A €30m (£27m) investment programme in product development and production capacity is set to yield new sizes for Apollo Vredestein’s Traxion Optimall flagship tyre design to cater for a broader range of tractor sizes and power outputs of more than 350hp.

At present, the Traxion Optimall, a VF category traction tyre, is produced in 21 sizes from VF 600/65 R28 to VF 900/60 R42.

These cater for tractors from 150hp to a limited extent, while most sizes fit tractors from 170hp to 250hp-plus running on tyres 1.95m to 2.15m tall.

Thanks to the extensive development programme now under way at the company’s Enschede factory in the Netherlands, that will change over the next three years or so with the introduction of smaller sizes for tractors of 100-120hp and additional sizes catering for the higher bands of 170-220hp and 220-280hp.

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New sizes

A VF 650/65 R38 rear tyre for 150hp tractors is scheduled to be among the first new sizes introduced, along with a VF 750/70 R44 – Vredestein’s tallest tyre yet – for tractors of 300hp-plus.

More sizes are in the pipeline for the 300hp-plus, 2.2m tyre category, and the company is also working towards 2.3m tall tyres for 350hp-plus tractors.

All the new tyres will feature the characteristic Traxion lug pattern, which places a large proportion of tread rubber down the centre of the tyre for low noise and vibration on the road, and a diverging rather than parallel lug pattern to achieve decent traction and self-cleaning properties in the field.

By meeting the performance characteristics of the VF category, the Optimall tyres can be operated at 40% lower inflation pressure than a standard tyre of equivalent size carrying the same load.

The VF 750/70 R 44 size being developed for the Traxion Optimall range will be Vredestein’s tallest tyre to date © Vredestein

“Vredestein has gone from a niche player in the off-highway sector to a full-liner with tyre products for almost every application,” said Guido Boerkamp, director of Apollo Vredestein Group off-highway tyres in Europe.

“We have a growing market share in the region and original equipment manufacturer [OEM] agreements to supply our Traxion tractor tyres to Agco, CNH, Claas and John Deere tractor factories.”

Apollo Vredestein also has OEM supply agreements for loader and telehandler manufacturers – including Caterpillar, Dieci, Liebherr and Manitou – in addition to long-established contracts for tyres and complete wheel assemblies with a large number of implement manufacturers.

These OEM agreements now account for about 43% of Vredestein agricultural tyre sales in Europe, with the rest made up by dealers supplying the replacement market.