TTI speaks to Christian Wahlen, technology development manager, specialties, at Allnex, about how the company is helping tire makers transition to a more sustainable way of working – without compromising on performance.
Sustainability is a key topic for all aspects of the tire industry now – what impact is this having on companies such as Allnex and its area of expertise?
At Allnex, our commitment to sustainability shapes our approach to tire additives. We are constantly innovating to develop increasingly sustainable solutions that enhance tire performance while minimizing environmental impact. This includes exploring renewable materials, improving production efficiency and reducing emissions throughout the product lifecycle. With our exciting recent developments, we are able to replace chemicals of concern in tire manufacturing, which has a positive impact on both environment and health.
How important is choosing the right chemicals to tire makers looking to improve their sustainability credentials?
It’s incredibly important! By selecting the correct additives and resins, tire manufacturers can reduce their environmental footprint, improve product performance and meet increasingly stringent regulatory requirements. Allnex’s additives contribute to lower emissions by replacing chemicals of concern and reduced energy consumption, aligning with industry’s sustainability goals and consumer preferences.
How do you develop materials with desirable characteristics – without compromising on tire performance?
Our team collaborates closely with tire manufactures to understand their specific needs and challenges, ensuring that our materials address exactly what they’re looking for. By balancing innovation with rigorous quality control, we can deliver solutions that optimize tire performance while minimizing environmental impact, providing value to both our customers and the end-users. At Allnex, we follow the unique approach of combining coating and tire additives technologies, which enables us to develop innovative solutions for the tire industry.
What are Allnex’s specific areas of specialty? Why do partners choose to work with you?
Allnex specializes in providing high-performance coating resins and additives, and across various industries including tire, automotive, construction and packaging. Our large toolbox of different chemistries in combination with our technical expertise enables us to constantly bringing innovative solutions to the market. For the tire industry, we are currently providing additives for reinforcement and rubber-to-steel cord adhesion promotion. Allnex is committed to replacing chemicals of high concern in tire compounding.
Our strong customer intimacy, combined with our global presence and worldwide network of manufacturing facilities as well as our commitment to sustainability, makes us the partner of choice for our customers.
What can you tell us about CYREZ Next Generation developments? What applications has it been developed for?
Our CYREZ resins are among the industry’s best-known performance compounds and used by major tire producers worldwide. They function either as adhesion promoters for steel cord or as crosslinkers for our reinforcement resins. At Allnex, we are at the forefront of melamine resin developments. Therefore, our new CYREZ Next Generation developments reduce formaldehyde emissions to a minimum, resulting in lower worker exposure and a positive impact on health and the environment. It is one additional step on our journey to replace chemicals of concern.
And what conversations do you hope to have with other attendees at Tire Technology Conference this year?
The team and I aim to have engaging and informative conversations that contribute to our understanding of key industry trends, foster collaboration and, of course, inspire new ideas designed to drive positive change within the tire industry.
We would like to explore how various companies are addressing sustainability challenges in the tire industry, sharing best practices and discussing opportunities for collaboration on more sustainable innovations.
Finally, we’d like to explore opportunities for collaboration between companies, research institutions and government agencies as we see that as key to addressing common challenges, driving innovation and promoting sustainable growth in the tire industry. At Allnex, we know that we can tackle these challenges by leveraging our broad material know-how.
What would you like those attending Allnex’s presentation to learn?
We will share our know-how about steel cord-to-rubber adhesion, reinforcement systems and present novel solutions to replace chemicals of concern in tire compounding. After replacing resorcinol in cord adhesion systems in the past, our latest breakthrough innovation enables the replacement of cobalt salts, paving the way for a safer and greener tire industry. We will demonstrate how to replace conflict materials without sacrificing performance. In addition, we would like to present our unique approach to creating innovation for the tire industry by combining our broad chemistry and material experience from coating with tire technologies.
