May 18, 2024

B.F. Goodrich rolls into farm tire market

By Jeannine Otto

The new B.F. Goodrich Implement Control farm tires are being manufactured at the company’s Fort Wayne, Indiana, manufacturing plant. The first two sizes of B.F. Goodrich’s entry into the farm tire market were announced recently. The Fort Wayne plant employs 1,592 workers. (Provided photo)

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A tire brand best known for off-road vehicle tires is rolling off road again, this time into farm fields.

B.F. Goodrich announced two new farm tires, B.F. Goodrich Implement Control, as its entry into the farm tire market.

“This is just the start for B.F. Goodrich farm tires,” said David Graden, operational marketing manager for Michelin Agriculture for the United States and Canada.

Graden announced the inaugural offerings, the IF 280/70R15 farm tire, which is the equivalent of the 11/L15 farm tire and the IF 320/70R15, equivalent to the 12.5/L15 tire.

The new tires are Increased Flexion tires, said Graden, meaning that they can handle 20% more weight at the same pressure versus a standard radial tire, or they can carry the same load as a standard radial tire at 20% less air pressure.

“This is the first B.F. Goodrich ag tire that has been built in the U.S. since 2001. It’s built on an already proven B.F. Goodrich KM3 mud terrain casing. It can handle extreme conditions and abrasive terrain,” Graden said.

Graden said the new B.F. Goodrich ag tires are designed to work with central tire inflation systems, which allow the operator to adjust the tire pressure automatically. He emphasized the benefits of that system both to soil health and operator comfort.

“Lower operating air pressure protects the soil from compaction and, at the same time, the operator can increase air pressure to improve road handling and reduce fuel consumption while on the road at higher speeds,” he said.

The introduction of the B.F. Goodrich branded farm tires is a nod to the popularity of the B.F. Goodrich brand as an off-road vehicle tire.

“B.F. Goodrich is known for playing in the dirt. It’s designed specifically in the passenger car and light truck market as an off-road tire. We feel like the brand is already there. The brand name has already been built for exactly what this tire is going to do,” Graden said.

Graden said the company expects to expand the offerings in the B.F. Goodrich farm tire line.

“We are hoping to be a total farm provider. That not only includes your high horsepower, higher technology machines, but also some of the lower horsepower machines, in addition to implements. Everything that is needed on the farm, we hope to fill that gap,” Graden said.

The new B.F. Goodrich tires are manufactured at the company’s Fort Wayne manufacturing facility.

“The manufacturing team went to great lengths to bring the tire to us. Many of them also farm and this team has poured their hearts into making the product for us. The Fort Wayne plant is dedicated to manufacturing these tires for us and we don’t currently see any capacity issues through that location at this time,” Graden said.