AKRON—Chris Napier of ExxonMobil Chemical Co. and Gene Peterson from Consumer Reports magazine are scheduled to speak in a session on Testing for Tire Performance during the upcoming 2018 International Tire Exhibition & Conference in Akron.
ITEC is North America's largest conference and trade show focused on tire manufacturing and attracts a who's who of tire industry personnel from the U.S. and around the world. It takes place Sept. 11-13 at Akron's John S. Knight Center. More than 1,500 attendees are expected to attend.
Keynoting the conference is Richard Kramer, Goodyear chairman, CEO and president, whose address is titled "Miles Ahead: Tires and the New Mobility Ecosystem." The keynote will be delivered at 11 a.m. on Sept. 12.
ITEC also will recognize Michelin North America research engineer Stephen Cron with the Harold Herzlich Distinguished Technology Medal for his work on non-pneumatic tire technology and the non-pneumatic tire/wheel combination known as the Tweel.
Joining Napier and Peterson in the Testing for Tire Performance track will be Madhura Rajapakshe, test R&D project engineer for Smithers Rapra, who will discuss "Development of Tire Indoor Wear Test Patterns to Match On-Road Conditions"; Walter Waddell, senior technology consultant and co-chair of the ITEC conference program, who will speak on "RMT Tire Failure Removal Codes"; and Ron Burton, executive vice president, Transportation Research Center, who played a key role in developing TRC's SMART Center for testing.
Napier, applications engineer for global polymers technology for ExxonMobil Chemical, will speak on "Effect of Inflation Pressure on Tire Performance," while Peterson, tire program manager, consumer tire testing for Consumer Reports, will discuss "Helping the Consumer to Buy the Best Tire for the Way They Drive.
In addition to the Testing for Tire Performance themed session, ITEC will offer eight other educational tracks with more than 50 presentations on: Tire & Material Characteristics, The Future of Tires, Advances in Tire Manufacturing, Tire Failure Analysis, Advances in Tire Materials, Automation in Tire Manufacturing and Tire Reinforcing Materials.
Complementing the educational sessions, ITEC offers a trade show featuring more than 90 exhibitors and a myriad of opportunities for networking and business discussions.
For more information and to register, visit itec-tireshow.com.