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Tag: tyres

Bridgestone signs agreement with Collease

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Bridgestone’s flexibility, attention to detail and long-term approach to fleet management has worked together to secure a huge commercial partnership with Collease. The vehicle rental giant, with around 2,000 vehicles operating from the east of England, has agreed a two-year agreement with Bridgestone, incorporating all types of trailers and motorised equipment.

Bridgestone’s National Fleet Executive Neil Collison (pictured right), who played a key role in communicating the company’s holistic package of support, said: “We’re thrilled to be forging a partnership with Collease, which is a company very close to our hearts having worked with them in recent years. We have worked hard across the business to provide a bespoke package of solutions to meet their needs.

“From a product perspective, we have identified our R179+ as an ideal solution for the nature of the Collease operation. It offers a mix of longevity and reliability more suited for this rental fleet contract and made sense to opt for this premium product.

“In addition, our most advanced fleet management system (FLEETBRIDGE) automates the tailor made workflows between Collease, our Bridgestone Partner network and our fleet administration team.

“We were able to demonstrate savings in both cost and time, and to see the Bridgestone logo on the tyres that are turning for Collease will be a sight to make us extremely proud. It’s a partnership we value hugely.”

Bridgestone’s Total Tyre Care offering means the company will regularly audit all five sites in Norwich, Felixstowe, London, Southampton and Manchester in an attempt to get maximum life out of each tyre.

Collease Director Martin Drewery (pictured left) said: “Bridgestone come with a great reputation and we were already aware of a number of their solutions. But we could see that they have evolved as a business, underpinned by a diligent, hard-working team. They grasped what we wanted and displayed a level of flexibility to meet our needs, which was great to see.

“Neil’s knowledge and attention to detail was another impressive factor. It is nice to work with a business which speaks the same language as us and understands our needs.”

Trelleborg introduces versatile press-on tyre

Posted on by David Priestman

Trelleborg has launched the PS800, its newest press-on solid tyre for medium-intensity material handling applications; versatile for working in all conditions indoors or out.

Luca Sabelli, Product Manager Material Handling at Trelleborg Wheel Systems, said: “At Trelleborg, we know that tailoring our solutions to customers’ needs is essential when it comes to handling their everyday challenges. Designed to help operators that deal with high loads and repeated vehicle cornering within a medium working cycle, the PS800 can get the job done easily with the versatility needed.”

Available in smooth or traction profiles and in two different compounds, multi-purpose and non-marking, the PS800 guarantees high performance and enhanced comfort in indoor operations or the needed grip and increased traction for outdoor ones, even on wet paving.

Trelleborg says both PS800 tread patterns carry good overall performance, day in and day out. Thanks to its optimised compounds, wear is reduced, meaning the PS800 tyre lasts 18% longer than equivalent tyres on the market.

Flexibility comes first with the PS800 line, so customers can select the right tyre to run their operations with confidence in the comfort, stability and safety they will have while working on any surface.

Cumbrian firm benefits from tyre policy guarantee

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Bulmans Bulk & Haulage is specifying Michelin tyres as original equipment on all new trucks, and as replacements across its truck and trailer fleet, after reaping the benefits offered by Michelin’s accidental tyre damage guarantee.

The Penrith-based bulk tipping specialist says tyre-related downtime has reduced and longevity increased – boosting the sustainability of its operations. Plus, in the event a tyre suffers accidental damage before it is 50% worn, the company receives a credit from Michelin for the unused portion of the tyre’s life.

Miranda Housby, a Director of Bulmans Bulk & Haulage, says: “We used to suffer frequent tyre damage before we switched to Michelin. At first, we were hesitant about fitting a more expensive tyre to combat the problem, as the financial penalty is even higher if you still suffer damage.

“But Michelin explained how its accidental tyre damage guarantee worked, and it gave us the confidence to make a permanent switch in policy. Given the type of work we do, we can’t eliminate every instance of tyre damage – but at least with Michelin, damage has reduced significantly, and we have the peace of mind that our investment is protected.”

The customer, which is a FORS bronze member, operates approximately 60 DAF tractor units and 70 trailers, fitting 315/80 R 22.5 X Multi Z and D tyres on its steer and drive axles respectively, and 235/75 R 17.5 X Multi T2 fitments on the mid-lift. All Fruehauf trailers benefit from a 385/65 R22.5 X Multi T replacement tyre policy – which offers versatility and longevity in all seasons.

Michelin’s accidental tyre damage guarantee covers the majority of its regional and on/off-road ranges, and is free of charge to register for – reinforcing the benefits of operating a premium Michelin policy.

Housby adds: “We get great support from Gary Scott, our local Michelin Truck Sales Account Manager, who audits the fleet every few months, and provides bespoke tyre pressure advice to ensure we’re maximising the performance of every fitment in the fleet. He also keeps us fully informed if we’re ever making a claim under the guarantee, right up until the moment we receive payment.”

Bulmans Bulk & Haulage was founded in 1982, initially with a single vehicle trading from a bedroom at a Penrith truck stop. Fast forward nearly 40 years and the company transports more than 6,000 tonnes of feed, cereals and aggregates every day – delivering to every corner of the UK.

Its tyres are supplied and fitted by local Michelin Service Pro dealer Team Protyre – Harolds Tyres, which is based on the Gilwilly Industrial Estate in Penrith.

 

Trelleborg forges new partnerships at EIC Corporate Day

Posted on by David Priestman

On 25th and 26th May 2021, the European Innovation Council (EIC) and Trelleborg Wheel Systems, a key global supplier of tyres and complete wheels, proudly participated in a joint EIC Corporate Day to generate new ideas and evaluate potential synergies with dynamic and innovative start-ups funded by the EIC.

The European Commission’s EIC Corporate Day connects Europe’s most innovative start-ups and executives and decision-makers from a cross-section of leading European companies.

During the event, 14 start-ups – from Italy, UK, Spain, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Romania, Sweden and Israel – pitched their ideas and innovations in the following four categories: Connected tyres & vehicles for specialty tyre applications; Green & renewable materials for production; Marketing digital solutions for B2B industries; and Smart factories & production processes digitalisation.

Alongside the EIC, Trelleborg Wheel Systems offers the companies a range of business acceleration services to bring their best ideas to the market.

Paolo Pompei, President Trelleborg Wheel Systems, says: “At Trelleborg, innovation is crucial to our strategy. Our roadmap not only relies on our own knowhow, but on the expertise and collaboration of promising and innovative companies, making it essential for us to meet with start-ups through events like the EIC Corporate Day.

“Sustainability is another important pillar of our strategy. Just last February, we pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50% by 2025. We are therefore constantly seeking out new materials, production processes, and energy generation methods to achieve this ambitious goal.

“Furthermore, over the last years we’ve rapidly accelerated the expansion of our portfolio by offering digital products and solutions to reinforce our premium offer. At Trelleborg, we know that our future begins with the decisions we make today, and we’re pleased to continue paving the way alongside the EIC.”

Jean-David Malo, Director of the European Innovation Council, says: “More than ever, innovation is central to Europe’s ability to generate new jobs and sustainable growth. We need innovative ideas to tackle the major societal challenges that Europeans are facing.

“A year has passed since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and we continue to offer online events to meet the expectations of all the participants. This way, we carry on giving access to ‘smart money’, funding, but also the opportunity to connect with big players around Europe.

“Bridging the gap between start-ups and large companies is a vital strategy for business acceleration and growth. We need to turn start-ups’ ideas into reality. It is an absolute win-win situation for everyone; the start-ups obtain synergies, connections and forge new business opportunities, while the corporates can identify new emerging technologies and scout interesting new start-ups.

“The EIC is grateful that Trelleborg Wheel Systems has decided to go on this digital journey with us, as we all consider that the key to the future is through sustainable and innovative solutions.”

Warehouse Processes Optimised in the Cloud

Posted on by David Priestman

The reifen.com GmbH handles up to 60,000 tires and rims daily. With the EPG | LFS warehouse management system from EPG (Ehrhardt Partner Group), reifen.com has been optimizing its logistics processes in the warehouse for over seven years. After all, perfectly functioning logistics are a key prerequisite for the company’s success. Apart from the reifen.com online store, the multi-channel specialist has 37 stores in Germany and around 8,000 fitting partners internationally for additional services. reifen.com uses the EPG | LFS warehouse management system to automate processes, speed up shipping, minimize the number of returns and reduce costs. Currently, reifen.com has switched the hosting of its warehouse management system to EPG’s EPX cloud offering.

With order lists speed up shipping

reifen.com uses a dynamic batch formation function in EPG | LFS to bundle orders of the same type so that fast processing is possible. In this process, different customer orders are sorted according to a shipping type, for example, and combined into a picking tour in the outbound warehouse. This means that instead of labor-intensive piece picking, complete loading units can be removed and made available during packing, so that many different orders can then be processed quickly. The orders can then be processed without interruptions. The employees at reifen.com can define the batch lists very flexibly, e.g., according to shipping types, product groups or even destination countries. This significantly speeds up the shipping process.

Reduce costs for KEP service providers:By optimizing the shipping method for KEP service providers, reifen.com reduces shipping costs. Together with EPG, the existing shipping type determination was improved to automatically determine the most cost-effective KEP service provider in each case in the LFS.

Using simple controls to minimize the number of returns:
reifen.com uses a simple EAN check in the LFS for customer-specific quick packaging. Here, the employee in the shipping department additionally scans an EAN label, e.g. to check the correct goods or the correct quantity. This reduces sources of error and minimizes the number of returns.

For assembly stations, provide individual parts on time:
For delivery to end customers, individual parts such as tires, rims and valves must be picked and made available at assembly stations on schedule. EPG | LFS also ensures that employees are guided via walkways and that shipping is optimized. “With EPG, we have a very powerful software partner for managing our warehouse resources, picking and efficient shipping. The EPG helps us to further optimize processes and become even better for our customers,” says Jens Müller, Head of Logistics at reifen.com, summarizing the experience gained from seven years of cooperation with the EPG.

EPX-Cloud-Solution “Infrastructure as a Service”

reifen.com has switched the hosting of its warehouse management system to the EPX- cloud-solution “Infrastructure as a Service” offering. EPG takes over iSeries/AS-400 hosting and all IT services for EPG products as part of defined managed services. This includes operation, support and active monitoring of the systems, including data backup. The migration of the data to the EPX cloud was implemented over a weekend in less than 24 hours. “Thanks to the cloud solution, we can now flexibly scale the IT structures to ensure high performance and permanent availability,” says Hans Lechner, Head of IT, explaining the objective of the project.

Forklift Tyres Online Dealer Portal

Posted on by David Priestman

Continental has expanded its digital online dealer portal, ContiOnlineContact. The portal now lists the entire Off-The-Road (OTR) and agricultural tire portfolio. This enables dealers and customers from the agricultural, industrial, earthmoving, port and airport sectors, among others, to order tires flexibly and on demand. With the expansion of the dealer portal to include OTR and agricultural tires, service performance will be continuously improved and tire ordering will be catering to the individual needs of the customers. The new products are available both as ad-hoc orders with delivery directly from the regional warehouses and as direct shipments from the factories.

ContiOnlineContact: All information at a glance

Via ContiOnlineContact, dealers and customers can search the complete range of Continental commercial specialty tires and accessories and access product information and technical documentation comfortably and at any time. After selecting a tire for the individual application, the portal can be used to check availability and to place and track an order. In addition, product updates and marketing material keep dealers up to date with the latest developments at Continental. Further developments of the portal are already in the pipeline.

Volvo Selects Michelin for Record-breaking Road Tests

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Michelin says tyres from its X Line Energy range – designed for fleets seeking the lowest possible carbon footprint – were fitted to two Volvo trucks which have set new fuel efficiency records on demanding press road tests in the UK.

Earlier this month the next generation 4×2 Volvo FM 420, operating with a tri-axle trailer at 40-tonnes, averaged 10.31mpg around Commercial Motor’s 760km road test route. This followed less than 12 months after a 6×2 Volvo FH 460 with I-Save set a new record of 9.49mpg at 44-tonnes. Both tractor units were specified with Globetrotter sleeper cabs and tyres from Michelin’s most fuel-efficient range. The FM rode on 355/50 R22.5 X Line Energy Z (steer) and 295/60 R22.5 X Line Energy D (drive) tyres, whilst the FH with I-Save was equipped with 385/55 R22.5 X Line Energy F (steer & mid axle) and 315/70 R22.5 X Line Energy D (drive) tyres.

Martin Tomlinson, Head of Media, Truck Demonstration & Driver Development at Volvo Trucks UK & Ireland, says: “In the minds of most customers, fuel is everything. We’ve pioneered world-leading technologies and fuel saving strategies that can make a huge difference to a fleet’s bottom line, but you also need the right tyres to help squeeze the most out of every drop. Michelin X Line Energy tyres have become my default choice for our long-haul demo fleet as they help us to drive further on less fuel. Plus they match this with impressive safety, handling and durability.”

Chris Smith, Managing Director of Michelin UK, says: “Manufacturers such as Volvo Trucks hold a wealth of data on vehicle performance in different configurations, so it’s a huge compliment to see our tyres being repeatedly chosen for their demonstration fleet.”

Michelin X Line Energy tyres are designed specifically for trucks and coaches used on long-distance routes, and where the majority of time is spent travelling at sustained high average speeds. They are the product of Michelin’s continued investment of more than €600m in research and development every year, which has helped to push the limits of rolling resistance even further and unlock greater sustainability benefits for customers. The test took place using a standard tri-axle curtainside trailer, supplied by Dawsongroup. It ran over a set route which runs from Nuneaton up the M6, crossing the country close to the border with Scotland on local roads, before returning south on the M1. The route covers 494km of motorway, 121km of severe gradients and 145km of trunk roads.

The Volvo FM broke Commercial Motor’s previous 40-tonne record of 8.6mpg, set in 2008, despite today’s speed limits allowing the overall average speed to rise from 69.6kph to 74.9kph, while emissions have also improved from Euro-5 to the latest Euro-6 Step D standard. The Volvo FH with I-Save beat the previous 44-tonne record of 8.65mpg, which had been set in 2017.
https://business.michelin.co.uk/

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