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16 Rubber & Plastics News ● January 14, 2013 www.rubbernews.com Techinical Evolution of calender roll adjust systems By Lawrence Gooch were added to the lifter assembly to re- Gooch Engineering Associates duce friction and permit the reduction of “Calender roll adjust systems” describes Executive summary clearance in the total assembly. the means of adjusting one roll with re- The evolving technologies for calender roll position and nip pressure control Screw thread profiles and the number spect to another. are reviewed and compared in this paper. of threads per inch have been experi- The description is usually specific to The influence of roll nip control on the uniformity of sheet thickness, “strike mented with, and screws have increased the mechanism for opening or closing through” in fabric coating/laminating operations and cord spacing when double- in size to improve stiffness. the gap between two adjacent rolls. For coating reinforcing cord and wire are discussed. Broad guidelines for the selec- Screw and nut roll positioning sys- our purposes we will broaden the defini- tion and employment of available technologies are developed with an emphasis tems are gap control systems. The posi- tion to include the means of correcting on practical application across the spectrum of calendering operations common tion of the roll bearing box is adjusted to for changes in roll deflection—roll cross- to the tire industry. achieve the gap necessary between two ing or skewing, and roll bending—and adjacent rolls to produce a sheet or layer extend it still further to the control of of material of the desired thickness; to pressure in the laminating nip. tration and/or “strike-through” is de- chanical screw and nut, hybrid hy- successfully transfer the sheet or layer While the specifics of what follows pendent on the closeness of the weave draulic/screw and nut, and full hy- to a substrate; and, to fully encapsulate deal explicitly with calenders employed and the intended application. draulic. cord or wire. In the case of thickness, to coat fabric or cord and wire for the The principal focus of this discussion Screw and nut. For well over a cen- with some form of measurement—even production of tires, much of what will be is the relationship between certain me- tury and a half, the primary mechanism as simple as manual “snap gauging,” the covered is equally applicable to any chanical components of the calender and for adjusting the gap between two adja- gap could be adjusted to achieve the de- coating operation carried out in a calen- one of the classic problems in coating cent rolls has utilized a screw and a nut. sired result. It was generally understood der. fabric, cord or wire: Ensuring sufficient The screw bears against the bearing box that in the case of laminating or coating Tire cord calendering initially was force or pressure in the coating or lami- of the moveable roll. The bearing box is operations, gap or position control was a carried out in three-roll vertical calen- nating nip to accomplish the full encap- coupled to the end of the screw by gravi- “stand in” for pressure. ders. A layer or coat of rubber of the re- sulation of the cord or wire while main- ty (for the bottom roll in a vertical stack) In the early 1950s load cell technology taining the proper cord or wire spacing. or by means of a lifter mechanism, with evolved and it became possible to build TECHNICAL NOTEBOOK In the case of fabric coating, the prob- some means of rotating the screw in the into roll adjust systems a strain gauge Edited by Harold Herzlichh lem is one of achieving sufficient pres- nut. load cell to actually measure the force sure to accomplish the transfer of the Over the years, various methods have being supported by the roll adjust sys- quired thickness was formed between rubber or compound from the calender been employed to improve precision and tem—and, at least in theory, providing the top roll and middle roll, and trans- roll to the substrate and “striking operation of these mechanisms. Initial- the ability to control that force. In prac- ferred or laminated to the substrate be- through” the fabric, or at least penetrat- ly, roll adjust drive trains were com- tice, the electronics of the time were at tween the middle roll and the bottom ing the weave sufficiently to minimize prised of a large hand wheel with a sim- best cumbersome to use. roll. air entrapment and ensure proper bond- ple transmission, jack shafts, bevel In most instances, for another 20 Double coating was accomplished by ing in subsequent assembly and curing gears and cross shafts with jaw clutches years or so, load cells in calenders so running the web back through the cal- operations. to worms and worm gears—all open equipped were more useful as means of ender with the other side up. Efficiency Accomplishing this objective success- gearing. Eventually, most systems set- obtaining design data than as a means was improved by adding a second, or fully under a variety of operating condi- tled on individual two-speed motors of feedback for adjusting the roll posi- tandem, three-roll calender, and coating tions requires an understanding of the with brakes driving each screw or nut tioning system. the second side of the web in line. relationship between product (com- through two-stage worm gear reducers. Splice relief. As calender lines be- In more recent times, four-roll calen- pound) characteristics, the mechanics of Thrust bearings of various types have came more sophisticated and line speeds ders have become the prevalent choice. rolls, the operation of the roll position- been interposed between the screw and increased, it became desirable to splice In a four-roll calender one layer of rub- ing systems, the method and operation the roll bearing box. Some builders opt- the tail end of one roll of fabric or cord to ber is developed between the first and of the coating or web thickness measure- ed for rotating nuts with non-rotating the leading end of the next, first to re- second rolls, a second layer between the ment system, and the interplay between screws—thereby moving the thrust duce thread-up time, and then to avoid third and fourth rolls, and two layers the sheet forming operation in the first bearing from the bearing box to the cal- having to change line speed—to run as are simultaneously coated on the sub- nip and the laminating or coating opera- ender frame or housing. Thrust bearings continuously as possible. strate between the second and third tion in the second. rolls. Fig. 2. Roll deflection, crown and crown correction. In the case of cord or wire, the objec- Roll adjust or positioning systems tive is to fully coat each cord or wire; in There are three primary systems in the case of a fabric the degree of pene- use today, each with variations: me-

Fig. 1. Cord spacing, calendered wire or tire cord. RPN20130114P017.qxp 1/10/2013 3:46 PM Page 1

www.rubbernews.com Rubber & Plastics News ● January 14, 2013 17 Technical

Some means was needed to permit the splice relief cylinders. The design necessary to provide feedback to the ser- pression, these clearances are one side rapidly opening and re-closing the lami- and/or implementation of these systems vo valves. of the tooth or bearing; when adjusted nating nip to permit a splice to pass. were driven by three different potential The combination of precision position under no load conditions, depending on The solution was a short-stroke hy- advantages: measurement, rapid signal processing the orientation of the screw, they are on draulic cylinder interposed between the ● The theoretical ability, with the and precise and rapid valve response the other side. roll adjust thrust bearing and the roll proper controls and valves, to respond provided the means necessary to control To improve control of the roll position, bearing housing. The cylinder was usu- very rapidly to changes in operating for the change in volume of the oil in the or perhaps more accurately, the center ally built into the lifter assembly itself, conditions—specifically, the ability to cylinder when a load was applied. of rotation of the roll journal, preload or and close observation was necessary to change the effective gap quickly in re- Two different approaches to imple- zero-clearance bearings were added to detect their presence. sponse to measured deviations from tar- menting full hydraulic roll positioning the roll adjust positioning system. In some more recent four-roll “Z” or get gauge or thickness. were pursued: Preloads consist of a second bearing “S” calenders, the splice relief cylinder ● The capability of rapidly opening a ● In the late 1960s and early 1970s, outboard of the main bearing coupled to has been installed between what would roll nip in the event of an accident or a Farrel developed and fielded two varia- the calender frame by a means of apply- normally be the “fixed” roll and the cal- loss of product, and tions of an hydraulic roll adjust system ing load to that bearing. The arrange- ender end frame or housing, a choice ● Protection of the roll from overload. that essentially made the roll adjust ment permits pulling the roll closer to made possible both by virtue of the roll The retention of the adjusting screw system itself a large servo-valve; and the position it will operate in when un- arrangement and the almost universal and nut in the design permitted opera- ● With the evolution of hydraulic con- der load, and at the same time, removes adoption of individual roll drive. tion in gap mode, using traditional trol technology and precision displace- the clearances in the lifter bearings and As it turned out, if a small accumula- means of monitoring the opening and ment measurement devices, precision the screw and nut. tor of some sort was added to the splice closing of the roll nip. If the hydraulic servo valves were applied to what are When large anti-friction bearings be- relief cylinder hydraulic circuit close to pressure in the cylinders was high basically short-stroke large diameter gan to take the place of plain bearings, the cylinder, it was, in most instances, enough to create an essentially rigid col- hydraulic cylinders. This design ap- preload bearings were no longer as nec- not necessary to open the cylinder. The umn from the screw through the cylin- proach, separating the cylinder from the essary. Some builders shifted to apply- splice would force the fluid out of the der to the roll bearing block, the calen- positioning system, has become the pre- ing a load to the main bearing boxes, cylinder into the accumulator, and when der would operate exactly is if it were a dominate approach. thereby preloading the roll adjust bear- the splice passed, the accumulator would conventional screw and nut machine. ings, screw and nut, while relying on the force the stored fluid back into the cylin- A secondary feature of the hybrid sys- Roll bearings and roll position close clearances of the antifriction bear- der, restoring the proper operating gap tem is that only a relatively short stroke The improvements described were all ing to control the position of the roll or pressure. cylinder is required to achieve the listed directed at making the motion of the roll journal. The addition of the splice relief cylin- advantages. Although we think of fluids adjust drive train more repeatable by der also provided a means of directly as being incompressible, and that sim- minimizing the mechanical hysteresis Crown and crown correction controlling the pressure in the laminat- plifying assumption works for most ap- inherent in a mechanical drive train. At From a mechanical standpoint, a cal- ing or coating nip, and also adds a co- plications, fluids do compress under least two problem areas remained, and ender roll is a rotating beam. Beams, we nundrum that persists and will be dis- load. remain. know, deflect under load. Vary the load, cussed at greater length in this paper: Is Full hydraulic roll positioning. The first of these is that what is being the deflection varies with it. pressure control adequate and sufficient The reliable implementation of this con- adjusted is the position of the roll bear- To compensate for the deflection, we to ensure proper penetration/strike cept required the development of servo- ing. Modern calenders employ precision can change the shape of the beam so through/encapsulation, or is position control valves and high precision linear anti-friction bearings with very small that when it deflects under load, it pres- control more reliable and effective? displacement transducers, as well as the radial clearances, making this less of a ents a flat surface. With rolls, the shape Hybrid hydraulic/screw and nut electronics technology necessary to concern than it once was. However, a takes the form of a very skinny barrel, systems. Hybrid hydraulic/screw and process the data and issue the necessary substantial portion of the installed cal- and we say that such a roll is “crowned” nut systems are a logical extension of control signals. Position transducers are ender base continues to operate with or has a crown of such and such. (Crown plain or sleeve bearings. is measured on the diameter; the amount Fig. 3. Roll adjust mechanism with splice relief cylinder. These bearings require an annular of crown necessary to correct for the de- clearance between the journal and the flection of the roll is twice the amount of bearing in order to operate. Where the the deflection.) journal operates in that clearance de- Because loads are not always the pends on the resultant of the roll sepa- same, two basic techniques have evolved rating force (RSF) and the roll weight. for making gap between two adjacent The second is similar to the first— rolls appear to be straight or “flat” un- screws, nuts, bearings, and mechanical der a range of load conditions: drive trains all require clearances in or- Roll crossing. One roll can be der to function. When loaded in com- See Calender, page 18

Fig. 4. Full hydraulic roll adjust mechanism. RPN20130114P018.qxp 1/10/2013 3:53 PM Page 1

18 Rubber & Plastics News ● January 14, 2013 www.rubbernews.com Technical

crossed or “skewed” with respect to the are not on target, and how much of a dependent on scan speed and line speed. The method of establishing the cord or other. Put the crossing point at the mid- change is required. As an example—with a web speed of 60 wire spacing in the first place, and dle of the two rolls, pick the right The sheet may be too high or too low mpm, and a scan speed of 10 mpm, with maintaining that spacing entering the amount of crossing and, when they de- but flat in both the machine and cross a sheet width of 1.5 meters assuming a laminating or coating nip, is a subject flect, the gap between them presents it- sheet direction, It may be high or low at full width scan, the sensor will see the unto itself, and outside the scope of this self as uniform across the roll face. either drive side or the water side, and center “lane” in the web every 9 me- paper. Suffice it to say that the coating The roll crossing mechanism is com- consistently so. It may be high or low in ters—the rough equivalent of every operation will not improve a bad situa- prised of a motor-driven screw turning the middle, again, consistently so. fourth roll revolution for a 711 mm (28 tion, If the cords or wires are not proper- in a fixed nut, applying a force against It could have any of these problems inch) diameter roll. ly spaced entering the laminating nip, one side of a main bearing housing, with occurring either randomly or in a uni- (It sees the other lanes with differing that spacing will not be improved in the that force opposed by a hydraulic cylin- form manner in the machine direction. intervals, at the extremes of the sheet, calender. der acting against the other side of the Sheet shape errors fall into two broad every 18 meters, but other than at the Similarly, the means of establishing bearing box, thereby “capturing” the box categories, short and long term. Long- center and the edges, at uneven inter- and controlling web or wire tension between screw and cylinder. The mecha- term errors are most often the result of vals.) through the laminating nip, although nism is applied to both main bearing a change in operating conditions or The ideal placement for the thickness essential to the task, is for our purposes, boxes of the roll to be crossed, with the process parameters that produce a sensors is on the second and third rolls assumed to be in place and performing drive trains arranged to move the boxes change in the RSF. Examples might in- in a four-roll double-coating calender. properly. in opposite directions. clude drift in the temperature of one or Described another way, the best location Sources of error. Cord and wire Normally, there is a means of cou- both rolls, a change in the roll speed, a is just after the sheet-forming and me- spacing errors can be the result of inac- pling the two drive trains to ensure that shift in the viscosity of the rubber in the tering nip, and prior to the coating or curate sheet profile: Too much, or too lit- the bearing boxes are moved the same bank, a persistent change in bank size. laminating nip. tle rubber, will result in lateral flow in distance in opposite directions, to keep Short term variations may be either In the case of tire cord or wire calen- the laminating nip as the material seeks the crossing point at the center of the machine or process related, and general- ders, the problem is space and vulnera- to locally equalize the laminating pres- roll face. ly persist for less than two or three roll bility. Blister breakers, pressure rolls, sure. Roll bending. Roll bending is the ap- revolutions. Examples would include an edge dewrinkling devices, and in non- Excessive spacing most often occurs plication of a force to the roll that either irregular or unstable feed bank, unsta- tire applications, driven air bars, all near the edge of the sheet, as rubber at- opposes or cooperates with the load im- ble stock temperature/viscosity, thermal compete for the very limited space in tempts to flow outward. “Pairing” may posed on the roll by the product, depend- problems with one or both rolls, a bear- this area. occur at apparently random locations, ing on whether there is too much or too ing problem, or perhaps a drive train Scanning heads, useful for their abili- and is usually the result of one or both little crown on the two rolls comprising problem. ty to provide a good approximation of layers being high or low in the middle, the nip. Measurement technologies all employ the cross-sheet profile, are almost out of or at random locations across the web. The mechanism entails a second bear- some means of measuring the thickness the question, at least over the No. 2 roll. Spacing errors also can result from a ing mounted outboard of the main bear- of a portion of the web as it passes the The solution has been to resort to non-uniform gap in the laminating nip: ing at each end of the roll. A hydraulic sensing device. All measurement tech- fixed point measurement, usually three a more open nip on one side of the sheet cylinder or cylinders applies a force to niques produce signals with “noise,” points for each web. With sensors in or the other, or; too much or too little this bearing, and the main bearing acts which must be filtered and averaged to these locations, coupled with hydraulic crown; a combination of both problems. as a fulcrum about which the resulting provide a useful signal. roll positioning systems, it has become The other error, lack of adequate “strike moment is applied to the roll. Historically, gauging systems have possible to decrease damping and short- through”—sometimes called “not As with full hydraulic roll adjust sys- best been employed to correct for long- en time constants, permitting the calen- enough squeeze” or too much “squeeze,” tems, the response can be very quick. term errors. The time constants associ- der nip to respond more rapidly to primarily is a result of insufficient or ex- There is no back lash and little if any ated with making and averaging meas- changes in the RSF. cess nip loading. hysteresis (lag in response, especially urements, communicating a correction Techniques have been developed to Measurement—again. The challenge when changing the sense or direction of to the roll adjust mechanism, waiting measure on-line the position of the wire is that measuring the result requires a the correction) in the system. When ap- for the correction to take effect, then ini- layer between the upper and lower visual, or optical, inspection of the web. plied in a positive mode, that is, in oppo- tiating a new correction, militate against weight coat. This information can be We can only detect wire pairing and sition to the RSF, roll bending can also trying to correct for short-term distur- used to adjust the spacing in the upper spacing errors by inspection. At least serve to preload the main bearing and/or bances. or lower sheet forming nip to move to- one firm is marketing an optical inspec- the roll adjust mechanism. Early gauge technology based on beta ward the target “balance.” tion system designed to do just this, but ray absorption most often made use of These techniques do not work on cord the technology has not yet gained wide Measurement systems scanning transmission gauges located or fabric, both of which are relatively acceptance and in most instances the The ability to quickly adjust and pre- after the calender. That scanning post- transparent to nuclear or X-ray-based sheet is inspected visually by an opera- cisely maintain the relative position of a calender gauge remains part of the systems. For fabric or cord applications, tor. pair of rolls takes on utility only when measurement mix for most gauging sys- “balance” is still controlled in feed-for- We can school operators to recognize there is some means of measuring the tem suppliers. ward mode. We measure at least one the appearance of the web when the result of that action with a speed and ac- It has the rather obvious limitations layer on the calender, preferably two, “squeeze” is right a certain sheen or re- curacy consistent with the capability of of distance from the sheet-forming nip, and adjust the roll positioning systems flectivity, and a definite but subtle color the positioning system. We want the and the perhaps not so obvious limita- to correct for errors. shift. The technology to inspect for this measurement system to tell us how close tion that the frequency with which it parameter reliably has not yet been de- we are to the target thickness, where we looks at the same “lane” in the sheet is The problem veloped. The production of wire or tire cord ply The primary method of achieving con- Fig. 5. Typical roll positioning system for the sheet forming nips of four-roll tire is in certain respects different than most trol of spacing and “squeeze” remains cord calender. other coating operations. controlling the process so that it is sta- As noted earlier, the objective is to ble. When the inputs to the laminating completely encapsulate each cord or nip are stable, we can adjust pressure wire with rubber, while maintaining a and crown in that nip to produce the de- constant and uniform spacing of the sired result, relying on the stability of cord or wire. The combined layers of the preceding process to insure that the rubber and wire or cord are greater in job is done within acceptable tolerance. thickness than the combined thickness The two variables which we need to of the upper and lower rubber layers. In control are nip pressure and material other words, the pressure developed in volume. Most discussions on calendering the coating nip must be sufficient to focus on nip pressure (RSF) as it relates compress the rubber around and into to forming a sheet. In that operation, the spaces between the wire and cord. which immediately precedes the lami- When the resulting web exits the coat- nating or coating operation, we know ing nip, it will do so as a ribbed sheet. that the RSF varies directly with line There are two kinds of wire or cord speed, bank size and viscosity, and in- spacing errors: balance errors, the posi- versely with gauge or thickness. These tion of the cord or wire between the up- relationships generally hold in the lami- per and lower coatings, and spacing, the nating nip as well, the thicker the upper distance between the cords or wires. and lower weight coat, the softer the Control of balance is largely a matter stock, the less pressure it takes to force of maintaining control of two vari- that stock through or into a substrate. ables—thickness and viscosity (which, As the coat weight or thickness decreas- ● Three zone control: drive end open close, water end open close, crown in- as we have indirectly indicated earlier, es, the nip pressure must increase. crease/decrease (reaction roll-pair bending shown). are not independent). Maintaining con- For the nip pressure to be uniform ● Drive ends, center and water end thickness sensing devices mounted over the trol of the wire or cord spacing depends across the sheet, three requirements second or “blanket” roll in the roll pair feed data to the gauging system control on maintaining both a uniform tension must be met: The coating layers must be electronics. in the wires or cords and a uniform pres- uniform, the substrate must be uniform, ● Correction signals are routed to drive and water end roll adjust mechanisms or sure across the web in the laminating or and the roll gap or nip must be flat. the crown correction system, providing closed loop control. coating nip. Having to start somewhere, we will RPN20130114P019.qxp 1/10/2013 4:42 PM Page 1

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assume for our purposes that the sub- ing will likely result. It should be clear proper tuning, it is now possible to We focus on minimizing short-term strate is uniform. The roll gap will be that the best defense against cord or dampen shorter-term fluctuations in variation by careful operation. Operat- flat if the rolls are properly crowned for wire spacing errors and strike-through gauge. ing personnel need to know how the ma- the load being imposed. If the sheets or or squeeze error is optimization of the Pressure in the laminating nip can be chinery works, how changes in process layers, upper and lower, are not uniform sheet or coating layer entering the lami- controlled, albeit in a feed-forward or variables affect outcomes, and how entering the laminating nip, the cross nating nip. open-loop manner, to minimize the im- changes in machine and process condi- sheet laminating pressure will not be pact of short-term variations in stock tions can overcome those changes. They uniform or consistent. Integrating available technology thickness and/or viscosity. The capabili- need to know enough to be able to run With a hydraulic cylinder in the lami- Maintaining wire or cord spacing and ty exists to apply crown correction to under complete manual control so they nating nip, we can control pressure, and “strike through” or “squeeze” in the lam- both the forming nips and the laminat- will understand the importance of main- allow the roll to “float” to ensure consis- inating nip requires controlling the ing nip, to ensure that the cross-sheet taining as close to steady-state opera- three inputs to that nip, the upper layer profile and laminating pressure are as tion as possible. or coating, the lower layer or coating uniform as possible. The secondary benefit of that knowl- The author and the substrate to be coated. If these Control of crown correction in the edge is that they will then be able to op- three inputs are consistent, an appropri- sheet-forming nips is handled in the erate the line without the gauge or the Lawrence R. Gooch has been the ate gap between the laminating rolls same manner as water and drive side automatic set-up, if they ever need to do principal and owner since 1990 of can be found that will produce the de- thickness, normally using a third fixed- so. Gooch Engineering Associates, a sired result. point sensing head over the center of the consulting engineering firm serv- All three depend for their consistency sheet. Application of crown correcting in ing the rubber and plastics Indus- on operations that precede the calender: the laminating pass remains dependent tries. substrate manufacture, preparation, on a visual assessment by a skilled oper- He is a member guiding, tension control, formulation ator, at least for the present. of the ACS Rubber and ingredient control, work history and Division and a aging, viscosity and temperature, and What if? senior member of proper mass balance to the feed nip or What if the calender at hand is not fit- the American So- nips. Since all of these things are subject ted with hydraulic roll positioning sys- ciety of Mechani- to at least minor variation under the tems, perhaps lacks roll bending or even cal Engineers and best of circumstances, the calender is roll crossing? the Society of Plas- tasked with minimizing the effect of What if the calender runs primarily a tics Engineers. Gooch that variability on the finished product. fabric or cord substrate, and has only a Gooch is a registered profession- Several pieces of technology now single scanning transmission gauge or al engineer. He is the author of make that task easier. Deriving the op- even no gauge at all, even if it is fitted several technical papers. timum benefit from those pieces re- with the very latest technology? Gooch can be reached at l.gooch- quires careful integration. Hydraulic The guiding principle for calender line @goocheng.com. technology has advanced to the point operation is consistency and continuity. where precision positioning of a cylin- If all the inputs to the process are con- der, and very small adjustments to that stant, and the machinery is functioning tent cross-sheet pressure despite minor position, can be made very quickly and correctly, quality goods meeting a tight variations in sheet thickness or stock reliably. specification window can be produced. viscosity. Operating in this mode, we Displacement measurement technolo- We have looked at how the best cur- would expect to develop a relatively con- gy has improved markedly, permitting rently available technology can be em- stant RSF, and therefore a consistent reliable high resolution measurement of ployed to sense variation and correct for roll deflection in the laminating pass – roll position to provide the feedback nec- it, but we should keep in mind that the which can be compensated for either by essary to take advantage of the hy- best results are obtained when the vari- the roll crown, or by application of roll draulic positioning systems. Gauge ations to be corrected for are small. If bending. measurement systems have become one or more of the tools described are If either layer enters the laminating small enough, robust enough, and reli- lacking, or perhaps is of an older design, pass with a sheet shape error, such that able enough to be placed over the form- intended to correct for longer-term the mass per unit of roll face length is ing rolls, where shifts in thickness can swings in viscosity or changes in line not consistent, then the laminating be measured, processed, and corrective speed, then we optimize results by pay- pressure will not be consistent across actions sent to the roll positioning sys- ing attention to the control of the feed the nip, and localized cord or wire spac- tems in a very short time period. With streams. Pirelli adds new N.A. sales initiatives By Jeff Yip rial will earn the designation of being a Tire Business “certified” Pirelli dealership and that AUSTIN, Texas—Using the inaugural distinction will be noted on the Pirelli U.S. Grand Prix in Austin as a stage, website’s dealer locator. Pirelli Tire North America Inc. shared ● Traveling tire demonstrations will some Texas-sized ambitions with about concentrate on the new Cinturato P7 300 of its dealers and distributors that All-Season. Proposed cities include Los include plans for a certified Pirelli deal- Angeles; Phoenix; New York/New Jer- ership program and an expanded mar- sey; Atlanta; Miami; Boston; St. Louis; keting and promotional campaign. Baltimore/Philadelphia; San Francisco; Meeting in San Antonio prior to at- Chicago; Detroit and Dallas. tending the recent Formula 1 race at the ● A big push into print and online mar- Circuit of the Americas near Austin, keting and community building. The firm Pirelli dealers learned of the tire mak- has “lot of great stories to tell,” said er’s strategies for North America for Rafael Navarro III, vice president of com- 2013 and beyond. munications, media relations and motor- Among the initiatives Pirelli execu- sports for Pirelli Tire North America. tives outlined were: There also will be an online “Hit the Chip Foose (left) greets fan Shelli Nick- ● Improved fill rates, thanks to its Road” contest for consumers, blogger out- erson at a recent Pirelli Tire event. new factory in Silao, Mexico. Once the reaches, more advertising in enthusiast plant is up to speed, Silao can pump out magazines as well as trade publications. dealers that over the next three years 5 million units a year. The new Cintura- Pirelli also is strengthening its rela- Pirelli will have 18 new products, com- to P7 All Season original equipment tire tionship with noted car customizer Chip pared with the last 10 years in which it and the replacement version, the All Foose of “Overhaulin’” and Ken Block, launched 15 new tires. Season Plus, were developed for North the daring driver of the Gymkhana viral New products “are going to account for America and made in Silao. videos he popularized on the Internet. 50 percent of revenue (while) premium ● More dealer education in the form of To reach its targets, Pirelli will “keep original equipment sales are going to grow e-learning and traveling “drive-and- investing in innovation, research and from 70 percent to 80 percent,” he said. learn” demonstrations. The e-learning product development. That’s always The tire maker announced an incen- platform is interactive and designed to been the DNA for Pirelli,” said Paolo tive contest in which dealers who reach assess the learner’s baseline tire knowl- Ferrari, chairman and CEO of Pirelli Pirelli’s sales targets will win a trip to edge before delving into Pirelli products NAFTA region. Sicily, Italy. Holding the dealer meeting and technology. Noting that parent Pirelli Tyre S.p.A. to coincide with the U.S. Grand Prix at Dealers who have at least one employ- spends about 7 percent of sales on re- Austin tied into Pirelli Tyre’s role as the ee successfully complete the online tuto- search and development, Ferrari told exclusive race tire supplier to Formula 1.