DESIGNING WITH SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS AND COMPONENTS

At Titan, we strive to be stewards of the environment across our operations, from the product’s design to the pursuit of efficiency in our manufacturing process. Titan continuously seeks to reduce its impact on the environment by adopting eco-design principles.

Wheels

Titan is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of wheels for the agriculture, construction, forestry, and mining industries, with thousands of types and sizes developed to meet the needs of a diverse customer base. Our prominent role in this market comes with the responsibility of managing and reducing the environmental impact of our products.

Beginning in 2002, Titan Wheel transitioned away from old paint technologies such as liquid baking enamel and 2-part polyurethane paints. These methods required the use of solvents with high volatile organic compounds (VOC) concentration, generating hazard air pollutants (HAPs).

Currently, Titan Wheel only uses waterborne urethane and powder production paints, which do not require the addition of solvents in their application. The water-based paint used today releases substantially fewer harmful emissions than the paints used before 2002. Powder paints are also solvent-free and emit negligible amounts of VOC.

The switch to eco-friendlier paints allowed Titan to offer products with superior quality, while significantly reducing the generation of hazardous waste and air pollutants.

Tires

Tires

While Titan’s tires are known for their high durability and long-lasting reliability, the key role sustainability plays in their design should not be forgotten. complies with stringent regulations on the use of chemicals by the European Union and the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). All tires manufactured globally are screened to avoid substances deemed harmful and all operations are monitored regarding the use of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC). Since 2009, Titan has removed reviewed and eliminated any potential problematic chemicals in our rubber compounds and processing to continually be one step ahead in eco-design and compliance.

Furthering our commitment to environmental stewardship, Titan incorporates recycled ground rubber in the rubber compounds used in our tires. In 2020 alone, 1.6M# of 80 mesh and 1.0M # of 40 mesh ground rubber was used in our Union City facility and then distributed to all three of our North American tire plants.

Improving efficiency also leads to more sustainable processes in tire manufacturing. In our new AgraEDGE tire, which was produced at the end of 2020, we were able to reduce material usage by an average of 7% (in weight) compared to old tire models by adjusting the design, adopting superior engineering practices and using more modern technologies. When this tire line is fully released to replace the old models, Titan expects to save 1.1 million pounds of materials annually. The Company is evaluating expanding this approach to other lines of tires, with the expectation of similar savings.

Tractor

Impact On The Soil

In the agriculture sector, our products’ design generates environmental gains by reducing soil erosion. Our LSW tires achieve that goal by providing greater flotation and less fuel consumption than conventional tires or track vehicles used in similar applications. Greater flotation and less soil compaction result in greater crop yields and better stewardship of the land. Compaction of soil is detrimental to crop yields and requires more deep tillage practices to break up and aerate the soil, increasing energy use.

Undercarriage

ITM, Titan’s undercarriage business is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of undercarriage components and complete units for the construction, mining, agricultural and forestry industries. With more than 60 years’ experience ITM has developed the wider range of product by dimension and application, designing and manufacturing high quality standard products performing in severe environmental and field conditions.

Click here to read about ITM’s approach to sustainable design.