Tokyo—The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that the Alliance Tire Group (ATG), its off-highway tire manufacturing and sales subsidiary, won an Agritechnica Innovation Award Silver Medal for its Alliance 398 MPT agricultural tire. The Agritechnica Innovation Award has been presented to products recognized for superior innovations during pre-screening of products to be exhibited at Agritechnica 2019, the world’s leading trade fair for agricultural machinery to be held this November 10-16 in Hanover, Germany. This year, one innovation was awarded a gold medal and 39 innovations received a silver medal.

The silver medal–winning Alliance 398 MPT tire is compatible for use with a central tire inflation system*1 that automatically adjusts tire pressure to the level suitable for driving in the field or on a paved road. In addition, the tires’ all-steel radial flotation construction*2 enables the Alliance 398 MPT to deliver excellent performance on and off the road, with perfect traction, high load capacity, and soil protection when used on the farm and stable handling and a quiet and comfortable ride at high speeds when used on paved roads. The tire is the world’s first*3 agricultural tire capable of delivering speeds up to 100km/hr on paved roads. This duality enables farmers to load their crops directly in the field and transport them without the need to transfer to another vehicle, eliminating the need for grain carts and other equipment and contributing to greater work efficiency.

In addition to the Alliance 398 MPT, ATG’s exhibit at Agritechnica 2019 will include several other core products, such as an upgraded Alliance VF*4 series and the Alliance 579 for use on lawn and turf.

The Agritechnica trade fair has been held every other year since 1985. Agritechnica 2017 was attended by 458,000 visitors, who were able to see products exhibited by 2,802 companies and organizations from 52 countries.

Yokohama Rubber’s medium-term management plan Grand Design 2020 (GD2020) includes a commercial tire strategy that targets further expansion of its off-highway tire business in Japan and other markets by “Positioning commercial tires as a pillar of growth in our second century and off-highway tires as a growth driver.”

*1 A system that automatically adjusts tire inflation levels. On the farm, the air pressure is lowered so as to increase the surface contact area and disperse the load, thereby lightening the burden on the soil. On paved roads, tire pressure is increased to facilitate smooth rides at higher speeds. The automated system enables the driver to increase or reduce the tires’ air pressure without disembark from the truck cab.
*2 Among steel radial tire structures for tires used on agricultural machinery, this structure is known for excellent floatation (buoyancy) performance that lightens the burden on soil found on nonpaved road surfaces, including muddy roads.
*3 An in-company investigation
*4 Tires that conform to the VF (Very High Flexion) standard are able to carry loads as much as a 40% heavier than standard tires at the same air pressure.