JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—Industrial tire and track manufacturer McLaren Industries Inc. has opened a research and development center in Jacksonville to enhance its ability to service customers in North America.
The R&D facility is capable of conducting research into customers' needs for tires and/or tracks for skid-steers, backhoes, track loaders, telehandlers and more, according to the company. It features various terrains, from grass and gravel to concrete and asphalt, so researchers can gauge how different designs and compounds react to each surface.
“This will be an extremely valuable tool to support our OEM clients for developing and testing new track and tire designs,” said Poj-Piman Nawadhinsukh, who is overseeing the facility and engineering team. “We develop our products and get results for our clients in real-time.
“Everything is much more visible and tangible here.”
Nawadhinsukh has 30 years' global experience in senior management for multi-national companies in various industries.
“Appointing a senior executive with a proven track record to lead our research and development center in Jacksonville is one of the many steps we have made toward continuing our worldwide success, and making McLaren a truly global company,” said R.J. Doyle, McLaren Industries CEO.
“Mr. Nawadhinsukh will have a special advantage in coordinating our international efforts to develop products that meet the needs of our ever-growing business here in North America,” he added.
Hawaiian Gardens, Calif.-based McLaren Industries produces flat-proof tires for skid steers, telehandlers, wheel loaders and backhoes, rubber tracks for mini-excavators, track loaders, agricultural machines and carrier vehicles, and over-the-tire tracks for skid steers, at a state-of-the-art plant in Ayutthaya, Thailand, in the heart of what it called the world's No. 1 natural rubber-producing country.
Privately owned McLaren Industries was founded in 1997.