Shoreham Switches to Michelin Pneumatic Forklift Tyres

Shoreham Port Authority, located five miles west of Brighton & Hove, is switching its forklift truck fleet from solid to pneumatic tyres following a competitive trial run in conjunction with tyre solutions provider ATS Euromaster. The trial saw one of the company’s Hyster 5.5 XM trucks fitted with Michelin XZM radial tyres and monitored against the performance of solid tyres across the 20-strong forklift fleet. The Michelin tyres provided over 1,000 hours of safe operation before needing to be replaced by ATS Euromaster – doubling the average life Shoreham Port had become accustomed to from solid tyres.

Commenting on the trial, Ian Buchan, Assistant Engineer for Shoreham Port Authority, explained: “ATS Euromaster’s recommendation to try the Michelin XZM tyres has really paid off, and pound for pound, they have demonstrated a cost-saving over the solids. However, the biggest benefit in terms of health and safety is to our drivers, ensuring better load protection and resulting in fewer shocks being transmitted through the driver’s body, thereby reducing fatigue and back-ache. The pneumatic tyres also offer significantly better jolt and vibration absorption when transporting goods. As an added benefit, we’re expecting the smoother ride to reduce wear and tear on the forklifts, further minimising the risk of unexpected downtime,” he adds.

ATS Euromaster, which has extensive experience supporting materials handling fleets on both solid and pneumatic tyres nationwide, organised the trial to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Michelin XZM tyres in this application.

Forklifts at Shoreham Port work across 42,000 square metres of covered warehousing, together with over 35 hectares of open storage space. They are worked particularly hard during ship discharge and cargo loading duties, with high intensity long travel operations and frequent acute turning in storage areas, resulting in heat build-up in the solid tyres which causes rapid wear.

As a result of the trial, ATS Euromaster is actively replacing worn solid tyres with new Michelin XZM tyres as wear dictates. Furthermore, all new Hyster trucks supplied to Shoreham Port Authority by Barloworld will be delivered with Michelin rubber as original equipment.