OKO began in 1978 when the Evans brothers, having seen some primitive anti-puncture tyre sealants in action in the USA, decided to make a better solution at home in the UK.
Their Chemists worked intensively with the Malaysian Rubber Institute, and the result was the World’s first modern, efficient puncture protection liquids – now sold in over 100 countries.
Heavy-Duty Tyre Problem Solutions
The first blend was OKO Off Road which quickly became a firm favourite with farmers, horticulturalists, construction firms and waste management companies. It is very versatile, and it is the best choice for tyres of below 25 inches.
Diversification followed, with a ‘Road Transport Grade’ (RTG) for faster-moving, mostly on road commercial vehicles. It has now developed into the current OKO Truck & Bus sealant.
And in the seriously heavy-duty world of Mining, Quarrying, and rough construction terrain, there was a demand from users whose large tyres suffered bigger punctures than the 12mm diameter limit of OKO Off Road.
OKO Mining X-Tra Heavy Duty sealant was the answer: it can genuinely seal 20mm diameter punctures in a 25-inch tyre. In bigger tyres it can seal even bigger holes: but we do not encourage the running of tyres with huge gashes.
How Do the Sealants Work?
The benefits gained from the use of OKO are maximised by always applying it preventatively, – usually through the valve stem, though it can be poured in while mounting the tyre on the wheel rim – to new or fresh tyres. (Old tyres get stiff and brittle and they will not react as well).
We stop punctures, immediately: the sealant, that runs around the inside of the tread, is forced into the hole by the violently escaping air, and its liquid and fibres bond with the tyre tread rubber to form a permanent, flexible wound repair.
The OKO also makes tyres last over 20% longer (often more than 40% longer in the steer tyres that suffer more wear). How? By creating a liquid layer inside the flexing, porous tyre tread, it prevents air loss. Under-inflated tyres generate more friction and run hot, and avoiding this problem significantly reduces tyre temperature (by as much as 15%), thus improving tyre life. The liquid also draws heat away from the hot tyre and helps to keep the rubber more supple.
Payback – in Spades
When you consider the huge cost of replacement mining machine tyres, the payback from deploying OKO from new is immense. Operators gain from reducing tyre replacements – but also from lower downtime when tyres go flat; and from avoiding expensive callouts to repair tyres, often in remote or inaccessible locations.
The Mega-Tyre Alternative
At the largest end of the tyre size spectrum, on-site mining machines have huge tyres with many plies of rubber: these may not suffer punctures, but they have a very short life of just a few months (due to external damage) and their individual replacement costs can be many thousands of dollars (or other currencies).
OKO LifeLong has the answer – it is not a sealant, it is a free-flowing liquid that coats the entire wheel rim and inner tyre with a thin layer that not only cools the tyre and adds 30%+ to its life: it also contains anti-rust nanotechnology ingredients that protect and extend the lives of steel or alloy wheel rims.
The Environmentally-Friendly Company
As well as the proven benefits of its products to users, by making (largely non-recyclable) tyres last longer, OKO reduces the need to create rubber plant monoculture, which is detrimental to natural rain forests. The management of OKO Global LLP submitted the company voluntarily to an independent assessment study by the renowned consultancy, Intertek. They assessed us as being extremely ‘carbon negative’; that is to say, we save more carbon emissions than we generate in our whole operation.
Our clients of course also improve their CO2 rating by virtue of applying OKO to their tyre fleets.
A Worldwide Welcome
Wherever there are mines and quarries, there is the potential to put OKO to use, for your operational benefit. We have worked in all of the continents (bar Antarctica) – let us work with your business: please use the form above to contact us at OKO Global LLP.
