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Sharron Pattison Fleet to use Michelin

Hull-based haulage company Sharron Pattison Logistics is fitting Michelin’s XDN2 Grip tyres across its fleet of Daf heavy trucks, following a successful trial. Sharron Pattison currently has four vehicles shod with Michelin tyres, including two with the latest XDN2 Grip tyres, but plans are underway for the 14-strong fleet to make a complete transfer to Michelin, as tyre wear dictates. The Michelin XDN2 Grip tyres were purchased from local independent dealer Baron Tyres, which will be carrying out regular monthly tyre inspections across the fleet, with each vehicle averaging 150,000 km a year and operating on a 24/7 basis.

29th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Yuill & Dodds Wins RMA Green Fleet Award

Yuill & Dodds, the Hamilton Scotland based haulage company, won this year’s Retread Manufacturers Association (RMA) Green Fleet Award. The award was presented to Brian Yuill of Yuill & Dodds by RMA director David Wilson at the Rubber Industry Dinner held at the St Johns Hotel in Solihull on 26 September. The Green Fleet of the Year Award is presented by the RMA to recognise fleets who have been particularly supportive to the retreading industry.

Yuill and Dodds are one of the biggest bulk hauliers in Scotland with over 200 tippers, tractors and trailers. They have been associated with Bandag for many years and fit retreads on drive axles on all tippers, bulk tractors and all positions on tipping trailers.

13th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

International Tyres Pushes Sumo Brand Forwards in UK

For the highly competitive truck market, International Tyres & Trading acts as the sole UK distributors for the Sumo Firenza range which continues to gain ground as a mid-range option, particularly for small to medium sized haulage fleets who consider tyre costs per mile to be very important. Sumo Firenza tyres are manufactured in the Far East, incorporating Japanese technology, and have six pattern ranges for a number of specific applications.

The Firenza SSR05A pattern is for steering and trailer usage courtesy of the tyre’s wider tread and flatter profile for excellent mileage return and smooth drive handling. For the Super Single sector, the Firenza SSR055A pattern is available in size 385/65R22.5. Other patterns in the Firenza range include the SSD08, SSM07 and SST07, which are all designed for various driving positions as well as all-positional use, offering a tread pattern designed for impressive traction on all types of road conditions. All Firenza truck tyres incorporate a solid shoulder construction with zero angle steel band ply to protect against irregular wear.

6th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Costin Says Tyre Change Key to Turnaround

West Midlands-based Costin Logistics, formerly AE Costin Haulage, has adopted a pence per kilometre (PPK) tyre contract in conjunction with Michelin and ATS Euromaster, as part of the company’s turnaround strategy. The PPK structured deal – which is traditionally more common with larger 3PLs – sees Costin Logistics’ fleet of commercial vehicles adopt a fully managed tyre policy whereby the company only pay for the kilometres used on tyres, but without the up front cost of outright purchase. This replaces a rudimentary policy of buying the cheapest rubber, managed internally, with the company holding its own tyre stock.

Craig Bunker, who purchased AE Costin in 2007 through his role as a Managing Director of Key3 Partners, a specialist transport turnaround consultancy, says: “The previous tyre policy was a completely false economy demonstrating the common mistake of focusing on price rather than the overall cost, as it often pays to buy quality.”

9th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Adds Low Profile FH85 Amaranto Sizes

Pirelli has expanded its range of sizes available on the FH85 Amaranto premium truck tyre range. The tyre is now available in 385/55R22.5 for trucks used on long distances with heavy loads on low severity roads. The new ultra-low profile tyre is designed for the steering axles and the company is confident that it makes for an increased load capacity and volume.

The 385/55 R 22.5 FH85 Amaranto meets the needs of the truck tyre market for ON applications, where the demand for this type of product is growing rapidly and shows great potential to continue to do so. This size has a higher load capacity than other products with a similar diameter – such as 315/70 and 315/60 R22.5 – thanks to the larger volume of air it contains.

4th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Suckling Transport Signs 3-Year Deal with Michelin

Independent petrol haulage contractor Suckling Transport has signed a three-year PPK (pence per kilometre) contract with Michelin and ATS Euromaster. The deal sees all of Suckling’s 86 vehicles and 96 petroleum tanker trailers adopt a 100 per cent Michelin Group tyre policy.

West Thurrock-based Suckling Transport worked with Michelin for many years before awarding a three-year contract to another manufacturer in 2005. According to the French manufacturer, the decision to reappoint Michelin followed a national tyre audit which highlighted key areas of improvement.

30th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Put an End to Wasted Fuel With Correct Truck & Bus Alignment

New in 2008 to the Rema Tip Top UK Limited range is a mobile laser wheel aligner for trucks, buses and trailers. Truck Align is a product with a firm emphasis upon reducing fuel consumption and maximising tyre life, and thus is, says Rema Tip Top, an absolute necessity for any serious commercial or haulage fleet. The automotive product supplier notes that field testing has demonstrated a significant cost benefit that can be delivered through Truck Align: Vehicles with misaligned wheels consume up to four per cent more fuel than vehicles with correctly aligned wheels.

25th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Vacu-Lug to Make 15 Redundant in Ops Review

Grantham-based retreading firm, Vacu-Lug is set to make 15 employees redundant in an operational review following difficult trading conditions in the commercial tyre sector. The company, which is Europe’s largest retreader of commercial and industrial tyres, is struggling to retain previous levels of demand in some business areas thanks to current market difficulties in haulage and logistics industries.

A spokesman for the company told local news sources that the review was the company’s response to the slowing economy, while the redundancies do not reflect the expanding nature of other sectors of the business. The company was eager to stress the fact that the move comes as “a restructuring exercise, which will help us continue our growth in other areas of the business.”

17th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Wide Base Single Tyres Given the OK in Canada

Canada’s road haulage industry will be able to utilise wide single truck tyres following approval being granted for their use. The Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety has approved amendments made to Canada’s Memorandum of Understanding on Vehicle Weights and Dimensions. The amendments aim to, states a Memorandum of Understanding document, to “improve the consistency of weight limits applicable to use of these tyres across Canada, while also protecting highway infrastructure, the national standards for weight limits on single and tandem axle groups are being increased to the federal limits currently applicable in the United States.”

20th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Donnell & Ellis Plump for ATS Euromaster

Omagh-based Donnell & Ellis Heavy Haulage have signed a contract to make ATS Euromaster the company’s sole tyre service provider.

The contract, said to be worth close to £100,000 per year, is aimed at providing the company with proactive tyre management as a measure against unexpected vehicle downtime. In addition, the agreement sees a fleet-wide change of preferred brand; ATSE are fitting Michelin tyres on its 30 Scania tractor units, and Hankook tyres on 60 specialist trailers, some of which have a payload capacity of up to 200 tonnes.

5th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Fleet Trial Shows Michelin Tyres Save on Fuel Costs

Bolton-based haulage contractor Thomas Harwood & Son Ltd reports seeing an improvement in fuel economy after conducting its own in-house trial with Michelin’s low rolling resistance Energy tyres. The company claims that the savings they realised translate to cost savings of over £1,000 per vehicle per year.

The trial saw staff at Thomas Harwood carefully recording fuel data on a 44 tonne Volvo FH12 6×2 tractor unit over a period of more than two years – with the vehicle first fitted with Michelin ‘E’ segment regional tyres (XZE2+ / XDE2+), and then switched to operate on Michelin Energy tyres (XZA2 / XDA2+). The length of the trial ensured small inconsistencies were ironed out, with the non-Energy tyres returning an average of 8.68mpg, against 8.99mpg with the vehicle fitted with low rolling resistance tyres. This difference in fuel economy equates to a saving of 3.45 per cent – which in real terms is worth £1,025, based on an average annual fuel bill for a tractor unit of £30,000 a year.

3rd March 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Meeting the Demands of Today’s Tyre Business

Tyre technicians throughout the UK are benefiting from a training scheme aimed at improving industry standards, and the first group of delegates have now successfully completed their courses. The awards scheme, run by Bridgestone UK, recognises excellence in tyre servicing and care, together with professional customer service delivery. The scheme offers three different levels of achievement for both car and truck categories – gold, silver and bronze – which are attained by completing a set number of training courses.

Bronze award achievers are required to pass four modules in either car or truck tyre training. They cover subjects such as health and safety, customer care, tyre knowledge and roadside breakdown assistance. Courses at this level are held at training locations across the UK. Upon passing each module, technicians are awarded a Bridgestone certificate of achievement, and when all four modules are completed, they receive the bronze award, which is recognised by the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI). They also become eligible for IMI membership. The more advanced silver and gold awards cover tyre technology, specialist tyre care and management skills. Some of these courses are held at Bridgestone’s European Education Centre in Rome.

20th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

CMA Launching New OTR Tyres at SEMA

(Akron/Tire Review) The SEMA Show will see the launch of new 33- and 35-inch radial OTR tires by China Manufacturers Alliance. The Double Coin 35/65R33 L-5 loader tyre and 24.00R35 E-4 haulage tyre are the latest additions. Company officials stated the new tyres have “uniquely aggressive tread patterns for long wear, a smooth ride and excellent traction, as well as an all-steel casing for puncture resistance and enhanced retreadability.” CMA said the 33-inch loader tyre comes with a 122/32nds of original tread depth while the 35-inch radial haulage tyre has an original tread depth of 86/32nds.

30th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Sizes Round Out Semperit Line Up

The Continental Tyre Group has expanded its range of Semperit truck tyres for long and short haulage through the addition of several new sizes. For steer axles it now offers the M350 Euro-Front tyre in 295/80R22.5, 315/80R22.5, 315/70R22.5 and 385/65R22.5 and the M434 Euro-Steel tyre in 11R22.5, 12R22.5 and 13R22.5. These steer tyres can also be used as an all-round fitment for buses. They deliver a uniform wear pattern, safe grip in the wet and low noise levels.

In addition a range of 19.5-inch sizes is also available for steer axles in the M249 Euro-Front pattern at 245/70R19.5, 265/70R19.5 and 285/70R19.5 as well as the key 17.5-inch sizes in the M434 Euro-Steel pattern at 205/75R17.5, 215/75R17.5, 225/75R17.5 and 235R17.5.

23rd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Steer Axle Tyre Provides 10% More Grip

Michelin has launched the replacement to its XFN+ steer axle truck tyre. Called the XFN2+, in its 315/80 R 22.5 guise the new arrival is said to offer up to 10 per cent more grip than its predecessor, prompting the French tyre major to comment that a ‘new level of safety’ has been reached by its new product.

19th September 2007/by Tyrepress Editors