Trelleborg to boost R&D to support expanded U.S. mfg.

AKRON (July 10, 2016) — As Trelleborg Wheel Systems S.p.A. works to integrate the recently acquired Mitas Tires North America agricultural tire manufacturing activities with its own recently expanded U.S. production business, the Trelleborg A.B. subsidiary plans to boost its research and development efforts at both U.S. sites.

More specifically, Trelleborg plans to add personnel to its U.S. R&D staff; invest in a chemical laboratory at its new plant in Spartanburg, S.C.; and invest in a testing room at Mitas' Charles City, Iowa, facility, according to Paolo Pompei, president of agricultural and forestry tires at Trelleborg Wheel Systems, which is headquartered globally near Rome.

• This story appeared originally in Tire Business' June 20 print edition.

These moves reflect parent Trelleborg A.B.'s strong heritage in innovation and ability to develop solutions to the most difficult problems. It has been able to do that because technology is a key area of focus within the Trelleborg business model, Mr. Pompei said in an interview with Rubber & Plastics News, a sister publication of Tire Business.

Customers benefit from the technology advances, he said, as does Trelleborg, which has expanded regularly because of the breakthroughs its research and development team has made

Trelleborg did not disclose its expected investment in nor a timetable for the R&D additions.

Expansion mode

Supporting Trelleborg Wheel Systems' plants and expansion moves in North America, Europe and Asia are its worldwide research and development operations, which include centralized research centers in Italy and Czech Republic along with dedicated local units at factories that focus on the development of tires and rims for local markets.

Mr. Pompei said the integration of Mitas a.s. — purchased by Trelleborg May 31 as part of a $1.25 billion acquisition of CGS Holding a.s. — into Trelleborg's operation “will create a new leader in the agricultural and forestry tires industry when we talk about innovation.”

Adding Mitas to the fold gave the company two ag tire plants in the U.S. — Mitas' 263,700-sq.-ft. factory in Charles City and Trelleborg's 215,300-sq.-ft. facility in Spartanburg, where the company budgeted $50 million through 2018 to convert a former coated fabrics facility to tire production.

“Though we are in the startup phase (at the sites), the two facilities can count on a state-of-the-art laboratory and teams fully dedicated to product development,” Mr. Pompei said.

When the firm adds a new testing area at the Charles City factory, he anticipates it will support even faster development of the company's products.

“We develop products and solutions with the clear target of increasing the productivity and the efficiency of our customers and also to reduce the environment impact in terms of CO2 emissions,” Mr. Pompei said when discussing the firm's R&D setup.

In a very competitive market environment, he noted that Trelleborg's aim is to lower the working time for its customers and, more importantly, cut fuel consumption.

“This is particularly important in North America,” he said, “where there is, in my opinion, still a lot to gain when we talk about efficiency in tires.”

He views the U.S. agricultural market as the biggest in the world and said the company's R&D capabilities in North America will play an important role in delivering products dedicated to the market.

Because of that, Trelleborg has put its plan in place to bolster and expand the capabilities of the R&D units at the Spartanburg and Charles City factories.

Further training of technicians at the sites is also a target in 2016 and 2017, Mr. Pompei noted. That will be achieved through a team of technicians traveling from Trelleborg's service center in Italy to the company's U.S. operations. “At least two expert trainers will be present continuously,” he said.

Key focus areas

“Our R&D organization is based on five technical centers that perform product development activities in Europe, Asia and America,” Mr. Pompei said. “All in all, more than 140 technicians are organized to provide quick responses thanks to our local presence.

“They also ensure consistency and standardization of product performance from whatever product is produced. This is due to a central approval on concept design and final release.”

Trelleborg has people fully dedicated to long-term projects and strategic investments, Mr. Pompei said, “along with colleagues working on continuous improvement and product development.”

The two teams are connected under the R&D banner. However, he said, they work in parallel. “You need to separate the two teams if you want to focus on long-term projects and innovative ideas.”

Mr. Pompei said the firm's product development team ties in with its commercial development strategy, setting targets in cooperation with the company's marketing and sales team.

“The advanced engineering team is focused on medium-term developments based on our trend analysis as well as joint development with premium tractor makers,” he said.

Trelleborg tests all incoming materials in addition to products at the plants, because it is an important part of the firm's quality control, he added.

Adding Mitas' tire operations to Trelleborg Wheel will yield a business with more than $950 million in annual sales. North America accounted for 26 percent of Trelleborg Wheel's fiscal 2015 sales, or $133 million; CGS generated 9 percent of its fiscal 2015 sales in the Americas, or nearly $60 million.

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Mike McNulty is a reporter with Rubber & Plastics News.