Published in the August 2006 American Longwall Magazine

Headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey, Hutchinson has introduced the RL rubber liner to help keep tires running longer and safer, according to company sales and marketing representative Chuck Lotocki. Originally brought to industry as a solution for pneumatic tires utilized in rigorous conditions, the RL is now found throughout the underground mining scene.

RL, or Rubber Liner Inserts, are designed and produced to work with mine tires of any size, ranging from 4.80x8 up to, and including, 18.00R25 and 20.5R25.

RL liners can be used to give tires added life – if a tire is damaged in some way, it can often continue to be used with the RL in place. According to Lotocki, it is also reusable; once the tire’s original tread is exhausted, the RL can be removed and transferred to another tire of similar size.

The RL unit, which is able to act as a deflector for a smoother ride, is safe for the driver as well as those around him. “It is the safest tire run flat product to use in underground mines – no toxic issues [and] no high-pressure explosions from cuts or broken wheels,” Lotocki noted.

He said the issues surrounding the tire shortage are somewhat like dominos, as one problem affects another. “Underground mining companies are going deeper underground to get their product and carrying heavier loads out of these mines on every coal car.

“The biggest challenge tire companies are facing is their ability to build tires that will fit on the equipment being manufactured – it must be small enough to still fit the machine and still have the carrying capacity needed to carry the loads. The RL is made to fit those tires and the RL gives [them] the capability to carry heavier loads than [it] is designed to carry.”

The harsh environment of an underground mine will never change – in fact, geologically, it has long been on a downward trend. Because of that, Lotocki said the research they do to make their products more efficient and long-lasting is “never-ending”

“As new manufacturing materials are found and added into tires and tire run flat products, our industry will grow more important to mining,” he said, as “productivity of any business is a key to their success or failure. The RL is a solution to vehicle mobility”