With Tire Technology Expo, the tire manufacturing sector’s leading event, just weeks away, Tire Technology International editor-in-chief Matt Ross selects a few of his speaker highlights from the packed program of more than 180 speakers.
The conference takes place alongside the expo, which will be held at the Deutsche Messe, Hannover on March 19, 20 & 21, 2024. Click here to view the full program and book your conference pass here.
Tire materials and technology arms race
(Guy Heywood, vice president, Hankook Tire Europe)
MR: There are going to be some excellent sessions which present an overview of where the tire industry currently finds itself, and what challenges and opportunities it will face in the coming years. I’ve heard Guy talk before, and I can think of few people better placed to give an informed look at the situation faced by one of the world’s leading tire makers.
Active tread: Sumitomo’s innovative concept for the future mobile society
(Dr Toshio Tada, office head, new generation materials R&D, Sumitomo Rubber Industries)
MR: We’re lucky enough to have Toshio Tada on the jury for the Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence, so I have witnessed firsthand just how knowledgeable he is on some of the future technologies that look sure to be vital to the next generation of tire solutions. And SRI has a fantastic track record of groundbreaking innovation and incredible research. This session looks set to be worth catching.
Recycling end-of-life tires into new tires: the BlackCycle European project
(Dr Jean-Michel Douarre, BlackCycle consortium director, Michelin)
MR: The BlackCycle project has been a fantastic success, and a very important agent of change in the drive towards sustainability for the tire business. This will be a fantastic chance to hear the latest achievements which have resulted from the project.
An update on TIP-sponsored tire-emission research and action on mitigation
(Dr Larisa Kryachkova, executive director, WBCSD Tire Industry Project
MR: I’m heartened to see how, every year, discussions of tire and road wear particles are both more common and more prominent. This is an area that urgently needs study, evaluation and mitigation, so a chance to hear the latest on TIP-backed research is not to be missed.
‘All about Tires’: an AI-based specialized platform for tire science and technology
(Dr Mohammad Behroozi, vehicle dynamicist and Dr Georgios Mavros, reader in intelligent mobility and vehicle dynamics, Loughborough University)
MR: AI is a topic that is dominating conversation in pretty much every industry, and the tire sector must also learn to use this tool in the most efficient and appropriate ways. This presentation will discuss the use of large language models for predictive pre-trained translators, assess existing applications, explore industry-specific requirements, and examine the practical implementation of AI-driven tools.
Joint forces for the sustainable tire production of tomorrow
(Guido Veit, vice president sales plastic and rubber, Zeppelin Systems)
I first spoke to Guido about Zeppelin’s Sustainable Tire Alliance at last year’s expo, and I can’t wait to hear about the progress that’s been made in the past 12 months. The consortium has added some new members in the last year, so it will be fascinating to see how that expertise is being brought together.
Panel Discussion – Building a digital world for tires
(Kanwar Bharat Singh, program manager, algorithms and software engineering, Goodyear; Eduardo Minardi, founder, Minardi Global; Angus Webb, founder and CEO, Dynamon; Aleksandr Timofeev, CEO, PolyN Technology; Keith Ferry, CEO, Cerebrum Sensor Technologies)
MR: You’d struggle to find a better informed panel of experts anywhere (or a more knowledgeable moderator in Tire Industry Research’s David Shaw), so this will be a session to catch. The overlap between digital technologies and the tire industry grows with each passing year, so this promises to be an illuminating discussion.
A circular economy concept for the tire
(Dr Bernd Löwenhaupt, managing director, Sumitomo Rubber Europe)
MR: SRI seems to bring something truly groundbreaking to Conference every year, so I look forward to hearing more about the company’s unique circular economy concept – TOWANOWA. The session will include discussions on the circular economy, sustainability and data utilization.
Are your tires compliant when worn? Testing the new regulatory requirements
(Dalia Broggi, project manager – scientific research, European Commission)
MR: A new amendment to UNECE Regulation 117 introduces requirements for wet grip of worn tires to assess tire performance at end of life. Hear more about the testing of four tire models, recent developments of regulatory frameworks for worn tires, and the European Commission’s role in the European market surveillance activities.
