Gregory Distribution renews Effityres deal with Michelin

Founded in the South West in 1919, Gregory Distribution is one of the largest privately-owned transport companies in the UK. The Group consists of the Gregory Distribution business, ARR Craib Transport, newly acquired Pollock (Scotrans) and its joint venture business Hayton Coulthard Transport. Across the group it operates 1,100 vehicles and 2,000 trailers.

Michelin has been the third-party logistics firm’s tyre manufacturer of choice since the 1990s and Gregory Distribution has recently renewed its Effitires contract with Michelin, citing the low total cost of ownership and the impressive product quality as key reasons behind extending the deal.

The new deal will see Michelin’s Services & Solutions team continue to supply and manage the tyres on a fleet of approximately 600 trucks and 1,200 trailers, with individual policies tailored to meet the needs of the business’s different contracts.

Fitting and maintenance will be carried out on Michelin’s behalf by national service partner Tructyre, alongside some independent Michelin Service Pro dealers.

Andrew Chapple, Head of Fleet, Property and Procurement, at Gregory Distribution says: “Michelin is a trusted partner for Gregory Distribution and the new agreement shows the confidence we have in the brand. We take a long-term view in terms of the whole life cost of our tyres – Michelin offers us a top-quality product and good value for money.

“Our tyre policies are quite wide ranging as we operate so many types of trucks, trailers and tankers on a variety of different contracts – moving everything from palletised dry goods to milk, food products, retail goods and frozen produce. Michelin knows our business very well, ensuring we always have the correct products working on the correct vehicles, helping to improve the performance and results for our customers.”

As part of the new agreement, Michelin will be supporting Gregory Distribution as the business looks to reduce its carbon footprint.

The company is currently trialling Michelin X Multi Energy tyres – specifically designed to help regional or national haulage operations reduce fuel consumption – on certain parts of the fleet.

“We haven’t got the full results of the trial yet, but the X Multi Energy range is definitely something we are looking at,” adds Chapple. “We’re always searching for ways to improve the sustainability of our operation and reduce our CO₂ emissions, and we will be working closely with Michelin to help us meet those goals.”

Gregory Distribution operates a multi-life Michelin policy, regrooving worn tyres on site once the tread depth reaches 3-4mm. Worn casings are then sent back to Michelin for retreading into Michelin Remix tyres, which offer virtually the same performance as new Michelin tyres. The firm also fits Encore retreads for some of its more rugged, off-road work – which are manufactured alongside the Remix product in Stoke-on-Trent.