STOKE-ON-TRENT, UK. — Introduced in 1952, Michelin celebrates the 60th anniversary of the world’s first radial truck tire.

The launch of the first  Michelin X Radial truck tire helped transform the road transport industry, as radials made trucking safer and more efficient. In 2011, radial tires accounted for 100 percent of the western European truck-tire market. Worldwide, Michelin estimates that radials now account for 73 percent of truck tires.

It all actually began in 1946, when a Michelin researcher, Marius Mignol, invented the “Michelin X” steel radial tire for cars, soon following with the launch of the X Radial truck tire in 1952.

“Michelin’s history has been shaped by innovation and there’s no better example of that than the radial tire,” said Sharn Samra, head of Michelin Truck Marketing for the UK and Republic of Ireland. “Marius Mignol conducted secret research in occupied France during World War II to develop the Michelin X, and all these years later his dedication to innovation continues to run through our technical culture,” she said.

A decade after launching the X Radial truck tire, Michelin ran a series of high-profile field tests across Europe in 1962, proving a fuel saving of 13.8 percent over conventional cross-ply truck tires.

The ‘X’ is Michelin’s trademark for its radial tires and is making its most recent appearance in the truck market on the current “X MultiWay 3D” tire, which has just been launched in the UK’s most popular commercial vehicle tire size, the 295/80 R 22.5.