Where great ideas become great products

The Carlstar Group R&D Team is comprised of industry and technical experts working in our Technical Centers around the globe. We pride ourselves on having a diverse team of experts, dedicated to their work and offering a broad range of industry expertise. Our research and development philosophy requires partnering between technical R&D, sales, marketing, manufacturing, process engineers and the customers that drive our product performance requirements. That is why we align our business and our technical experts by the end markets and consumers that we serve. Backed by our strength in mechanical, design, material process and chemical engineering, we are focused on driving growth for our customers.

Our R&D team is constantly working to deliver better solutions for our customers.  With a large breadth of tire sizes and in every tire construction possible, our product portfolio is your “One-stop shop” solution for specialty tires, wheels and assemblies.   

Our technical staff is focused on three main strategic areas:

  1. New Product Development
  2. Process and Value Engineering
  3. Strategic Customer Partnerships 

Our Global Technical and Engineering Teams utilize a robust technology toolbox:

  • Tire and Wheel Design
  • LEAN Six Sigma (Certified Green and Black belts)
  • Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
  • Failure Mode & Effects Analysis (FMEA)
  • Innovative Process Technology
  • Engineered Rubber Compounds Utilizing both natural and Synthetic Polymers
  • Textile Component Development (Fabrics, Fibers and Tensile Elements)
  • Application Specific Testing
  • DFLS (Design for Lean Sigma)

New Product Development (NPD):

New Product Development (NPD) is an integral part of how we bring new solutions to market, maintain the integrity of our brands in the marketplace, and how we maintain the highest quality in our products and the reputation we maintain of standing behind our products. Since we are focused exclusively on specialty tires and wheels, assemblies we have the expertise in engineering and product development to tailor our products to the specific needs of each market segment.

Our strength and competitive advantage comes from the depth and breadth of our product offering and continuous innovation and new product design is a core focus at The Carlstar Group.

Process and Value Engineering:

Process and value engineering, the quality and manufacturing of our current portfolio and ensuring we maintain the commitment to quality that we promise is also critical for our business. As such, we have a dedicated team aligned with our manufacturing and operations teams that constantly drive process improvements in manufacturing and quality, improvements in materials and value engineering.

We drive continual improvements through our business and challenge the status quo to ensure we remain at the forefront of the specialty tire and wheel market.

Strategic Customer Partnerships:

As a testament to our industry and technical expertise, The Carlstar Group has developed partnerships with blue-chip OEM’s that utilize application engineering to jointly design products. We participate as a valuable partner in the success of our original equipment and aftermarket customers around the world.

From chemical lab analyses to application development labs, to an on-site all-terrain tire test track at our dedicated ATV tire factory in Tennessee, a strong commitment to engineering excellence helps build market leadership, create a competitive advantage and adds value for customers, associates and shareholders.

At The Carlstar Group, we see innovation, technical expertise and value engineering as critical assets that we can leverage to ensure we are working every day to satisfy our customers and the needs of our consumers.