Emerson, a global automation solution supplier, is known for its solutions that help tyre manufacturers to have efficiency, safety and precise operations in five production areas- mixing equipment, wire and fabric calendars, extruders, tyre building machines, curing presses and finishing process.
Currently, the company is focusing more on solutions for the tyre curing process, which consumes the greatest amount of energy during the tyre production. If tyre curing process does not work correctly, it could also lead to tyre scrap and even breakdown.
“Today, we are focusing on increasing our value as a solution provider to monitor the health and performance of the curing system. Within the curing process, we are not just supplying valves or components, but we also deliver the controller, pneumatic valves and sensors that monitor each step of the process,” said Chris Bart, Director Business Development Automotive & Tire at Emerson Automation Solutions.
According to Bart, the challenge in the tyre curing process is to have precise control on temperature and pressure. With Emerson’s technologies, tyre manufacturers can maximise output and reduce energy and costs through better diagnostics, sensing and monitoring.
“The main challenge is the management of steam and nitrogen used to heat the mould and bladder pressure. So, any small deviation in the inputs can have severe negative effects on the quality of the products and overall productivity of the production line or the plant,” explained Bart.
In the tyre curing process, Emerson’s pressure-operated valves work in demanding steam applications and provide reliable and precise control, enabling rapid cycling and tight shut-off to ensure the curing press operates correctly and efficiently.
“Emerson’s valves system controls the movement of the steam and nitrogen into the process. Our valves are critical to supply steam and nitrogen in the proper time with proper temperature and pressure and make sure that there is no leakage during the cycle or between cycles,” explained Bart.
Digitisation helps Emerson’s steam valves to monitor the travelling time of the steam valve and detect anomalies, which ultimately assist in a predictive maintenance programme. “If any deviation happens, the system alerts the maintenance team, and downtime could be avoided,” said Bart.
Traditionally tyre manufacturing companies put a temperature gauge and a pressure gauge to monitor temperature and pressure in the piping system. “Earlier, it was tough to point out the reason for the deviation in temperature and pressure. We have developed our products that control the steam and nitrogen and also included the sensors that tell the exact position of the valves. So, we can also monitor the leakage of nitrogen, steam and the air we use in operation. It also monitors the air pressure that opens and closes the steam valves. We can monitor the total consumption of the compressed air as well,” said Bart.
“Today’s typical approach to see the only results, but with our system, we are giving is infinite detailed inside the system. This gives customers actionable insights to improve their tyre curing process.”
Emerson, not only provides the solution in the curing but also extends its offering to other components in the system. Historically the steam traps used to be checked manually.
If not work correctly, either a large amount of steam can escape or damage the valves and pipework. Emerson offers wireless acoustic transmitters that monitor steam trap health and detect failures in real-time. “The steam trap monitoring system is one of our biggest innovations in energy-saving efforts. With this, we can avoid damage or loss of steam and improve energy efficiency,” said Bart.
As part of its product development, Emerson regularly visits tyre companies to understand the pain point in the production processes. “Looking at their process and our expertise with the components as a solution supplier, we always look into further potential scope in monitoring, measuring and reporting in the tyre production,” said Bart.
For the mixing process, Emerson offers flow control and pneumatic directional control devices, such as pressure operated valves that optimise the mixing process. At a manufacturing production plant, the mixing is a crucial stage that decides the quality of tyres. All ingredients have to be mixed with accurate weight and in a controlled sequence. Emerson valves keep the weighing and hopper systems running efficiently and reliably while ensuring batch quality.
Emerson, for Fabric/wire calendars and extruder, provides products that increase reliability and material guidance precision of bead wiring and rubber coating, improves pneumatic system performance to avoid premature valve failures and reduces commissioning time through onsite/pre-set tuning. The overall company solution can significantly increase the lifespan of valves by purifying compressed air and regulating pressure and improve safety conditions for your workers by locking systems down during maintenance.
Repeatable, high precision pneumatic directional control ensures the production meets the highest quality specifications every time. Using Emerson’s modular and compact valve manifolds tyre manufacturing companies can achieve greater application flexibility, reduce costs, simplify commissioning, maximise the availability of tyre building machinery and achieve higher throughput targets. Increased visibility into the health of valves also lowers maintenance costs, says the company.
In the finishing process, Emerson’s products ensure precise and reliable motion control and positional accuracy. By offering higher repeatability and reliability, these devices reduce machinery downtime and maximise throughput. Emerson’s ISO and NFPA-conforming actuators and linear-guided cylinders are extremely durable, providing greater test equipment machinery reliability and extended lifespans.
According to Bart, the growing complexity in each process of tyre manufacturing is a challenge. “Complexity in mixing, calendering, tyre building, curing and in the finished products is growing, and it is demanding more control on each process. The evolution of the tyre manufacturing processes requires more insights and integration of process information. This enables continuous quality improvements and energy savings.,” said Bart.
Yokohama Rubber has established a new research and development centre in Hangzhou, China, as the Japanese tyre maker seeks to strengthen localised product development and speed up response times in the Chinese market.
The new facility, named Yokohama China Technical Center, began operations in May within the company’s new passenger car tyre plant in Hangzhou, which started production in November 2025.
The company said the centre would enable the local development of products specifically for the Chinese market, from initial research through to completion, helping to accelerate product launches and improve responsiveness to regional demand.
The centre will consolidate R&D functions for Yokohama Rubber’s tyre and multiple business divisions in China, while expanding engineering staff and testing facilities. Its activities will include tyre development, raw material analysis and evaluation, supplier audits, and mould drawing preparation.
Yokohama Rubber said the new operation would also support research into new raw materials and the development of local suppliers in China.
The company currently operates tyre plants in Hangzhou and Suzhou, alongside multiple business plants in Hangzhou and Weifang.
Aarika Innovation Launches KoolWheel Tyre Cooling System
- By TT News
- May 07, 2026
Chhattisgarh-based technology company Aarika Innovation has introduced KoolWheel, an automated tyre water spray cooling system manufactured in India.
The product is designed for freight vehicles and school buses to manage tyre overheating caused by road surface temperatures.
The system uses IR (infrared) temperature sensors, a 5-bar pump and solenoid valves to spray a mist on tyres when temperatures exceed a threshold. The hardware operates on a 12V setup and includes a controller that requires no driver intervention. Dashboard indicators and buzzers provide alerts regarding system status and temperature levels.
The company has introduced two variants of the product for KoolWheel Freight, which is designed for trucks, trailers and multi-axle vehicles, covering up to 22 tyres across six axles. And KoolWheel SchoolSafe, which is developed for school buses and coaches, featuring a 50-litre stainless steel tank and an automatic shutoff to prevent battery drain.
The company states the system can reduce tyre temperatures by up to 25deg Celsius and extend tyre life by up to 35 percent. The technology is intended to reduce the risk of blowouts and maintenance costs for fleet operators. The product is currently available in markets including Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana.
Swayam Agarwal, Founder, Aarika Innovation, said, “KoolWheel has been created to solve a very real problem faced by Indian transporters and school bus operators every day. Tyre overheating is not just a maintenance issue; it directly impacts road safety, operating costs, and fleet reliability. With KoolWheel, our aim is to offer an affordable, intelligent, and Made-in-India solution that helps fleets run safer, longer, and more efficiently.”
Pirelli Commences Cyber Tyre Production In Georgia
- By TT News
- May 07, 2026
European tyre major Pirelli is starting production of its Cyber Tyre technology at its plant in Georgia. The facility produces tyres for the US market, including products for the motorsport segment.
The announcement occurred during the SelectUSA Investment Summit. Cyber Tyre is a system that collects data from sensors embedded in tyres. This data is processed through software and algorithms to communicate with vehicle electronics. The system is intended to integrate with driving systems to provide functionalities for mobility and safety.
Pirelli is also introducing the Modular Integrated Robotised System (MIRS) at the factory. This manufacturing process uses robots to manage productivity and quality. The system creates a link between product design and application. This update is intended to increase the production capacity of the site.
The Georgia plant has operated for over two decades and includes a research and development centre. The facility uses natural rubber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Claudio Zanardo, CEO of Pirelli North America, said, “The start of Cyber Tyre production in our Rome, Georgia plant is a significant milestone for Pirelli in this country. It reflects our commitment to bringing advanced technologies like Cyber Tyre closer to the market, further strengthening our industrial footprint and innovation capabilities in the United States.”
Yokohama Rubber Deploys AI And Simulation-Based Mould Design System
- By TT News
- May 04, 2026
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. developed a proprietary tyre mould design support system in April 2026, integrating finite element method (FEM) simulations and the company’s own artificial intelligence technology. This new tool is designed to augment the expertise of development personnel, enabling even less experienced staff to efficiently design moulds. It achieves this by providing data derived from numerous virtual experiments, which clarify how different mould design factors influence tyre characteristics.
The system accelerates mould development, lowers costs and minimises the rework typically associated with realising new designs. Furthermore, by fostering a multi-perspective understanding of the links between mould design elements and tyre performance, the tool equips Yokohama Rubber’s developers with fresh insights. These discoveries are expected to aid in creating tyres capable of achieving higher performance levels.
Developed under Yokohama Rubber’s HAICoLab AI concept launched in October 2020, the system addresses longstanding challenges. Mould design critically affects tyre traits, but traditionally understanding this relationship required expensive, time-consuming trial production and evaluations. The process also depended heavily on the tacit know-how of highly experienced staff, leading to variations in accuracy and development time based on individual expertise.
The support system resolves these issues through automated simulations and AI-based prediction and visualisation. It first generates numerous tyre FEM models with varied mould shapes and calculates their characteristics in a virtual space. These results train an AI surrogate model that instantly predicts design factor-performance relationships. By applying explainable AI technologies like SHAP and Partial Dependence Plots, the company’s developers can quantitatively visualise each factor’s impact, easily determining necessary adjustments to achieve targeted tyre characteristics.
Comments (0)
ADD COMMENT