Pirelli adapts MIRS to motorcycle tires

MILAN, Italy (June 18)—Pirelli S.p.A. has adapted its automated MIRS tire building process to make motorcycle tires and reports "considerable" progress toward making truck tires with the robotic system. The Italian motorcycle maker Aprilia S.p.A. recently approved a tire built with the MIRS—Modular Integrated Robotized System—process, clearing the way for Pirelli to move ahead with commercial production. The company will soon set up a MIRS building module at its Metzeler motorcycle tire factory in Brueberg, Germany, for that purpose. Regarding truck tires, Pirelli said prototype MIRS modules at its Bicocca, Italy, pilot plant are now "learning" to handle truck tires that weigh 125 pounds and more.