Americas, Inc. This project focuses on improving the fuel efficiency of truck and bus radial
tires using PPG’s AGILON performance silica platform. The goal of the
project is to deliver prototype tires to
DOE that help trucks and buses achieve
fuel-efficiency improvements of 4 to 6
percent while maintaining or improving
tear strength and tread wear. Research
and development work for the project
will be completed at PPG’s Monroeville,
Pennsylvania, facility.
Anup Jain, PPG vice president, spe-
cialty coatings and materials, said PPG’s
collaboration with Bridgestone has the
potential to significantly change the truck
tire industry. “We are excited to partner
with Bridgestone on this important proj-
ect,” he said. “The DOE funding validates
what our preliminary research already
has shown – that Agilon performance
silica has significant potential as a next-
generation filler to help increase truck tire
fuel efficiency.”
Improving the fuel efficiency of trucks
and buses would provide significant
economic and environmental benefits.
According to DOE reports, heavy-duty
vehicles comprise only 4 percent of all
vehicles on U.S. roads but consume ap-
proximately 20 percent of all fuel. PPG
estimates that if even 25 percent of all
tractor-trailers on the road improved fuel
efficiency by 4 percent, they would con-
sume 750 million fewer gallons of diesel
fuel annually, saving nearly $2 billion and
reducing carbon-dioxide emissions by
nearly 8 million metric tons.
According to Kurt Danielson, president, Bridgestone Commercial Group,
Bridgestone has a long-standing commitment to environmental sustainability. The
company’s environmental mission is “to
help ensure a healthy environment for
current and future generations,” and as
the world’s largest tire and rubber company, Danielson said Bridgestone believes
it has a corporate responsibility to produce sustainable products in the most
sustainable way. Using 2005 data as a
baseline, the company’s midterm target is
to achieve a 35 percent reduction in CO2
emissions by 2020.
“Our partnership with PPG was
created for our customers,” Danielson
said. “We are constantly working to de-
liver innovative solutions that not only
align with our company’s environmen-
tal mission but will also carry cost sav-
ing benefits for our truck and bus radial
tire customers.”
Jain added that Agilon performance
silica is part of PPG’s global commitment
to helping the transportation industry
and its suppliers manufacture more sus-
tainable products. “From coatings that
contribute to lighter, more fuel-efficient
and more corrosion-resistant vehicles, to
paint systems that enable automakers to
conserve water, we are dedicated to de-
veloping products such as Agilon perfor-
mance silica that help protect the planet
and help customers such as Bridgestone
meet the safety, performance and value
demands of car and truck owners around
the world.”
Agilon performance silica is a high-
value technology platform of chemically
modified precipitated silica that can im-
prove the performance of rubber prod-
ucts in which it is used. Testing indicates
that the chemical modifications used to
produce Agilon performance silica make
the silica more compatible with the natu-
ral rubber typically used in truck and bus
radial tire applications. This will allow
the silica to better mix with the rubber,
enabling better tire performance than is
possible with conventional silicas.
PPG pioneered synthetic precipitated
silica products, becoming one of the first
manufacturers to bring them to the marketplace in the 1930s. Today, PPG’s silica
products group is a global technology
leader in the manufacture of precipitated silica products for use as reinforcing
fillers in tire, industrial, footwear and
silicone rubber applications; as microporous fillers in battery-separator applications; as flatting and thickening agents in
coatings, adhesives and sealants; and as
Flying Scotsman Returns Painted in Iconic Livery
The world’s most famous locomotive, the Flying Scotsman, is
back on track in its iconic British Rail green livery thanks to the
products and color library of authentic historic shades of Craftmaster Paints of Cambridge.
The final phase of the £ 4.2 million project was completed in
February by Heritage Painting, using Craftmaster Coach Enamel, a premier high pigment paint, in the iconic British Rail green.
The product is manufactured by HMG Paints, the UK’s largest
independent paint manufacturer, whose experienced color
matchers recreated the iconic color.
Thousands of train enthusiasts lined tracks and bridges
across the country to catch a glimpse of the Flying Scotsman
in its restored iconic livery, as the legend made its inaugural run
from London to York, where the next chapter in the Flying Scots-
man story will see it become a working museum exhibit.
The locomotive’s paint system, from primer and high build
undercoat to classic coach enamel, results from a highly devel-
oped and close technical partnership between Craftmaster and
HMG Paints that dates back nearly two decades. HMG manu-
factures exclusive formulations to Craftmaster’s specifications,
using pigments and components of the highest quality.
