Vipal Rubber has just received the Alpine Symbol certification on two additional treads, VM729 and VDE2. As a result, the brand portfolio now includes six verified treads, including VDA4, VT160, VT220 and VRT3.
“With constant work, Vipal Rubber has been following the increasingly specific requirements of the European market, mainly aiming to ensure more tread safety and in the products, which respect health and the environment,” says Vipal Rubber’s Director of International Business, Leandro Rigon.
VM729 is a tread designed for radial tyres and drive axles. It provides uniform wear, low noise levels, and excellent drive on dry and wet surfaces, and is particularly recommended for long-distance services on paved surfaces. VDE2, on the other hand, has excellent drive power and tread direction, offering more abrasion wear resistance, being suitable for highway freight transportation. Both the VM729 and VDE2 treads are also available in the ECO version.
Under the new European rules, all tyres, including retreaded ones, must present the 3PMSF (Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake) certification, holding the Alpine Symbol seal identification, shown on the tread side. The European regulations ECE R117 and ECE R109, which define testing methodology, point out that the condition for a tyre to be approved and to receive the symbol, is to have a grip index on snowy floors, or a snow grip index (SGI), 25% higher than a reference standard tyre.
With a focus on some European regions, Vipal Rubber has been investing since 2016 in verified treads through 3PMSF. The tests were conducted at the Test World laboratory in Finland, a Millbrook Group member, which performs analysis for vehicles, tyres, and other components.
