuel’ will guide the presentation. This philosophy underscores the company's dedication to developing tyres that enhance operational efficiency and contribute to more sustainable farming practices by reducing fuel consumption and soil compaction. The event provides a significant opportunity for MAXAM to demonstrate its commitment to innovation and the expansion of its product portfolio.

On display will be a range of DLG-awarded tyres, including robust models for high-horsepower tractors and versatile options for specialised implements, illustrating the company's technical breadth. Beyond presenting products, MAXAM considers the trade fair a vital meeting point for industry collaboration. It serves as a platform for direct engagement with farmers, partners and machine manufacturers, whose feedback provides invaluable, real-world insights that directly influence the future direction of product and service development, ensuring they remain precisely aligned with evolving market needs.

As a part of SAILUN Group, one of the 10 largest tyre manufacturers in the world, MAXAM leverages its extensive international presence and collaborative research initiatives to drive continuous innovation. The company is dedicated to advancing agricultural tyre technology, creating sophisticated solutions that directly address the evolving demands of modern farming. This focus encompasses critical areas such as enhanced sustainability, improved cost-efficiency and superior field performance.

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Radar Tires has expanded its US distribution network with the opening of two new domestic distribution centres in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Parkesburg, Pennsylvania, as part of efforts to strengthen product accessibility and service reliability for its growing customer base.

The expansion increases the brand’s domestic distribution centres from one to three. It aims to improve delivery efficiency and inventory availability across key regions, particularly in the Southeast and Northeast of the United States.

“Stocking domestic tyre inventory is a key part of the Radar strategy going forward,” said Rob Montasser, Vice President of Sales for Radar Tires, USA. “It ensures our distributors and retailers have easy access to the products that their customers need, without the long lead times or supply chain uncertainty. These new locations allow us to be faster, more flexible, and more dependable.”

The company said the additional facilities will reduce delivery times and ensure that its core product range remains readily available to meet rising market demand.

With existing operations in Texas, the addition of centres in Tennessee and Pennsylvania underscores Radar Tires’ long-term strategy to enhance supply chain responsiveness and reinforce its position as one of the most customer-focused distribution networks in the tyre industry.

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Cabot Corporation reported lower quarterly earnings, as weaker demand in its Reinforcement Materials segment and softer volumes in Performance Chemicals weighed on results. However, the company ended fiscal 2025 with solid cash flow and continued shareholder returns.

For the fourth quarter ended 30 September, Cabot posted net income of USD 43 million, or USD 0.79 per share, compared with USD 137 million, or USD 2.43 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Full-year diluted earnings per share were USD 6.02, while adjusted earnings per share rose 3 percent year-on-year to USD 7.25.

“I am very pleased with another strong year of Adjusted EPS growth where we achieved USD 7.25, up 3 percent year over year, in a year with a challenging macroeconomic backdrop,” said Sean Keohane, Cabot’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This performance was driven by higher EBIT in our Performance Chemicals segment, which increased 18 percent year over year, partially offset by EBIT in our Reinforcement Materials segment, which declined 5 percent.”

Cabot’s revenue for the quarter fell to USD 899 million from USD 1.0 billion a year earlier, while full-year sales declined to USD 3.7 billion from USD 4.0 billion.

The Boston-based speciality chemicals manufacturer said fourth-quarter cash flow from operations totalled USD 219 million, enabling USD 64 million in shareholder returns through dividends and share buybacks. For the full fiscal year, Cabot generated USD 665 million in operating cash flow, funding USD 274 million in capital investments, USD 96 million in dividend payments and USD 168 million in share repurchases.

Keohane said the company’s balance sheet remained strong, with a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 1.2 times, providing flexibility to invest in growth while continuing to return capital to shareholders.

The company’s Reinforcement Materials segment reported a USD 4 million decline in EBIT from the prior-year quarter, reflecting lower volumes in the Americas and Asia Pacific, partly offset by cost efficiencies. Global volumes fell 5 percent, including a 7 percent drop in the Americas, where lower tyre production by customers was attributed to increased Asian tyre imports.

Performance Chemicals EBIT decreased USD 2 million year-over-year, mainly due to a 5 percent drop in volumes led by weaker demand in Europe, particularly from construction-related applications.

Cabot ended the quarter with  percent 258 million in cash and spent percent 64 million on capital expenditures. The company recorded a 55 percent effective tax rate in the fourth quarter and an operating tax rate of 27 percent for fiscal 2025.

Looking ahead, Keohane cautioned that market conditions remain challenging, particularly in the Reinforcement Materials sector. “We do not yet see signs of improvement in the external environment, particularly as it relates to regional demand trends in Reinforcement Materials due to the impact of elevated Asian tire imports into western regions,” he said.

The company anticipates improvement in Performance Chemicals, led by growth in battery materials and infrastructure-related applications, while maintaining strong cash flow to support investment and shareholder returns.

“While market conditions remain challenging, we continue to execute on our foundation of commercial and operational excellence, and we remain focused on managing costs, strengthening operations, and positioning the company for long-term growth,” Keohane said.

In fiscal 2025, Cabot also announced an agreement to acquire Bridgestone Corporation’s reinforcing carbons plant in Mexico and released its 2024 Sustainability Report, noting it had achieved 11 of its 15 sustainability goals ahead of schedule and established new 2030 targets.

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The German Rubber Industry Association (wdk) has responded positively to the 'Berlin Declaration’, characterising it as an essential and long-awaited political signal. From the wdk's perspective, the declaration represents a crucial commitment from the ‘Friends of Industry’ to bolster the manufacturing sector, which is fundamental to preserving Germany's industrial core and the multitude of upstream and downstream jobs it sustains. The association's Managing Director, Boris Engelhardt, emphasised that this initiative correctly identifies the urgent need for Europe to recognise and champion industrial value creation.

The wdk finds it particularly significant that the impetus for this declaration originated from a coalition of 17 member states, a fact that underscores a shared political priority independent of the EU Commission's agenda. While the declaration's broad framework allows for various interpretations, the wdk has identified the reduction of bureaucratic burdens as its paramount objective. On this specific point, the association reports being in complete alignment with Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Katherina Reiche. The wdk now asserts that the true measure of the declaration's success will lie in its translation from a political statement into actionable policy, urging the addressed EU institutions to move beyond acknowledgment and proceed with swift and decisive implementation.

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