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.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Gradeall International Ltd, a manufacturer of tyre recycling equipment and waste management machinery based in Northern Ireland, is drawing attention to an emerging environmental issue linked to the worldwide transition to electric vehicles. While EVs are effective in cutting transport emissions, they contribute to a new problem: accelerated tyre wear. As EV uptake grows across UK and globally, the resulting surge in end-of-life tyres is placing mounting strain on existing recycling systems. The Northern Ireland-based company is promoting the value of PAS 108 tyre baling as a practical solution for operators dealing with this increasing waste stream.

The accelerated degradation of EV tyres is largely due to the significant weight of their battery packs, which can add several hundred kilogrammes compared to conventional vehicles. This extra load, combined with the instant torque characteristic of electric motors and the friction generated by regenerative braking, leads to more rapid tread wear. These mechanical demands mean EV tyres require replacement sooner, intensifying the volume of waste material entering the recycling chain.

Evidence from industry research underscores the scale of the issue. Data from Epyx, analysing millions of vehicles, reveals that EV tyres wear out thousands of miles earlier than those on petrol or diesel cars. First replacements for EVs typically occur around 18,000 miles (approximately 28,968 km), a notable contrast with the longer lifespan of conventional vehicle tyres. Some estimates suggest EV tyres wear out up to half as quickly again, reinforcing the need for robust processing infrastructure.

Tyre baling has emerged as a widely adopted method for managing large quantities of waste tyres. Hydraulic balers compress whole tyres into dense, standardised units that are easier to store, transport and reuse. In the UK, PAS 108 sets the benchmark for tyre bale quality, defining standards for density, dimensions, and binding to ensure suitability in civil engineering projects like drainage and embankments.

Gradeall’s MKII PAS 108 tyre baler enables operators to process growing volumes efficiently while adhering to recognised specifications. As EV adoption accelerates across the UK and Ireland, such scalable equipment is becoming essential for responsibly managing the next wave of electric vehicle tyre waste.

Conor Murphy of Gradeall International said, “The EV revolution is great for emissions, but it is creating a tyre waste problem the recycling industry needs to address now. Electric vehicles wear through tyres 20–30 percent faster due to battery weight and instant torque. As EV fleets expand, the volume of end-of-life tyres entering the waste stream will increase accordingly. PAS 108-compliant processing provides a reliable way for operators to manage that growth responsibly.”

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

MESNAC participated in the 2026 Tire Technology Expo, held from 3 to 5 March 2026 at the Hannover International Exhibition Center in Germany. At the event, the company presented its advanced technologies and intelligent manufacturing systems, underscoring its role in advancing smart production and sustainable practices within the global rubber industry.

The company’s presence at the expo featured several technological achievements across key stages of tyre production. Its intelligent mixing solution integrated automated film feeding and cutting mechanisms with AI-powered software, enabling full material traceability and automated handling of rubber compounds. In tyre building, the international version of the NPS PCR one-stage building machine demonstrated exceptional performance with a 35-second production cycle per tyre and a fully unmanned operation. MESNAC also highlighted its full range of curing presses, which incorporate patented electric heating technologies to reduce energy use and support flexible, environmentally responsible manufacturing processes.

In addition to product innovations, MESNAC shared its strategic direction focused on smart manufacturing, localised service and sustainability. By leveraging proprietary artificial intelligence solutions, the company provides integrated smart factory projects that enable data-informed and efficient production. To strengthen its global service network, MESNAC is expanding its footprint with production and service centres in Southeast Asia and other regions, ensuring responsive local support. Looking forward, MESNAC is committed to embedding sustainability into its operations, working towards a low-carbon and circular economy for the rubber sector.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Bridgestone Americas is set to introduce its new Fleet Portal platform at the upcoming Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC) Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition, taking place from 16 to 19 March 2026 in Nashville. Designed to streamline and simplify fleet management, the platform consolidates essential digital tools into a single, unified interface to help commercial fleets enhance operational efficiency.

The web-based Fleet Portal brings together various fleet management systems, allowing users to access multiple services with just one login. Key features include oversight of accounts, user permissions, vehicle assets and service records, as well as billing, performance reporting and support resources. The portal also provides direct links to other Bridgestone applications. Integrated within the platform is the Service Dispatch solution, which connects fleets with the Bridgestone Commercial Dealer Network, automates technician deployment and enables comprehensive tracking of service documentation and digital data.

To boost productivity, the platform incorporates automation to analyse data, recommend actions and improve search functionality. Initial features include an automated workflow for service events that reduces duplicate data entry and accelerates tyre repairs based on fleet profiles. A streamlined search function allows quick access to technical documents, troubleshooting guides and reports, while centralised network access provides instant connections to dealer locations and training materials, cutting down on resolution time.

Future enhancements for the Fleet Portal will include AI-powered analytics and advanced workflow automation, aligning with Bridgestone’s broader strategy to integrate artificial intelligence across its customer support tools. At the event, Bridgestone’s booth (#2513) will also feature its latest truck and retread tyres tailored for various applications, with representatives available throughout the exhibition hours.

Josh Holland, Vice President – Network and Fleet Care Solutions, Bridgestone Americas, said, “With the new Fleet Portal, we can centralise all tools and data into a single digital experience for fleets. This integration is key to Bridgestone's customer strategy to connect our fleet solutions in ways that deliver stronger performance with less complexity.”

Steve Hoeft, President – Commercial Truck Group, Bridgestone Americas, said, “Centralising insights and workflows means less manual work, faster decisions and full operational visibility. It’s a major step in the industry’s digital evolution, enabling fleets to move from reactive problem-solving to proactive decision-making and management."

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

TROESTER GmbH & Co. KG expanded its automation capabilities in 2025 by acquiring SC OTOMASYON, a Turkish company based in Istanbul. The acquired business now operates as TROESTER Robotics and has been fully integrated into the TROESTER Group structure. This strategic move enhances the company’s expertise in automation and robotics while creating synergies that support future growth.

The acquisition marks an important step in TROESTER’s long-term strategy of developing autonomous production systems that enable fully integrated, low-labour manufacturing processes. Through TROESTER Robotics, the company now gains access to robotic applications across the entire tyre factory, from individual process stations to fully networked production lines. This capability addresses growing global demand for robotic solutions, as manufacturers in Europe, China and North America increasingly face workforce shortages.

With this integration, TROESTER can now meet that demand with comprehensive solutions from a single source. Both teams look forward to working together and jointly advancing technologically leading automation solutions.

Thomas Holzer, CEO, TROESTER GmbH & Co. KG, “The company brings start-up spirit, agility and strong innovative capabilities, while TROESTER contributes decades of experience, established commercial structures, a global sales network and longstanding customer relationships. Together, this creates a clear competitive advantage and a USP that sets us apart in the market.”

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!