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 in 2014 followed by another in Melbourne in 2015. Currently, GRI is one of the major tire manufacturers operating in Sri Lanka. GRI’s main products are Material Handling tires; a tire used on material handling equipment such as forklifts. These tires are produced using natural rubber compounds, which have properties of high-heat dissipation, high run-time and low rolling resistance . GRI also produces tires required for agricultural purposes which are used in farming vehicles especially those in tractors and harvesters. Agricultural tires are unique in aspects of tread pattern & high-load carrying capacity. Other tires produced by GRI include Industrial