There couldn’t be any industry that isn’t implementing, or at least knowing about, automation. And if there’s actually one, then it has probably been living under a rock. The tyre industry has already opened its doors to automation, and this helps make tyre manufacturing more sophisticated and reliable. The tyre manufacturing process itself has been experiencing constant changes – from different tyre sizes and constructions to targeting less usage of energy. Automation must be on every tyre company’s to-do list, if it hasn’t adopted it already. Don Heelis, Sales Manager, Cimcorp, gave Tyre Trends more insights on the different aspects of automation in the tyre industry and its absolute requirement, when we met him at the Tire Technology Expo 2022 in Hannover, Germany. Read on…

The philosophy of tyre manufacturing has changed dramatically. A part of the change in that philosophy relates to automation implementation in the tyre manufacturing process. However, we also find more technical perspectives being adopted and taken into account at new, modern tyre factories today.

This technical perspective can be considered to be coming from a few different areas, one of them certainly being from the actual production part of the tyre factory. Therefore, with production machinery, mixers, extruders and tyre building machines, the level of technology being implemented in these processes is increasing. Moreover, these processes are getting more sophisticated.

The other aspect of this is integrating the production across all the different areas (another factor for the dramatic change in the modern tyre factory). In the past, the different areas of production were not necessarily well connected. However, today we see them getting connected a lot more – and this is being driven and enabled by technology.

This is where companies like Cimcorp come in – who happen to provide material handling and automation technology so that different tyre manufacturing processes are better integrated.

Explaining this, Don Heelis, Sales Manager, Cimcorp, said, “When you produce your work in process, what you’re producing is in synchronisation with what’s being produced in other areas of the factory. This helps minimise the work in process and have a manufacturing process that’s more efficient.”

Going the modular way
But how does one integrate different machines and processes in the plant with all the different machines and manufacturing processes involved? Heelis let us in on this.

“The trick is to implement the automation and connectivity in a modular way,” he revealed and went on, “That way, the connectivity is physical and mechanical but involves software as well. Thus, we take an approach where the modules are flexible and can connect to various inputs and outputs; however, the module is in itself standardised. Hence, the modules can work for different factories – only the interconnection needs to be flexible.”

The green tyre
While implementing automation, one, of course, would want to implement it where they get the biggest value. “Traditionally, that has been in the palletising area – in managing and handling the finished product. Basically, palletising, storing and retrieving the finished product,” Heelis informed us and continued, “This is where everyone has traditionally looked in the past. However, a lot of focus has been put on the green tyre area in the past 10 years. That includes green tyre handling, storage and retrieval and its automatic delivery to the curing process.”

A green tyre is work in process – simply put, a tyre that has not been cured. “A green tyre is made up of a number of components. It’s built on a tyre-building machine,” Heelis further told us. “Once a green tyre is built, it is buffered, followed by being cured – and automation machines are required in order to do this. Hence, this is a key element of the modern tyre factory.”

He added, “This has been an area of key focus where productivity and simplicity can be gained. In fact, the whole process can be done with less plant floor space. Ultimately, factories that want to be competitive have to implement automation technologies in that area.”

Increased efficiency
There are many brownfield factories out there that have to modernise and be viable for the future. One of the key areas that they need to modernise and automate in is green tyre handling. Heelis asserted, “By having an automated storage and retrieval system, one can track and trace all of the work in process. Plus, one is able to store in a manner that maximises the quality of the green tyres. And then, one can deliver them from the storage system to the curing process in a very systematic and accurate way. This way, when a particular green tyre is needed in the curing area, it can be delivered there in the appropriate amount of time.”

“In this methodology, when the green tyre arrives at curing, it is at that point in time when it is needed, and the production does not have to stop,” Heelis further shared. “If this can be achieved, then the curing process can be run more efficiently; the efficiency can go from 80 percent to over 95 percent. In theory, one can increase the output of their factory by 10 percent. In such a case, one can imagine how many tyres can be produced in a factory by following this methodology.”

Automation – its role during the pandemic and inflation
While automation tends to bring in efficiency, how have companies managed to keep up their competence and productivity during the thorny period of the Covid pandemic? The pandemic has definitely brought some insights to the tyre industry from a management point of view, like it did to many other sectors. According to Heelis, automation has come to the rescue of the tyre industry in the pandemic as well.

“One important thing that the industry learnt from the pandemic was that it has a risk to its ability to produce products,” he mentioned and went on, “The absence of automation will make any company in the industry highly dependent on the labour force, which might not be available to keep the production going. On the other hand, with automated processes, a company is less at risk to events like a pandemic.”

Another issue we are dealing with right now in the global economy is inflation. Inflation equals to costs going up – from the cost of materials to the cost of labour. “Nonetheless, a company can mitigate some of the impacts of inflation if it has embraced automation. In fact, the ones who automated their brownfield factories three to four years ago are in a much better position today than their competitors who had not,” Heelis pointed out and went on, “This is because the former can mitigate some of the inflation costs, is less dependent on the workforce and is able to produce better-quality products – and at a higher level of efficiency at that. We know that there is a tremendous shortage of people in the workforce in the US right now. Therefore, automated companies have a significant competitive advantage.”

From the tyre industry’s challenges due to the pandemic and inflation, we turned to the challenges Cimcorp itself faces on the commercial side. Heelis responded that, commercially, the current challenge for them is being a low-cost, high-quality producer – which one has to be in order to compete in the market. “Furthering this challenge is how we become a low-cost, high-quality producer and stay that way. And from our perspective, the way to get there is through innovation and technology,” he stated.

Automation in the Asian tyre industry
CIMCORP opened up an office in India roughly three years ago. With its presence in the country and Asia, Heelis told us that the tyre companies in Asia are no stranger to automation and are implementing it. “As a move forward, the mentality is that if you want to be a world-class manufacturer and build a new factory, then you build the factory with automation. And this is a global perspective,” Heelis asserted.

Cimcorp’s customers in Asia range from traditional tyre manufacturers to new manufacturing entrants in the industry, so it’s a mix. Throwing further light on this, Heelis said, “We all know the traditional manufacturers like Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear, Continental and more. But beyond these, there are new companies emerging. And these new companies have an advantage in some ways because they are not constrained by the old ways of thinking. They are forward thinking, with a clearer mindset to do things in the current environment – the environment of automation and technology.”

“Moreover, the manufacturers who don’t invest in automation, and try to run the company with practices that were developed in the 1960 and 70s, will not be able to survive or compete,” he further added. “Their market will eventually consider them to be non-competitive, non-global and unable to produce the quality expected of them.”

Cimcorp has plans for India as well. “Our strategy is to continue to grow our business in India with the domestic tyre manufacturers, and we have been successful at that,” Heelis shared and went on, “When I say domestic, that goes for manufacturing facilities within India, from Apollo Tyres to MRF to JK Tyre to Goodyear to Michelin. Thus, we plan to continue to build our business with those factories and customers from an automation perspective, and then from a full customer service point of view.”

The other aspect comes to brownfield factories. Heelis averred, “With brownfield factories, whether in North America or Asia, the cost of automation is the same; there may be different payback scenarios between the two. However, it stands true that no matter where a company is present in the world, if it is operating a brownfield factory, then it needs a strategy to modernise. And the strategy to modernise is based on implementing automation.”

Automation in brownfield factories – what will it take?
The strategy to modernise when automating a brownfield factory is especially challenging in an already existing system. Therefore, when automating a brownfield factory, one of the most important considerations is to not interrupt their day-to-day production, Heelis cited. He mentioned that the factory has to continue making its certain number of tyres each day. Hence, a strategy that enables the factory to do that is needed – while concurrently implementing automation there.

“Besides, when you implement automation, you have to be able to do it in a standardised way,” Heelis further enlightened and continued, “This can be done with the help of flexible automation modules that can work in a lot of different scenarios. Therefore, you can deal with different brownfield factories depending just on how you arrange your automation modules. Thus, you can come up with a custom solution for every different brownfield factory out there with the help of a modular approach and on the basis of how you connect those automation modules together.”

Service provided
From providing standard modular systems to hardware to software, Cimcorp strategically has a service aspect to its business – Success Services. Therefore, the approach from its service side is to enable its customers to be as successful as possible.

“That could be achieved by providing a 24/7 support. So if the customers contact us due to an issue they are facing in the solutions provided by us, we are available at any time of the day or night to support them,” Heelis revealed and added, “We can do it remotely. In fact, as technologies emerge further, we’ll see how we can do this more remotely with virtual techniques. Here, their serviceperson could be using special tools, which enables our people (who are remote) to actually be in virtual situations in our customers’ plants. In such wise, we can be more responsive and be as if we are in place in real-time in order to provide a service.”

Tyre warehouse automation or manual operation – making the choice
Nevertheless, Cimcorp does not just stop at its 24/7 services or providing its automation solutions for tyre manufacturing processes. It goes beyond that – to the finished product warehouses. However, interestingly, that depends to a degree on which part of the world the automation is needed in; while some areas will need automation that is well advanced, some areas will use a more manual operation.

Heelis explained, “There are some key factors that determine whether the facility/area in question needs to be automated or not. For example, the cost of real estate. If it’s a manual operation, then that typically involves a very large warehouse, say around 100,000 sq mt.”

“For automating, on the other hand, you require lands that are much smaller,” Heelis further highlighted. “For instance, land is very expensive in Japan. Thus, one wouldn’t want a very big footprint warehouse over there. Which means, you go vertical wherever land is expensive.”

“On the flip side, land is very cheap in some areas and inexpensive to build the generic building (like in some areas of the US). So there is less incentive to go vertical with automation there,” he added. “But there might be other factors that could dominate.”

Choosing automation over manual operation – why?
While some main factors do influence the decision if a warehouse is going to be a fully automated one or a semi-manual one, an automated one is always preferred. For clear reasons.

“The benefit of an automated warehouse is that everything is extremely well controlled,” Heelis informed. “What’s more, you have complete control of your product – you know exactly where it is, how much of it you have and you can get on-demand access.”

“As for a semi-manual warehouse, there are fork trucks, people moving things around and putting them in different storage locations,” Heelis further clarified. “This process is much more manual, involves a lot more interaction and is time consuming. Therefore, you have much less control over the process.”

Automation – a need not to be confused as a luxury
The automotive industry has been one of the earliest industries to adopt automation. So it’s high time that tyres, an integral component of any vehicle, did so too. It’s clear that automation, today, is not a luxury but a need. No company can afford to not have it. No tyre company must be limited to older technologies, and they must invest in automation for the long term. This would not just help tyre manufacturers meet their customers’ demands without any delay, but also help modernise the industry with the world’s rapidly changing technologies.

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Anyline is displaying its AI-powered TireBuddy platform at the 2026 National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show in Las Vegas (from 3–6 February), demonstrating how it brings objective, digital tyre inspections to automotive retailers. The technology, which standardises tread depth and condition assessments, is used by dealerships, reconditioning centres and independent shops to enhance operational consistency and customer transparency. At Booth 7649N, live demonstrations will show the system’s guided scanning and intuitive workflow, which technicians have adopted for its ability to generate clear, data-backed reports directly in the service bay.

A key adopter includes EchoPark, a national pre-owned vehicle retailer under Sonic Automotive, Inc., which utilises TireBuddy as part of its rigorous 190-point vehicle inspection process across multiple states. The platform provides repeatable measurements that strengthen technical recommendations and build buyer confidence by turning subjective checks into documented insights. Since its 2025 launch, the tool has been implemented by large-scale automotive groups seeking to improve decision-making and efficiency.

Anyline’s exhibition will focus on these real-world applications, showing how digitising tyre inspections creates a more transparent and trustworthy service experience. By replacing visual estimates with precise digital data, TireBuddy helps businesses streamline workflows, empower technicians and ultimately support safer, more reliable vehicle assessments for customers.

Christoph Braunsberger, CEO, Anyline, said, “Our goal with TireBuddy is to equip technicians with the tools they need to make accurate, fast and confident decisions, an important message we’re bringing to the forefront at this year’s NADA Show. By providing objective, AI-powered data, TireBuddy delivers a far clearer path to cost savings, operational efficiency and customer transparency for retailers – benefits that matter at every level of their operation.”

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As urban areas around the world grow increasingly louder, traffic noise has emerged as a critical environmental and public health challenge. Recognised by health authorities as a major risk factor, this pervasive issue extends from European cities to megacities across Asia and Latin America. Continental is addressing this problem by pioneering tyre technologies that significantly reduce rolling noise, thereby contributing to quieter urban environments and enhanced in-vehicle comfort.

The transition to electric mobility has brought tyre noise into sharper focus. With the near-silent operation of electric motors replacing traditional engine sounds, the acoustic contribution from tyres becomes far more prominent, even at moderate city driving speeds. In response, Continental engineers have developed specialised solutions that target noise generation without compromising the safety, durability or performance of the tyre.

One such innovation is the Silent Pattern tread design, featured on models like the EcoContact 7. This technology disrupts the conventional, uniform arrangement of tread blocks that typically creates a rhythmic humming sound on pavement. By intelligently varying the spacing and angles of these blocks, the pattern breaks up this acoustic consistency. Furthermore, it is tuned to cancel out specific sound frequencies, akin to the principle behind noise-cancelling headphones. This results in a measurable reduction of traffic noise at speeds around 50 kmph, where rolling noise is most perceptible to pedestrians and residents.

For reducing noise inside the vehicle cabin, Continental employs its ContiSilent technology. This involves lining the inside of the tyre with a lightweight polyurethane foam that absorbs vibrations caused by the tyre’s contact with the road. By dampening these air vibrations, the technology can cut perceived in-cabin rolling noise by up to nine decibels – a reduction the human ear experiences as nearly halving the volume. This substantial increase in acoustic comfort is integrated into various product lines, including high-performance summer tyres, without affecting driving dynamics or efficiency.

The company’s commitment to low-noise mobility spans multiple vehicle segments. From the Conti Urban NXT for city buses to passenger car tyres like the EcoContact 6 Q and van tyres such as the VanContact A/S Eco, these products are designed to meet stringent noise standards. Consumers can readily identify these quieter options through regulatory labels, like the EU tyre label, which provides clear decibel ratings for external rolling noise. Through these continuous advancements in tread design and sound-dampening materials, Continental is systematically working to diminish the acoustic footprint of road traffic.

According to Achillefs Tsotras, head of Continental’s Tyre-Vehicle Interaction department, “Noise, especially traffic noise from cars, buses and delivery vehicles, is a major burden for people and the environment. With tyre technologies like ContiSilent and innovative tread designs, we are actively reducing rolling noise without compromising safety. This makes every ride noticeably quieter, benefiting drivers, pedestrians, residents and the environment alike.”

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SemiCab, a subsidiary of Algorhythm Holdings, has secured a significant expansion to its existing Master Services Agreement with Apollo Tyres Ltd., a prominent global tyre manufacturer. Apollo Tyres, which serves major international markets and reports annual sales exceeding USD 5 billion, ranks among the world’s top 10 tyre producers. This enhanced partnership, building upon a commercial pilot initiated in September 2024, will see SemiCab manage freight transportation across 20 high-density corridors in India while increasing shipment frequency throughout a broader service region.

The expansion is projected to contribute up to USD 2.5 million in yearly revenue for SemiCab. The company delivers these managed services through its AI-driven Collaborative Transportation Platform, a cloud-based system engineered to lower logistics expenses, boost delivery precision and minimise empty truck miles. This technology offers complete live tracking and enhances network visibility without disrupting existing business processes. It seamlessly integrates with current transportation management software to automate tasks like ordering and invoicing and employs platform bots to gather data and handle routine operations. The system actively identifies and facilitates real-time collaboration between shippers and carriers to optimise efficiency.

Ajesh Kapoor, CEO of SemiCab Holdings, LLC, commented, “We are pleased to be a partner to such a prestigious multi-national company like Apollo Tyres, which is a globally recognised leader in the tyre industry. This new expansion of our existing relationship opens the door to immense growth opportunities for us. By leveraging our AI-powered platform, we are highly confident in our ability to drive significant cost efficiencies and delivery strong performance improvements for Apollo across much of India. This partnership represents a major step forward in our mission to revolutionise freight logistics in India, and we are excited about the growth it can drive for both of our businesses.”

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Dunlop will present its proprietary SENSING CORE technology at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2026 in Las Vegas coming January. The prominent global trade event, scheduled for 6–9 January 2026, will serve as the platform for Dunlop to highlight the system's role in advancing safety for future autonomous mobility.

Central to the booth will be a display focused on evolving SENSING CORE into a broader technology platform. This exhibit will detail collaborative technical verifications with T2 Inc., a firm developing hub-to-hub autonomous trucking services. It will also feature integrated fleet service demonstrations combining the sensing technology with AI solutions from Viaduct, Inc., a US-based company acquired by Sumitomo Rubber in August 2025. The company plans to leverage this acquisition from 2026 to efficiently expand predictive maintenance services for fleet operators globally, including in Japan and European markets.

Further exhibit segments will immerse visitors in six future mobility scenarios, spanning logistics, public transportation and infrastructure. The company positions SENSING CORE as a foundational technology for safer autonomous driving, capable of gathering critical data on tyre and road surface conditions. This information is intended not only for direct vehicle control but also for cloud-based integration with broader societal data streams. Ongoing development efforts are aimed at supporting the realisation of a safer and more advanced mobility experience for all.

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