If there’s only one facility dedicated exclusively to testing farm tires, you know it’s Firestone.
Before he introduced the first pneumatic tractor tires in 1932, Harvey Firestone tested them on his own farm in Columbiana, Ohio. Firestone remains the leading farm tire brand in America, due in no small part to the 400-acre Firestone Tire Test Center, located right next door to the farm where it all started. Recognized as a trusted resource for farm tire performance and development information, the test center operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, putting Firestone farm tires through grueling testing in some of the most extreme and punishing conditions.
To dish out some of the most punishing tests at the Firestone Tire Test Center, we needed some special equipment. Enter The Mean Machine, our one -of-a-kind 30-ton monster that's capable of exerting over 34,000 pounds of pull. The Mean Machine mimics the resistance of the largest and heaviest agricultural equipment. It's loaded with a full battery of diagnositics equipment that enables Firestone to measure traction, drawbar pull, wheel slip, bar tear, and overall tire strength.
Both Firestone farm tires and competitive products are evaluated at the Firestone Tire Test Center. In addition, we research and test new rubber compounds and tread designs, and partner with agricultural equipment manufacturers to meet the growing demands of the American farmer. It was here that our engineers developed and tested one of the most significant advancements in the industry, the now-famous 23° tread design. Firestone's Advanced Deflection Design (AD2) technology was evaluated here as well. Today, engineers from across the globe come to Columbiana to discuss their current projects and to keep up with the latest innovations in farm tire development.
