Mitas to launch PneuTrac in two years

Prague, Czech Republic – Czech tire maker Mitas AS has begun field testing its PneuTrac hybrid agricultural tire/track concept and anticipates being able to launch it commercially by year-end 2017.

In development in partnership with Israel’s Galileo Wheel Ltd. since 2013, the tire is designed to offer a 53-percent larger footprint and more than double the lateral stability of a standard ag tires. Mitas said it aims to measure and compare characteristics of PneuTrac and rubber tracks during 2016 to “clearly position PneuTrac among tire and track solutions” that are being offered.

“The footprint and traction force of Mitas PneuTrac and rubber tracks are superior to those of traditional pneumatic tires,” said Andrew Mabin, sales and marketing director for Mitas. “The next step is to compare PneuTrac and rubber tracks and see how close they will come.

“We are getting closer to a clearer release date being available. Our goal is to launch PneuTrac in roughly two years.”

Mitas has been conducting field tests in Czech Republic with a John Deere 6150R tractor mounted with size 480/65 R28 PneuTrac tires on the front axle and size 600/65 R38 on the rear. According to the company, the results show the traction force of Mitas 600/65 R38 PneuTrac is approximately 25-percent higher than a standard tire and about 15-percent better compared with an IF-rated tire.

Mitas also claimed the 480/65 R28 PneuTrac tire offers a 10-percent advantage in traction force over a standard tire and about 7 percent over the IF tire.

“The results of the first field tests that are under way in the Czech Republic give us a good feel for continuing the successful development of the Mitas PneuTrac concept,” Mabin said.

The tire maker added that slippage and traction force is measured under several modes of driving, and the result is the evaluation of traction force under the slippage that normally occurs during regular farm work (about 15 percent). These results are based on measurements conducted 22 July by Research Institute of Agricultural Engineering.