GPX has introduced the Primex Logstomper Extreme with a revolutionary new tread pattern designed for better lateral traction for skidders working on slopes.

“This is the first innovative tread design in 40 years,” said Dave McAniny from Dynamic Tire, the GPX dealer in Moncton, New Brunswick . “The way the engineers - our competitors and ourselves - used to design the lugs, the tire didn’t give good traction laterally. If you were working on a hill you had a tendency to keep sliding.” 

In the new Logstomper Extreme, the bottom part of the lug is angled differently to give traction for vehicles working on a slant. An extra 10/32 inch of thickness also helps with traction and durability. The new tires are still in a test phase before being launched on the market.

Darren Burgoyne at Boyd B. Harding Ltd. in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, weighed in on the results of those tests. The company has forestry operations that use all Primex tires and they’ve been testing the new Logstomper Extreme since July 1 of this year on a CAT 535 skidder. The terrain is very hilly and rocky, says Burgoyne, but the tires have been performing well.

“They went through the summer and muddy season and now we’re getting into the winter season. The ground’s frozen and the frozen pieces of wood usually get stuck in the tires but we’ve seen none of that,” he notes. “There’s also little sign of wear where the chains are attached.” He also mentions that, with the treads closer together, the ring chains are holding up better, in fact, the whole tire-chain combination works better. “The sideways slipping performance is good, but the biggest thing we noticed is that the tires are wearing a lot less.”

The final test verdict? “They’ve only got about 800 or 900 hours on them so it’s too soon to say,” Burgoyne replies, “but it’s looking good.”

In the tire business since 1950, Alliance Tire Company, based in Israel, was “first on the market with floatation radial tires, and is now one of three companies in the world offering a full range of forestry tires, for skidders, C-T-L machines, harvesters and forwarders,” says Dr. George Ronai, product manager of OEM engineering at Alliance. The line includes floatation radial and steel-belted tires, tires designed for sandy and snow-covered trains, for muddy and stony ground, for working with bogey tracks or chains, and all-purpose tires.

“Alliance makes mostly hi-tech tires,” Ronai notes. “Israel is not a cheap labor country, so if we want to compete we need to compete with the highest possible quality, with engineering and design.” He stresses the company’s strength in engineering, “We are very, very flexible, very fast reacting, at providing special solutions. We have a lot of specific solutions, especially as related to floatation tires.”

Alliance manufactures its tires in Israel but developed its forestry line in Finland, working with Ponsse’s engineering department. “Developing a line of tires is a huge process,” Ronai explains. “The forest tire is one of the most complicated tires. It took close to three years to reach the moment that both engineering teams agreed that we have a product.” 

The company has just introduced its new agro-forestry tires, with special construction and six designs, for use in combined applications without changing inflation pressure. The F-370 tire’s high elastic characteristics, special rubber tread compound and strong steel breakers, among other features, allow safety and efficiency in field and forest.

Alliance has a sales and distribution network throughout North America and an office in the USA. At the end of 2008 they plan to have a new warehouse to support their OEM customers.

Extra special service 

Firestone’s Forestry Special Service tire, featured at DEMO 2008, has been upgraded to meet the demands of higher horsepower machines and heavier loads. A flatter profile provides more uniform wear and additional lugs offer more ground contact. The 23 degree tread bars are 25 percent deeper and up to 42 percent thicker to protecta against cuts, snags and tears. The addition of  CRC® (cut resistant compound) makes the tires tougher than ever. A Severe Service version has a heavy-duty bead-and-rim protector that helps keep out debris. 

The Forestry Environmental Lug 700 for reduced ground disturbance is designed for forwarders and harvesters and has 23° tread bars for excellent traction. Its 20 PR construction handles heavy loads and steel tread plies resist punctures. Special tread and sidewall rubber compounds resist cuts, snags, tears and weather checking.