Australian farmers are set to benefit from a new tyre technology which its manufacturer has dubbed ‘liquid gold’
Local Maxam customers will soon be driving on more durable and energy efficient tyres, thanks to a new technology developed by parent company Sailun Group.
The patented technology – officially known as EcoPoint³ – reduces heat buildup and rolling resistance, increasing both wear and puncture resistance.
This all adds up to efficiency benefits for users – including Australian farmers – and increased tyre life.
Maxam describes the EcoPoint compound, which came about after years of research and development into high-performance rubber materials, as marking “a quantum leap in revolutionising the performance and durability of tyres”.
Maxam has a strong presence in Australian agriculture thanks to its heavy-duty Agrixtra tyre range, which also has sizes and models developed specifically for sprayers and harvesters in addition to its core tractor tyres.
The company also produces Flotxtra flotation tyres for the agricultural market.
Australian farmers will soon see the benefits of this EcoPoint³ technology – the liquid gold, as its manufacturer colloquially refers to it – as it is added to these agricultural tyres.
Eric Harrington – Maxam’s applications and field service engineer for Asia/Oceania – says there will be several benefits users will notice thanks to EcoPoint³.
“Compared to carbon black compounds and conventional dry-mixed silica compounds, the EcoPoint³ process provides superior distribution of ingredients during the mixing process,” he says.
“This represents a breakthrough in green and low-carbon tyre development, from the selection of raw materials, manufacturing and product life cycle, while significantly reducing fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
“Another benefit is around heat generation, which relates to the amount of energy that the tyre uses up every time it rotates.
“If you generate less heat, you’re using less power, and this leads to a significant saving in terms of energy usage.
“We have found a vast improvement in saving energy on our solid forklift range whereby forklifts use less battery power due to this”.
EcoPoint³ technology involves a “complicated process” that allows the product masterbatches to contain less filler and minimal impurities, therefore “resulting in maximum control on physical properties of rubber compounds”.
The raw materials used originate from sand, which helps to increase sustainability, as does a low-carbon development and manufacturing process.
Sailun Tyre Americas president Ron Dolan described EcoPoint³ as a “gamechanger” for the industry during its global launch in 2022.
“We’re thrilled to officially launch EcoPoint³ and see a project come to life after several years in development,” he said at the time.
“EcoPoint³ is a gamechanger for the tyre industry both for the quality of tyre it will produce but also in the way tyre are made moving forward, setting a new standard for the tyre industry in global sustainability in the automotive space.”
Australian customers can expect to see EcoPoint³ introduced to agricultural tyres in the next 12 to 18 months.
The manufacturer’s full range can be viewed online at www.maxamtyres.com.au