Hauling Coal with Semperit

Ayrshire based haulier French & Son shift a million and a half tonnes of coal each year to local railheads and into southern England, and the company has praised the durability of the Semperit tyres fitted to its vehicles. For almost three years Semperit has been the tyre of choice for the long-established firm of Tom French & Son of Cumnock. Their 42 trucks – mainly Volvo mid-lift axle artics – move between 6,000 and 7,500 tonnes of coal every day from a local open cast mine. It’s very demanding work, both for the vehicles shuttling constantly between the site and the nearby railhead and for those on the long haul work.

As well as transporting coal, the company delivers grain to distilleries in the central belt of Scotland. Animal feedstuffs and other agricultural products are also delivered throughout the UK. The company also operates a couple of low loaders, which are used to move heavy plant for the earthmoving side of the business.

Tom French Senior, who started the business 40 years ago, says: “The Semperit product stands up very well to both the extremely hard local work and the long distance work that they do. The tyres perform well in the different operating environments, which include some off-road work at the open cast mine and on construction sites. And they deliver exceptional mileages, particularly those clocking up the big miles on distance work.”

With around 700 tyres on the trucks and trailers in its fleet, the company needs a reliable and regular supply. Tyres are pre-ordered through the Semperit key dealer R & J Strang Tyre Services of Hamilton, with whom they’ve built up a strong relationship over many years. Strangs also provides the company with a nationwide breakdown service through the Independent Tyre Dealer Network.

Delivery is direct from the factory in container loads. Combined with advance ordering and the dedicated service provided by Semperit, this helps ensure that they never get caught out on any size or type that they need, particularly the 12 R22.5s of which they use a lot. Fitting is carried out in the company’s own workshop, which is equipped with a tyre-fitting machine enabling them to carry out changes speedily and reduce vehicle downtime.

The Semperit M223 is the tyre choice for drive axles on the 37 Volvo FH13 artics in the fleet. The tread pattern of the M223 is designed to ensure optimum ground pressure across the whole face of the tread, resulting in good grip and even wear over a high mileage. For the lift axles on the tractors and the steer axles on the six and eight-wheelers, the M434 Euro-Steel tyre is specified. This has wide shoulder bands that extend its mileage performance, ensure uniform wear and give good grip in the wet.

Drive axles on all the trucks in the fleet are fitted with the M470 Trans-Steel tyre. Characteristics of this tyre include its solid tread blocks, which offer good traction and are particularly well-suited to higher powered trucks with a lot of torque. All the trailers run on the Semperit M277, which uses low profile technology to make it suitable for construction sites and quarries. The M277 offers particularly good resistance to stone damage and punctures.

“We’re very happy with Semperits,” says Tom French. “Not only do the tyres themselves perform well and give us good value for our money, but the range covers all of our different needs. The support we get from R & J Strang is first class and the efficiency and reliability of the pre-ordering and container load delivery system direct from the factory means that we can always be sure of having tyres available when we need them.”