Maxxis has two industrial tyres that it says are “highly versatile” offerings, giving the company the ability to “make its name” in the market. The M9000 MT Loader and the M8000 Tuff-Guard skid steer tyres are designed to tackle a wide range of heavy duty industrial applications, including construction, agriculture and dockside freight, safely and efficiently, Maxxis states.
If you’ll indulge, we’d like to talk about cheese for a moment – but bear with us, there is method behind our digression into the world of delicious dairy products…Dutch cheese is, as you are well aware, famous throughout the world. FrieslandCampina Cheese alone makes 1,000 tons of this dairy product every week in the village of Gerkesklooster. In all, the company operates twelve cheese factories in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, utilising 1,400 forklifts to store and load its products.
Techking Tires is launching its first forklift tyre range. Given the name ‘4klift’, the new product is reinforced with a steel breaker, a feature the manufacturer refers to as an innovative upgrade in this crossply dominated sector. “The design is intended to extend 30 – 70 per cent tyre life over the regular bias structure”, said Techking product director Tony Zhang. “The enhancement can make tyres stronger against punctures and more durable to tough road conditions.”
Following a year-long trial using Michelin’s XZM tyres, Huws Gray Building Supplies has taken the decision to switch to Michelin product on its 60-vehicle forklift fleet. Michelin states that the 12-month trial with XZM tyres fitted to a Daewoo 30S forklift showed the Michelin tyre to offer reduced downtime and maintenance costs. The forklift was in operation for an average of six hours per day during the evaluation period, on a variety of surfaces ranging from concrete to asphalt and grit, and tyre inspections for wear and damage were conducted every six weeks.
‘Kryon’ is the name of a new tyre brand manufactured by Amerityre Corporation, and the company entered into a partnership with US based OTR tyre wholesaler K-2 Industrial Tire for global distribution of the range. On July 28 Amerityre announced that the first shipment of these polyeurethane forklift tyres has now been delivered to K-2.
“We are pleased to be working with K-2, and are proud to bring this new line of polyurethane forklift tyres to the market,” announced Amerityre president and CEO Michael Kapral.
A year-long trial with Michelin’s XZM tyres fitted to a single forklift unit has led to animal feed manufacturer Frank Wright Trouw Nutrition International taking the plunge and switching to the Michelin brand across its mixed fleet of 20 diesel and electric powered forklift trucks.
During each day the test unit operated for an average of ten hours on a range of surfaces from asphalt to concrete and grit. The Michelin shod forklift was carefully monitored during the entire period, with monthly tyre inspections to check for wear and damage.
The adoption of automated sort-and-palletise systems and all three of Cooper Tire’s US factories is saving an estimated US$10 million a year, the company reports. Installation of the first of such systems, which use towering gantry cranes and conveyors to sort and stack tyres by bar code, began in Findlay in May 2007 and the final system in Texarkana was signed off in February 2009.
The Findlay automation system has reduced the number of manual tyre lifting touches from five to zero, and pallets of tyres previously handled three times by a forklift are now handled just once. “It’s an ergonomic improvement by having the tyres handled automatically versus people lifting them by hand,” points out Findlay plant engineer Scott Forry. The installation of the system is, comments Forry, “the largest single automation change that the Findlay plant has undertaken.”
Punctures and tyre related downtime are virtually a thing of the past for the forklift fleet operated by Red Funnel Distribution. The distribution arm of cross Solent ferry operator Red Funnel reports this absence of snafus has occurred since fitting its 2.5 tonne Komatsu and 3.5-tonne Toyota forklifts, which operate five days a week loading and unloading containers and trailers en route to and from the Isle of Wight, with Michelin XZM radials.
“The switch to Michelin was a radical new approach for us, as in the past we had relied upon a low cost brand,” says Red Funnel Distribution operations manager Nick Kirkby. “Since fitting Michelin XZMs, we are seeing a number of cost savings ranging from extended tyre life to reduced requests for a mobile fitter to attend.”
Maxxis reports that its industrial range – a line-up that includes skid steer tyres purpose-designed for use in a variety of heavy duty applications, including construction, agriculture and dockside loading/ unloading – is selling well and that further distributors are required to help develop business opportunities in a number of sectors.
“Since the range was officially launched in the UK last May we have seen a good level of interest from heavy industry, especially dockside freight businesses, and are now looking to appoint additional distributors to enable us to take full advantage of the opportunities this niche marketplace presents,” states Maxxis International UK’s managing director Derek McMartin. “Our skid steer tyres are designed to tackle the most demanding jobs and are highly versatile, delivering superior traction and wear as a result of their extra strong casings, sturdy sidewalls and specially formulated rubber compound.”
UK based tyre and wheel producer Watts Tyre Group has been voted “Supplier of the Year” by Toyota Industrial Equipment SA (TIESA) at this year’s supplier conference held in Ancenis, France. This award is the highest accolade Toyota gives to its suppliers and is awarded on the basis of performance against TIESA’s key quality and delivery indicators.
This year also saw Watts awarded “Certified Supplier Status” for the third consecutive year, and the company notes that this honour reflects the exceptional quality performance that has been achieved over that time. Watts has been a significant supplier to TIESA since the factory opened in 1996, supplying tyres and wheels both individually and as complete tyre and wheel assemblies for Toyota lift trucks.
Starco has announced the launch of its new range of low cost, good quality ATV tyres. The brand, which has been previously established on the US market, will run alongside Starco’s existing Kenda line up, a move that the company says will offer customers greater choice.
The range includes both crossply and radial sizes and is available with a choice of tread designs to suit all applications and conditions. Starco’s warehouse in Rugeley, Staffordshire holds £3 million of stock, comprising comprehensive ranges of wheels, tyres and tubes for not only ATV but also turf, wheelbarrow, high speed trailer, industrial forklift, implement, skid steer and small materials handling applications. In response to customer demand and market trends, the ATV addition to the existing range is designed, says Starco, to maintain the company’s position as a major supplier of ATV tyres from the premium to the budget end of the market.
Fire crews attended a callout to the Pirelli factory in Burton on the morning of March 30 after a blaze was reported at the site. Upon arriving at the premises at 7am, firefighters discovered a forklift truck on the first floor of the factory’s manufacturing plant was on fire. The fire was brought under control within about three quarters of an hour, but it is not yet known how much damage has been caused.
Pall-Ex has switched its forklift truck fleet to Continental CSEasy tyres. Pall-Ex’s headquarters in Ellistown in Leicestershire operates 36 fork lift trucks running on a 24 hour shift operation. Barloworld in partnership with Continental Tyres introduced the new, award winning CSEasy to the site and the results have reportedly shown a number of key benefits for Pall-Ex.
Tony Mellor, commercial director, said: ”Both tyre punctures and truck downtime were a real concern for us at Pall-Ex. The CSEasy tyre can be mounted and demounted without the use of a press, safely in the on-site Barloworld workshop. This saves us costly downtime and the need for expensive equipment. It also means that we are able to change tyres 24/7 keeping our operation moving round the clock.
It has been just over a year since Starco GB added the industrial tyre segment to its existing product range, and although market conditions have been tough, the company reports that it has achieved “substantial growth” in this area. As the UK and Ireland distributor for the Globe Star product, Starco stocks a wide range of resilient solids and press on band tyres, both standard and non-marking easyfit. The solids are complemented with a full range of Kenda Kinetics pneumatic forklift tyres and an even wider range of other industrial, agricultural and skid steer sizes due to the recent addition of the Deestone range of product.
Following the launch of its new skid steer tyres last year, Maxxis International UK is reportedly keen to appoint additional distributors to help develop business opportunities in a number of heavy industry sectors. Both the M9000 MT Loader, which is designed for use on heavyweight forklift trucks, and the M8000 Tuff-Guard – developed for use in extra heavy duty applications such as excavation – are designed to deliver superior traction and long life thanks to “extra strong casings, stronger sidewalls and specially formulated rubber compounds.”
The Maxxis M9000 MT Loader features extra-thick sidewalls, which offer improved puncture resistance while the tread compound is designed to enhance durability, helping to prevent down time and increase productivity. There is also a special rim guard for better tyre and wheel protection. It is available in a range of sizes from 10-16.5 8 PR to 15-19.5 12 PR.
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