Desert Research Technology, Inc. ("DRT") entered into a Manufacturing License Agreement with Amerityre Corporation AMTY granting DRT the exclusive, worldwide rights to manufacture paddle-type sand tires that employ Amerityre's polyurethane elastomer chemicals. DRT will first use the Amerityre technology to create polyurethane treads/paddles on conventional rubber tire casings, but their goal is to manufacture the entire tire from polyurethane materials.

The tires are designed for race vehicles adapted for use on sand dunes, deserts or beaches. Sand tires are currently manufactured from rubber compounds and have large “paddles” to facilitate traction. The engineers at DRT say the new materials and paddle designs are critical to improving performance and durability. DRT began a development program with Amerityre last year to devise methods for rapidly creating the new tire designs.

According to Bill Oliver, DRT's President, "Our collaboration with Amerityre allowed us to achieve all of our goals. These included developing processes for rapid prototyping, improving tire performance, and lengthening the life of a tire. From our vantage point, this project has been an important success for DRT."

"Using high horsepower vehicles in a harsh desert environment is the perfect proving ground for our polyurethane materials and processes," commented Gary Benninger, Amerityre's President & CEO. "Our successful testing of these sand tires opens up a wide range of potential applications in prospectively extreme conditions, from recreational to industrial, and to even military uses. Working with DRT has been a pleasure, since they have brought technical knowledge and focused energy to the project."

The polyurethane sand tires resulting from this collaboration debuted publicly for the first time at the Sand Sport Super Show, September 14-16, 2007 at the Orange County Fair Grounds in Costa Mesa, California. Dune enthusiasts showed tremendous interest and were impressed with the new technology. DRT is currently focused on partnering with the major sand car manufacturers to bring its advanced tire technology to market, including what is believed to be the "first colorized tire" that was made possible by its collaboration with Amerityre in applying polyurethane technology.