Smithers Rapra has hired Brad Wurst as tire engineering consultant. With his extensive tire industry expertise he will focus on providing guidance and solutions that address clients’ development and quality-related challenges. Wurst will also help clients in developing a plan of action to implement solutions for their tire design needs.
“Brad has had a long, successful career in tire development and analysis, and he has a strong understanding of the needs of major tire manufacturers,” said James Popio, VP of North American operations, Smithers Rapra.
“He will provide significant value to our current and prospective clients through our consulting advice, analysis, and reporting.”
This hire supports Smithers Rapra’s strategy to continuously expand services to the global tire industry. Smithers is currently expanding its tire and wheel testing laboratory in Ravenna, Ohio, to accommodate a new Flat-Trac CT Plus system.
The new machinery allows Smithers to test most passenger car and light truck tires on the market with accurate and repeatable measurements of tire force and moment properties under steady-state and dynamic conditions.
In addition, Smithers has recently expanded its tire testing capacity at its Suzhou, China, tire and wheel testing laboratory by 35% and added new testing areas and an event center at its winter proving grounds in Brimley, Michigan.
Wurst has almost 30 years of experience in tire engineering, with expertise in tire development, project planning and management, product performance enhancement, and the enhancement of product performance prediction tools.
Most recently, he worked as a senior engineer of commercial tire development at a major tire manufacturer where he developed an on-vehicle test to duplicate tire conditions from the field. Wurst holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Akron, Ohio.
