Mitas is planning to test the first agriculture tyre made from agriculturally cultivated crops. Rubber extracted from the Kazakh dandelion (Taraxacum koksaghyz) will complement rubber tree latex in the compound of agriculture tyres produced by Mitas. The company’s goal is to have the first prototype of the dandelion tyre during 2015.
Mitas is also currently involved in the Drive4EU project that’s researching the possibilities of using rubber from the Kazakh dandelion.
“We’re examining different ways to use natural and renewable materials to produce our tyres,” said the company’s sales and marketing director, Andrew Mabin. “Our research and development department is actively seeking new ways of improving our manufacturing process that includes researching new raw materials or substitutes. We’re one of several tyre manufacturers researching the benefits of the Kazakh dandelion in producing a more sustainable rubber for our tyres.
“A European-made agriculture tyre produced from cultivated plants grown in Europe: That is our idea.”
Cultivation of Taraxacum koksaghyz as a rubber-producing crop is one of the innovative ways of extracting rubber being investigated as part of the Drive4EU project. Mitas is responsible for testing the characteristics and features of the “rubber” derived from the plant. The objective is to find a new source of rubber with the same or better characteristics than those of the rubber tree.
For more information visit: www.mitas-tyres.com.
