Amerityre Corp. reports its Arcus run-flat polyurethane elastomer tire has successfully completed all testing requirements under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 139.
"Successful completion of FMVSS 139 testing on our Arcus passenger car tire design has been a high priority for our company," says Dr. Gary Benninger, Amerityre's president and CEO. "With the final endurance-phase testing successfully completed, we are now in a position to begin substantive discussions with companies that have expressed an interest in licensing our technology and to provide them with sample tires."
According to Dr. Benninger, while companies are evaluating sample tires, Amerityre will focus on finishing the design and development of the manufacturing equipment required to produce the polyurethane road tire in commercial volumes.
Amerityre says its tire manufacturing technology brings significant cost reductions to tire production. It estimates that the capital investment required for a potential manufacturer to produce one polyurethane passenger car tire per minute will be less than $10 million. This amount is one-sixth to one-eighth the cost of an equivalent rubber passenger car tire manufacturing line, the company says.
Amerityre is discussing the construction and installation of a pilot manufacturing facility capable of demonstrating this production capability with potential strategic partners.
Through testing, Amerityre says it has shown that compared to rubber passenger car tires, polyurethane passenger car tires are capable of achieving longer life through improved durability, while their lower rolling resistance also reduces vehicle fuel consumption.
Due to its chemical composition and the nature of its polymerization reaction, the company also says polyurethane is a much more environmentally friendly material than the rubber it replaces.
For more information on Amerityre, visit the company's Web site at www.amerityre.com.
