Timber firm reduces downtime with Michelin, CTI devices

Southwaite-based timber harvesting, marketing, and haulage company Sheffield & Co Ltd has reduced the frequency of annual tyre-related breakdowns from 35 to two. The company says the reduction is due to 18 months of work with Michelin technical manager Dan Lamb to adopt a bespoke tyre policy, with different pressures tailored for on-road and forestry work.

Michelin began consulting with the company in March 2011 as Sheffield & Co began installing Tireboss Central Tyre Inflation (CTI) devices on its fleet of four 44-tonne combinations. These flexible systems are linked to the vehicle’s air system and allow truck and trailer tyre pressures to be altered by up to 85psi at the touch of a button.

Michelin recommended a switch from running 385/65R22.5 wide singles and 275/70R22.5 twinned-wheels on Sheffield & Co’s tri-axle and drawbar trailers to Michelin’s 455/45R22.5 X One MaxiTrailer tyre, which gives a larger footprint and can be deflated to lower pressures on demanding forestry roads to increase damage resistance, longevity, and reduce wear and tear to the forest tracks.

On Sheffield & Co’s single tractor unit and three six wheel rigids, Michelin recommended a change from 295/80R22.5 tyres to larger 315/80R22.5 fitments on steer and drive axles. In this new size the tractor and six-wheelers are running a combination of X MultiWay 3D XZE and X Works XZY fitments on the steer axles and XDY3 Remix and XDE2 Remix tyres on the drive axles. The tractor tag axle has also been upgraded to Michelin XF2 385/65R22.5 rubber.

Sheffield & Co boss John Sheffield says: “If you have a breakdown in the forest, you’ve got to have a callout, and we were losing a lot of time before we began working with Michelin on CTI systems and new tyre sizes. The change to Michelin’s products has virtually eliminated tyre-related downtime for our fleet, despite the fact we spend so much time off-road.

“We’ve also noticed vast improvements in tyre life,” Sheffield says. “We’ve got some original X One MaxiTrailer tyres on one trailer after more than 100,000 miles, which is far better than the competitor tyres we were previously fitting. I always say a cheap tyre is only cheap when you purchase it. If you have a problem, then it becomes an expensive tyre.”

The new Michelin policy with Sheffield & Co is serviced through Matthew Brewer Tyres in Carlisle, and Sheffield & Co is looking forward to significant savings at the end of its financial year in March 2013, when all the company’s trucks will have been on Michelin tyres with the CTI systems installed, for a full year.

As part of the move to fitting Michelin tyres, Sheffield & Co is trialling the company’s Four Lives policy. This will see its worn tyres re-grooved for a second life, comprehensively re-manufactured into Michelin Remix tyres for a third life, and then re-grooved again for a fourth life. The customer also worked with Michelin Technical, Tireboss and the vehicle manufacturer to optimise tyre fitments when specifying Michelin on the latest new vehicle in the fleet. Sheffield & Co. plans to specify Michelin equipment on all its new trucks and trailers in the future.