At Agritechnica in Germany in 2011, Galileo Wheel’s co-founder Avishay Novoplanski debuted a completely new ag tire design for tractors, called the CupWheel.
The design uses a unique concave sidewall that allows for 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, the company has developed other tires using the CupWheel concept — and now offers a version for lighter vehicle and machine use that still has an internal cavity but doesn’t require inflation pressure.
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“For medium and low weights it turns out we can make tires that are totally airless,” Galileo Wheel CEO Armin Schon says. “In the U.S. we have a successful line of airless irrigation tires for pivots.”
The brand calls them the IrriCup line, and they are also available in Canada. They have a bi-directional tread pattern and come mounted on their own rim.
IrriCup tires are now available as original equipment from several irrigation system manufacturers. CupWheel tires are offered as a premium product and come with a higher price tag, but Schon says they offer performance regular tires 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’ — and they say this is worth it.”
Since Galileo initially launched the tires in North America, it has focused primarily on supplying them directly to irrigation system manufacturers — but it’s offering them as an aftermarket solution as well.
“For irrigation the strategy is very much OE-oriented,” Schon says. “Maybe half of our sales go directly to OE. The rest we’re selling in the aftermarket through through dealers and distributors.”
Schon recommends Canadian producers who are interested in purchasing any CupWheel tires should first contact the company directly through its website, Galileowheel.com. A product rep will get back to them, discuss their needs and let them know how to select the right tires.
Galileo reps will also display the tires at farm shows in North America this year.
