DS Smith recycling fleet turns to Michelin solutions

Europe’s leading cardboard and paper recycler, DS Smith, has turned to Michelin solutions to supply, fit and manage the tyres across its 191-strong commercial vehicle recycling fleet, on a three-year contract. The new Effitires agreement sees Michelin solutions expand its remit with DS Smith to include 100 per cent of its vehicle parc, adding the recycling fleet to the 378 trucks and trailers already under contract from the firm’s logistics and corrugated packaging operations.

“As a business, we want to be more connected. We already enjoy an excellent long-term relationship with Michelin solutions through our other divisions, and after seeing how well the Effitires contract worked for them, we decided to introduce the service to our recycling business,” says Kate Dally, general manager, Business Improvement at DS Smith. “The level of professionalism from Michelin solutions is second to none and we have been really impressed with our key account manager – his tyre management expertise adds real value to our business.

“Our fleet can be on the road up to six days a week, and most of the time we’re operating fully loaded, so fitting a premium brand like Michelin also makes perfect sense. Plus, the pence-per-kilometre structure of the deal means our costs directly match our activity levels,” Dally adds.

As part of the service from Michelin solutions, DS Smith receives regular vehicle inspections to ensure its tyres are being managed as efficiently as possible and to spot potential issues before they result in unexpected downtime. Inspections are carried out by ATS Euromaster, with a KPI to ensure at least 70 per cent of the fleet is inspected every month and 100 per cent every quarter. Michelin solutions has begun actively replacing the fleet’s existing tyres as wear dictates, with new fitments from the Michelin X Multi range.

The contract also includes emergency roadside assistance in the event of a tyre-related breakdown, with Michelin solutions targeted with getting a technician to the roadside with the correct replacement tyre within a 90-minute window from receipt of the call.

As well as supplying tyres across the company’s fleet, DS Smith is also one of the largest Effitrailer customers in the UK – with Michelin solutions’ trailer telematics units being fitted to more than 200 new SDC Trailers. Featuring an on-board datalink, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) and electronic braking system (EBS) data analysis, Effitrailer provides constant geolocation – making it perfect for the estimated 90 per cent of trailers in Europe that do not use trailer telematics.