Rubber Track Pioneer Worries About Future Of Tracks

Rubber Track Pioneer Worries About Future Of Tracks TRACTORS Tires/Wheels 23-6-5 Dennis Wilkinson probably knows as much as anyone in the world about putting rubber tracks on farm equipment. So when he points out problems with some of the tracks on the market, people pay attention. Wilkinson's company, Omnitrac, makes a variety of tracked undercarriages to fit virtually any piece of farm equipment û powered or non-powered. "Omnitrac has been in the rubber track business since 1995. We started out using Goodyear tracks but they left us when Goodyear started supplying Deere and Case-IH. "We joined forces with Firestone and for about two years, Firestone and Omnitrac worked on a large number of projects, from a track system for Deere combines to skid steer tracks and systems for center pivots. The relationship was beneficial to both parties until track failures started to develop, including soft guide lugs, carcass separation, and loss of tread bars. You name it, it started to happen. "Omnitrac tried very hard to identify the problems and work with Firestone to improve the product. Some improvements were made, but the managers of the track department resisted adamantly and denied there were problems, even though their own engineers told them there were. Finally, a new track version was made available in early 1999. Unfortunately, the new tracks are already starting to fail after only a few hundred hours - or less. "Meanwhile, Bridgestone Engineered Products (BEP) has since taken over Firestone's track department, making statements that they're not going to develop any more tracks for any company unless they have long term testing programs. But low and behold, we discovered Bridgestone has already provided several sets of rubber track to a first-time rubber track manufacturer, without even questioning the design. "The rubber track industry is seriously being damaged by the Bridgestone/Firestone program. Their policy is to ignore customers with failing rubber tracks, which causes major damage to the industry. "Omnitrac has developed a large number of rubber track applications and we've made our share of mistakes, but we've always accepted responsibility for our undercarriages. That's what Firestone and Bridgestone need to do with their tracks. "After dealing with virtually every rubber track manufac

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