Guy Heywood, VP of Marketing Strategy For Hankook Truck and Bus Europe spoke to us recently on Construction Tyres

The start of 2023 saw us encounter several obstacles such as the economic challenges which are faced by all companies in our field. I joined Prometeon in 2020 as Marketing Manager, and being the Marketing Manager is in my view a good bridge to this role. It gave me extremely good experience before becoming the Managing Director, so I had a very quick adjustment in the role. Also, the fact that I have been part of the team for a while now really helps, given that I know the customers, I know the contracts which makes the transition easier.

We are noticing a trend towards radial tyres. But depending on the type of task the vehicles are to perform; a decision must be made as to which tyre design is suitable. For applications like backhoe and motor grader, more radial tyre options are indeed coming on the market all the time that traditionally would have been bias.

From November 12^th to the 18^th manufacturers, engineers, industry specialists and onlookers from all over the world gathered in Hanover, Germany, to attend AGRITECHNICA, one of the world’s largest agricultural machinery trade fairs.

There is certainly a transition underway, but we continue to observe a demand for bias tyres in specific segments such as forklifts and ports. However, the overall trend is moving towards radials, with a gradual decline in diagonal tyre demand. So, the move away from bias is gradual but it is happening, certainly from YOHT’s perspective.