New Stars on Spanish Soils

April 26, 2022

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Almost two years ago, the Agri Star II joined the “family” of Alliance tires in Spain. This new tire, as well as the upgraded version of the Alliance Agriflex+ 372, highlights the important role of radial tractor tires in modern agriculture and how Yokohama Off Highway Tires’ Alliance brand supports the farming community. No wonder that also the new “family member” captured the hearts of farmers and contractors in an instant.

Whether challenging work on hard soils or frequent road transports, farming or contracting businesses: conclusions of users recently surveyed in Spain are as convincing as they are unambiguous. “Yes, I indeed recommend these tires to colleagues and neighbours as their performance is good, the price is reasonable, and the experiences to date by far exceed the results of the brands that we used before” – is more or less a standard reply.

Enormous sympathy underpinned by “dry facts”
And this statement is even further underpinned by recent research results with the Alliance Agriflex+ 372 in Denmark and by new sizes that were launched in the Agri Star II range. Thanks to the lower inflation pressure, field trials with VF tires in Denmark showed significantly lower soil compaction, measurable yield increases and calculated profit gains in maize between 21.8 and 32 EUR per hectare. With regard to the Agri Star II as the “new star on Spanish soils”, 12 sizes were added to this highly successful radial tractor tire range, thus further completing the portfolio.

“Listening to our customers in the various markets around the globe – as we thoroughly did during the concept and development phase of the Agri Star II – makes us very proud today”, says Angelo Noronha, President Europe at Yokohama ATG Tires and thus also responsible for the Alliance brand in Europe. He continues: “There is a huge demand for our key tractor radials such as the Agri Star II and the Agriflex+ 372, and there is such positive feedback from end-users! All this confirms our strategy to invest dearly in research and product development, and then come up with first-class solutions that help agricultural businesses to cope with their multi-fold daily challenges. We’ve compiled some comments from Spain – and hope you’ll enjoy to witness solid customer satisfaction and pride as much as we do!”

Top traction and wear resistance
Simón Haro Martínez operates a 280 hp John Deere tractor in the Almería region for about 2,800 to 3,000 hours per year. The tractor is mainly used for earth movements with a scraper. In July 2020, Simón decided to have the Alliance Agriflex+ 372 mounted on his tractor, as tires of previously used brands showed excessive wear and different signs of damage such as cracking liners and chunks of rubber that were breaking out of the tread blocks. “We currently estimate that we will be able to use the Agriflex + 372 for at least 12,000 hours, and this is really good value for money. I particularly like the combination of powerful traction and the obvious wear resistance which both exceed the performance of the tires that we used before.”

Reinforced carcass, high speed rating
Carlos Cruset Pujol runs a contracting business near the town of Girona. Based on good experiences with regard to Alliance tires’ performance and durability, Carlos already bought several sets. “I actually introduced this brand to all my tractors once the previously used tires reach their wear limits. Much of our work is performed on rather soft sandy soils, and I particularly like the strong liners of the Agriflex+ 372, their reinforced carcass and the high speed rating”, says Carlos. About 1,000 to 1,500 annual working hours and different tasks in agriculture such as field and transport work as well as levelling work with tractor-scraper-combinations make for varied and in part really challenging working conditions. “I expect to operate the Alliance Agriflex+ 372 for more than 8,000 hours and already recommended brand and tread to a neighbour – one reason being that I am also highly pleased with Alliance’s equally quick and positive reaction to a customer claim that I filed some months ago. It seems that my arguments were convincing”, says Carlos with smile, “because the neighbour already installed the Agriflex+ 372 on his tractor, too.”

No more punctures and cuts in tire flanks
Previous unsatisfactory experiences made Cristóbal Rodriguez Gabbarón look for other – and better – tires some time ago. Today, almost all tractors of his contracting business in the area of Murcia are equipped with Alliance tires. One machine is equipped with the Agriflex+ 372 (John Deere 7930) and another with the Agri Star II (John Deere 6320). “I bought the Agriflex+ about one year and the Agri Star II about two months ago”, reports Cristóbal, and he adds: “The 372 VF already has a flawless working record of more than 2,000 hours. And that is a decisive difference to what we experienced before, as we were used to stop operations because of punctures as well as frequent cuts in tread and sidewalls. This has definitely stopped ever since we mounted the right tires, i.e. Alliance tires such as the Agriflex+ 372 and the Agri Star II.” For his contracting business, reliability and performance of tires are decisive. “My conclusion is quick and clear – these are good tires and the price is reasonable”, he says.

Agri Star “repeat customer”
“I have already gone through several sets of Agri Star tires on different tractors without experiencing any problems. So, I did not hesitate to buy the latest set of this tread, the Agri Star II, just a couple of weeks ago”, says Francisco Asensio Parra who farms in the Almería region. The average working time of the John Deere tractor that was equipped with the Agri Star II amounts to roughly 2,000 to 2,300 hours per year. “We need high traction to work the prevailing hard soils, and even though the conditions are rather wear-intensive, I expect a total of about 8,000 working hours for the rear tires”, highlights the farmer. “In contrast to the products from other manufacturers that I have used before, and based on my excellent experiences with the Alliance brand, I do not expect any problems such as cuts in the tire flanks or excessive wear, and hence do not hesitate to recommend the Agri Star II to other farmers.”

Striking design as “add-on” …
Alliance tires have their own success story on the farm of Marc Cortadella Caellas in the area of Barcelona. The farmer knows the brand and has used Alliance tires before. “I am very confident that also the Agri Star II will perform to the brand’s excellent reputation. For me, the strong and equally flexible carcass is one of the top arguments in favour of this tire”, Marc explains. Following rather unpleasant experiences with other manufacturers’ tires, including internal cracks and even tire blow-outs, and backed by reports and recommendations, Marc is convinced that he has made the right choice. “With an average of about 1,500 working hours per year for a broad range of agricultural operations, the tire is expected to last several years. Add to that the striking design – and you have a convincing package”, he concludes.