Smithers Presents Emerging Tire Trends at Traction and Carbon Black World

May 19, 2016

Two Smithers Rapra Inc. tire experts with more than 70 years combined experience will speak about tire trends at two upcoming, and concurrent, conferences: Traction: Driving the Tire Industry Forward, and Carbon Black World 2016.

The events will take place May 25-26, 2016, at the Omni Fort Worth in Fort Worth, Texas.

Dean Tener, technical manager, will lead a discussion on the implications that electric and autonomous vehicles will have on tire designs. Tener’s presentation, at 10 a.m. on May 25, will spotlight various aspects of tire design and performance that must shift with technology changes.

“As technological advances in sensors, cameras, radar, software, and electronics are incorporated into vehicles, the needs surrounding tires will change as well,” Tener says.

Bruce Lambillotte, general manager of Smithers Rapra’s Akron Laboratories and Tire Services, will explore how the increased use of silica has consequences for the material composition and performance of passenger tires and portends a challenge for the carbon black industry. His session, “Trends in Silica Usage in Passenger Tires” will take place at 3:05 p.m. on May 25.

“Traction and Carbon Black Summit offer an incredible opportunity to discuss innovations and the future of the tire industry paired with global expertise on issues affecting the carbon black supply chain,” says James Popio, vice president of Smithers Rapra North America. “Dean and Bruce are respected experts in the tire industry and will offer an inside look at tire construction and considerations for autonomous vehicles.”

Visit Traction or Carbon Black World for more information. Attendees can attend programming at both conferences for no additional cost.

Tener has more than 30 years of experience in the research, design, and testing sectors of the automotive industry. Prior to joining Smithers, he led testing on tire and wheel systems at General Motors and CAE simulation for vehicle systems at Honda R&D Americas Inc. He also worked on tire development at Bridgestone Americas Inc.

Lambillotte has more than 40 years of experience in the rubber industry, with a background in product development for Continental Tire the Americas LLC. He is responsible for analytical and physical properties testing services for Smithers Rapra, North America. He is also a senior technical consultant, managing product and process-specific technical consulting activities involving polymer products.

For more information about Smithers Rapra visit www.smithersrapra.com.