MICHELIN CELEBRATES 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST RADIAL TRUCK TYRE
Stoke-on-Trent – October 25, 2012
Michelin is pleased to announce the 60th anniversary of the introduction of radial truck tyres in 1952.
The launch of the first Michelin X Radial truck tyre helped to transform the road transport industry, which until then was using cross-ply tyres. The introduction of radials made trucking safer and more efficient – and incited other manufacturers to pursue the same path. In 2011, radial tyres accounted for 100 per cent of the Western European truck tyre market.
Michelin researcher Marius Mignol invented the first Michelin X steel radial tyre for cars in 1946, following it with the launch of the X Radial truck tyre in 1952. The ‘X’ is Michelin’s trademark for its radial tyres and is making its most recent appearance in the truck market on the revolutionary X MultiWay 3D tyre, which has just been launched in the UK’s most popular commercial vehicle tyre size, the 295/80 R 22.5.
Sharn Samra, Head of Michelin Truck Marketing for the UK and Republic of Ireland, says: “Michelin’s history has been shaped by innovation and there’s no better example of that than the radial tyre. Marius Mignol conducted secret research in occupied France during World War II to develop the Michelin X, and all these years later his dedication to innovation continues to run through our technical culture – just look at the €592 million of investment we channel into research and development every year! That is more than any other tyre manufacturer.”
A decade after launching the X Radial truck tyre, and as word about the tyre’s benefits was spreading throughout the transport industry, Michelin ran a series of high-profile field tests across Europe in 1962. For example, Michelin compared the performance of a set of Michelin X Radial truck tyres with conventional cross-ply truck tyres on two trucks undertaking a 435 kilometre journey from Thiviers, in the Dordogne region of France, to Paris. The truck running Michelin’s X Radial truck tyres reduced fuel consumption by 6.7 litres per 100 kilometres compared to the truck running on cross-ply tyres, a saving of 13.8 per cent.
Worldwide, radials now account for 73 per cent of truck tyres, Michelin estimates.
ends
Michelin (www.michelin.co.uk)
Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tyres for every type of vehicle, including aircraft, bicycles, cars, earthmoving machines, farm equipment, trucks and motorcycles. Michelin employs 115,000 people, has sales organisations in more than 170 countries and operates 69 production sites in 18 countries throughout five continents. The Company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases and offers electronic mobility support services on ViaMichelin.com. Research and development is undertaken in technology centres in Asia, Europe and North America.
For further press information please contact:
Paul Cordle, Michelin Press Office
Tel: + 44 (0) 1782 402341 Email: paul-m.cordle@uk.michelin.com
James Keeler, Garnett Keeler PR, Inver House, 37-39 Pound Street,
Carshalton, Surrey, SM5 3PG
Tel: +44 (0)20 8647 4467 Fax: +44 (0)20 8544 4711 E-mail: james.keeler@garnettkeeler.com
MICHT/102/12
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