Ascenso Tires’ North America VF model is making inroads in agriculture.
“What’s unique is all our tires are D-speed rated (64 km/h). That’s a huge difference compared to many brands,” said Canadian sales manager Mike Massé, at the Ascenso booth at the London Farm Show.
“We’ve also got a unique mud breaker. It’s part of our construction. (The lugs) send a small vibration to create a channel of air to break the mud and provide really good traction.”
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Why it matters: Ascenso is new to the North American agricultural tire market and offers additional options to farmers.
Masse said Ascenso’s VDR 900 (VF) tires carry 40 per cent more at the same inflation pressure as conventional radial tires and can operate at 40 per cent less pressure while carrying the same weight.
This feature allows self-propelled sprayers, whose boom widths can exceed 164 feet, to carry heavier loads of 10,000 gallons at full pressure, reducing soil compaction, slippage and fuel consumption and increasing traction even at lower pressure.
The steel belt construction is designed to dissipate heat, provide greater puncture resistance and defend against stubble.
“We’ve got all the popular sizes – VF, sprayer, all kinds of applications, and every month we release between 30 to 50 SKUs (stock keeping units),” said Massé.
During COVID-19 supply chain issues, he approached Brent Harvey with Cooksville Tire Ltd., about Ascenso’s line.
“I said, ‘let’s do it,’” Harvey told Farmtario. “Customers like them. Custom crop fellas love them. They ride nice, get great traction, and are inexpensive compared to North American stuff; about 20 per cent cheaper.”
The tires mount easily, which keeps Harvey’s employees happy, and clients like the traction, road travel and easy-to-clean tires.
“(Road speed rating) is important in today’s farming because a lot of farmers have more than one farm. They’re driving down the roads a lot, and a lot of farm tires don’t give you good road travel. Safety is important.”
The biggest challenge is brand awareness against agriculture’s traditional tire brands, especially as Ascenso’s tires are made in India, said Massé.
Third-party trials against the leading premium and value tire brands indicate Ascenso tires provide a three and five per cent fuel savings against the competition’s indexing values, and had lower wheel slippage on tractors.
“We’re pretty proud, as a new company, to see our tire perform like this. Ascenso Tire is the new kid on the block right now.”
Harvey said it’s difficult for new tires to build a reputation and compete against more established brands.
“My sales have tripled in two years, obviously starting from nothing,” said Harvey. “It’s availability and price; that’s what people care about, availability, price, and then, of course, service.”
Harvey has sent only one Ascenso tire back under warranty because a farmer ran over something, and said the coverage was better than most.
Ascenso is available through 24 independent dealers, and signed on with Tire Country and Fountain Tire distributors in December 2023.
