In 2011, at Agritechnica in Germany, Galileo Wheel’s co-founder Avishay Novoplanski debuted a completely new ag tire design for tractors, called the CupWheel. It uses a unique concave sidewall, giving the tread surface a flatter, track-like contact with the ground, which the company says offers a 30 per cent increase in traction over regular tires.
Since that initial release, other tires have been developed for lighter machines using the CupWheel concept, but which don’t require inflation pressure.
“In some cases, especially OEM (original equipment manufacturer) customers, came back and said, ‘This is a great technology,’” Galileo CEO Armin Schon says. “‘We love it but we need one more thing from you. We need these to be airless. Can you do that?’
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“That is a significant challenge. In some cases I think it’s impossible — when you get to very high weights, you need air pressure to support the construction.
“For medium and low weights, it turns out we can make tires that are totally airless, and this is what we’ve launched. In the U.S. we (already) have a successful line of airless tires for irrigation pivots.”
In November of last year, comparable inflation-free SkidCup skid steer tires were added to the company’s offering.
Unlike other airless tires that are solid rubber designs and transfer shocks directly to the machine, the Galileo airless CupWheel design still uses an air cavity — but it doesn’t require any inflation pressure. So punctures aren’t a problem, and it provides the same features and benefits of the other CupWheel tires.
“Now, the first airless skid steer tires have landed in the U.S.,” Schon adds. “In a few months from now we’ll come with airless telehandler tires. That’s a real breakthrough, because they’re not airless in the simplistic form like foam-filled or solid rubber tires. They’re airless but feel like a pneumatic tire, with the same advantages of the elongated footprint and lateral stability that is independent of air pressure. They have an air cavity; it’s just not pressurized. The performance of these tires is totally amazing.”
Galileo CupWheel tires are offered as a premium product. Because of the more intensive manufacturing process, they come with a higher price tag. But Schon says the tires offer performance regular tires just can’t match.
“We sell the irrigation tires with a 90-day money-back guarantee. We sold maybe 6,000 of those and we didn’t have a single case where a customer came back and said it’s not worth it. They say ‘Since I bought the tires, the pivot doesn’t get stuck anymore.’ We expect the same bang from the skid steer tires we’re launching.”
As an Israel-based company, Galileo has had to deal with several manufacturing difficulties over the past few years. Just as the company was recovering from COVID-related factory shutdowns and travel restrictions, a renewed Middle East conflict hampered operations.
Since Israel’s declaration of war in October 2023, “half the company” was called up for reserve duty, Schon says. “Keeping the company going, manufacturing and developing under war conditions was a challenge I would have preferred not to navigate.”
With the Alliance plant manufacturing tires in Israel for Galileo slated to close at the end of 2024, the company will need to move tractor tire production elsewhere, but a decision hasn’t yet been announced.
“We have a preference for Eastern Europe,” Schon said. “All the big brands have manufacturing facilities there. It’s a little bit easier for us to do our R&D and hire people there. We could get some cost reduction out of it. But it is a significant challenge to move people and machinery.”
Despite that, its products will continue to be available in Canada, and the company has now established a North American distribution and dealer network.
Schon recommends Canadian producers who are interested in purchasing CupWheel tires first contact the company directly through its website. A product rep will help customers select the right tires and direct them to the nearest retailer.
Galileo reps will also display the tires at farm shows in North America this year.
