Tire technology, innovation take the stage in May 13 issue of Rubber News

This week's issue is on a roll as Rubber News gears up for the International Tire Exhibition & Conference. Tire innovation is the name of the game for the May 13 issue's special section, which explores the latest technology, the biggest challenges and the loftiest goals across the industry.

• Michelin is taking a "stringent" approach to renewable and recycled materials with a clearly defined, clearly articulated way forward to meet its big sustainability goals.
• While Kumho plans to develop airless tire technology for "all categories where pneumatic tires can be replaced," the South Korean tire maker believes micro-mobility is the key to commercialization for nonpneumatic tires.
• Continental is gaining ground in the retreading industry with its newly opened Retread Solutions Development Center in Rock Hill, S.C.—where the tire maker plans to take their retreading business to a new level.
• There are two sides to two promising alternatives to hevea natural rubber. As the need for commercialized NR alternatives rises, especially in the tire industry, experts explore the opportunities and challenges that lie with guayule and TKS dandelion.
• Yokohama is paving the path forward for growth in North America with the groundbreaking of a $380 million passenger, LT tire plant in Mexico. The new plant, according to the tire maker, is a product of regionalization, bringing its tires closer to its North American customers.
• Industry veteran Joe Walker continues to sound the alarm on a looming shortage of essential chemicals for rubber products in the U.S.

The tire manufacturing industry is in transition, shedding the inefficiencies of yesterday's basic computerization models and moving toward next-generation automation, AI and digital platforms—all foundations of Industry 4.0. The level of automation that exists in tire plants today, however, varies widely depending on age.

Michelin showed its commitment to leading the sustainability charge at its recent Sustainability Summit, where representatives discussed how the tire maker works to define sustainable every single day—with high-tech materials expertise, product performance, manufacturing operations and supply chain management.

For over a decade now, South Carolina has been the heart of U.S. tire manufacturing. And with 12 tire plants, the state leads the nation with a daily capacity of 144,000 units, according to the South Carolina Department of Commerce. But the Palmetto State is not done growing yet.

Rubber News Managing Editor Erin Pustay Beaven caught up with Michelin's Pierluigi Cumo, vice president of business-to-business products, during the tire maker's Sustainability Summit in Sonoma, Calif. They discussed the trucking industry, the commercial tire sector and the sustainability that links both.

Whitney Luckett, president of Simko North America, warns the rubber industry that the supply chain roller coaster is about to get a little bumpy, as three major influences—geopolitical unrest, climate change and transportation costs—are gaining steam and converging simultaneously.

MOCA—4,4'-methylene-bis (2-chloroaniline)—is making waves as it's entering the EPA's risk assessment process. The Polyurethane Manufacturers Association is hoping to dim the environmental spotlight on the curative agent.

The EPA designated two key PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERC-LA), commonly known as the Superfund law.

This issue's Technical Notebook features the University of Akron's Yingmin Gup and Avraam Isayev and their exploration of properties of ultrasonically devulcanized and revulcanized used tire rubber and their blends with carbon black-filled virgin natural rubber.