Fleet Business
A luxury coach hire company has opted to extend its tyre contract with Bridgestone by three years. The operators opted to extend a tri-party agreement along with Watling Tyres, who will manage the PPK contract and service each vehicle, fitting Bridgestone M788 products. The fleet comprises 61 coaches, running on 295/80 R22.5 and 315/80 R22.5 tyre sizes.
The maker of the TreadReader handheld tyre scanner has called for fleet managers to prioritise tyre maintenance, citing economic and road safety statistics in its reasoning. Pointing out that tyres account for around 35 per cent of a car’s overall maintenance budget, SigmaVision says prolonging the healthy life of tyres is sound practice, securing maximum value from a set of tyres. The early detection of uneven wear, for example, means the cause of the problem – incorrect inflation of the tyre, or wheel misalignment – can be corrected. On the safety side, fleets’ tyre care policy has a clear role to play too: more than a quarter of road traffic incidents involve someone who is driving as part of their work at the time.
Northern Ireland-based haulier Sawyers Transport has signed up to Michelin solutions’ Effitires tyre management system. The company said it expects the programme to streamline tyre administration and management for the company’s 550 commercial vehicle assets.
BNP Paribas Rental Solutions has renewed its contract with Vacu-Lug. Under the fleet management contract, BNP Paribas Rental Solutions vehicles are fitted with Vacu-Lug’s own in-house brands, Duramold and Logistik. The company first embarked on a relationship with Vacu-Lug in early 2012, having been impressed with the depth of service and product range on offer.
At the start of October in Paris Michelin launched Michelin Tire Care, a suite of connected software solutions designed to help hauliers get the most out of their tyres. The idea is that fleets get more performance (and therefore financial value) from their tyre purchases as they use the mobile/tablet-based software, and in doing so see the benefit of premium and especially Michelin truck tyre products. While software is clearly at the heart of this latest announcement, Tyres & Accessories considers whether we should be using the term “strategy” instead.
The growth of R&J Strang Services’ fleet contract business is being supported by field data gathered via integrated digital tablet feeds, the company reveals. These were introduced by CAM as part of the tyre service provider’s investment in the UniSerV platform.
Bridgestone says its Lincolnshire retreading facility played “a huge role” in its latest fleet contract win. Leading haulage company Maxi Haulage agreed the fleet deal with the tyre manufacturer, coinciding with the 10 year anniversary of Bridgestone’s acquisition of Bulldog in Bourne, which boasts an output of roughly 50:50 mould cure to pre-cure. As a result of this ratio, the company says the operation stands out in the historically mould cure dominated UK retreading market.
Rural community retailer Countrywide has appointed ATS Euromaster to provide its tyre maintenance and checks across all 14 of its operating centres in the South West, Cotswolds, Midlands and Wales. The 80-strong Countrywide commercial vehicle fleet ranges from vans to articulated trucks and was previously serviced through a range of independent dealers.
UK vehicle leasing, funding and fleet management company Days Contract Hire has renewed its ten-year relationship with Michelin by a further four years. Its tyre supply contract for 9,500 vehicles was first signed in 2005 and, according to Aled Williams, the contract complements Days’ company philosophy of offering quality, bespoke client services.
National Express has signed up Michelin solutions to provide a five-year comprehensive tyre management system for its UK fleet of almost 2,000 vehicles. This next chapter in National Express’ relationship with the tyre maker involves its adoption of the ‘Effitires by Michelin’ solutions programme; Michelin says Effitires proved itself “ideal for the public transport group’s diverse operations.”
Pirelli will again sponsor the Institute of Road Transport Engineers Conference on 17 September at Chesford Grange Hotel in Kenilworth. The annual conference, organised by the IRTE, provides information around the latest technological advancements and the changing legal landscape affecting the commercial transport industry.
Leicestershire-based Apex Plant Group says it is “delighted” with the performance of Westlake’s tyres two years on from signing a supply deal with UK distributor Vacu-Lug.
Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions’ fleet of more than 46,000 maintained cars and vans will continue to run on Michelin tyres because of the manufacturer’s commitment to quality and innovation.
According to a recent survey carried out by Venson, 58 per cent of company car drivers think it’s their employer’s responsibility to get the car serviced at the appropriate times, even though the employee is accountable.
Temperature controlled logistics specialist Chiltern Cold Storage aims to improve fleet efficiency by adopting a fully managed tyre contract with Michelin Solutions. It marks the first time the company has outsourced tyre management for its 45 trucks and 43 trailers.
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