Michelin Delivers Savings for Anglian Water

Michelin is reporting that Anglian Water’s decision to switch its tyre procurement policy to Michelin from another mainstream manufacturer has resulted in measurable cost savings of nearly 16 per cent per year and halved the number of tyre related breakdowns.

The company operates a fleet of 49 waste tankers and tippers, comprising a mixture of Volvos and Scanias, which are responsible for moving solid product from sewage works directly to treatment plants across the East of England, stretching from the Humber to the Thames.

The fleet includes a mixture of 26 and 32 tonne rigids, together with 44 tonne tractor unit combinations, and switched to a Michelin tyre policy managed by ATS following a series of trials, which demonstrated the potential savings of the Michelin Four Lives tyre package.

Neil Bessant, Anglian Water’s Fleet Coordinator, explains: “From April 2003 to April 2004 our annual tyre bill was reduced by 5 per cent, despite the initial investment in the new Michelin product. The projected tyre expenditure for the second year (April 2005 to April 2006) is expected to be a further 7.5 per cent lower, representing a projected saving in excess of 15 per cent, over the first two years of the Michelin agreement.

The change in tyre procurement has also seen a significant improvement in the number of tyre related breakdowns recorded by Anglian Water, according to Michelin. In 2003 the company recorded 154 incidents where unexpected downtime was caused by tyre related issues, yet in 2004, when approximately 50 per cent of the tyres on the fleet were Michelin, this reduced to 92. For the second year, with Michelin tyres fitted on almost all vehicles in the fleet, forecasts indicate that it will have dropped further to just 69 incidents.

“We expect to suffer 85 less breakdowns in the second year of the Michelin agreement, which equates to an increase in fleet uptime of 128 hours,” adds Mr Bessant.

Anglian Waters’ tyres go through Michelin’s four lives programme. Once the tread depth on Michelin tyres in the Anglian Water fleet has worn down to three or four millimetres, regrooving by ATS gives the tyre a second life, thereby maximising cost savings.

When the tyre reaches the end of its second life, it is returned to Michelin for RemiX. The fourth life of the Michelin truck tyre is the regroove of the RemiX. Michelin RemiX tyres can be regrooved to the same depth as new Michelin tyres due to the extra layer of under-tread rubber included in the RemiX process.