Budd–Michelin rubber-tired rail cars which featured innovative and distinctive pneumatic tires. The company claimed that its application of tires on its rail cars afforded both a substantially more cushioned ride and increased the cars' traction by 35%. The design of Michelin's tired wheels included an aluminum safety ring and a flange that were only used in the event of a puncture or other type of tire failure; during normal operation, only the rubber tire made contact with the rail. Inspired by Michelin's success, the Budd Company set its sights on marrying the new rubber rail tires with its shot-welded, stainless-steel carbodies; it had developed
GRI Tires GRI Tires GRI (Global Rubber Industries, Pvt. Ltd.) is a tire manufacturer in Sri Lanka producing industrial and specialty tires for the global market. GRI produces tires for over 50 countries across the world. GRI was established in Sri Lanka in the year 2002 by Prabhash Subasinghe, its current Managing Director. GRI is headquartered in Sri Lanka and operates in six countries including the United States, Germany, France, Netherlands and Australia. The company’s first off-shore sales offices were established in the United States and France in 2003 . It opened its latest sales and service offices in Australia in Brisbane,