RAMBLER COACHES CELEBRATES HALF A CENTURY ON MICHELINS
(Stoke-on-Trent – April 02, 2014) – St. Leonards-based Rambler Coaches Ltd has clocked-up more than 430,000 km with a pair of Michelin X Coach XD tyres fitted to one of its vehicles – reinforcing a policy of fitting Michelin tyres which dates back to the early 1960s.
The family-run business, which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, operates a 35-strong fleet of coaches and specifies Michelins wherever possible – both on new vehicles, and as replacement tyres across the fleet.
The X Coach XD tyres in question were fitted by Volvo to a new coach delivered in 2007, just weeks after the tyre’s international launch. Despite covering a distance equivalent to more than 10 journeys around the equator, they are still on their first life in service and are yet to be regrooved.
Colin Rowland, Managing Director of Rambler Coaches, says: “You pay a little more for a Michelin tyre, but you get what you pay for and we know from experience that Michelins represent the best total value of ownership. That was my father’s opinion when he ran this business and it remains true today.
“We’ve tried other premium brand tyres on new coaches purchased from ready-built stock, but they don’t offer the same performance. We typically remove competitor brand tyres from new vehicles as soon as we can and put them onto older contract coaches, before re-fitting new Michelins. That way we know we’ve got the optimum tyre set-up on the coaches which do the bulk of our long-distance work.
“We never fail to be amazed at the difference between Michelin and other brands, particularly in terms of handling, longevity and fuel efficiency.”
Mr Rowland expects to regroove the original X Coach XDs within the next few thousand kilometres, at which point he’ll re-fit them onto an older vehicle, and put brand new Michelin X Coach XDs on the Volvo.
“We’ve already had a set of 295/80 X Coach XDs delivered by ATS Euromaster in readiness. We wouldn’t consider fitting anything else given the performance we’ve seen,” he adds.
The 295/80 R22.5 X Coach XD tyres incorporate elements of Michelin Durable Technologies – the name given to patented technologies which have allowed Michelin to develop a self-regenerating tread pattern and to make significant advances in tyre architecture.
They are suitable for fitment throughout the year and incorporate three-dimensional patented Double Wave sipes which make the tread block more rigid, thereby helping to reduce tread wear whilst remaining flexible to grip. They also deliver up to 20 per cent more mileage potential than the Michelin XDA 4, the previous standard fitment for long distance coaches, and offer up to15 per cent more grip in challenging weather conditions due to a unique Michelin tread design. Even when the tyre is two-thirds worn, extensive testing has shown the Michelin X Coach XD delivers as much as 15 per cent more grip on snow covered or icy roads, and up to 10 per cent more on wet or slippery roads in comparison with its predecessor.
Rambler Coaches was established in 1924 and is run by the second generation of the original founder's family. As the company has continued to grow, its quality of service and the presentation of its fleet has remained first class.
ends
Michelin (www.trucks.michelin.co.uk / @MichelinTruckUK)
Michelin, the leading tyre company, is dedicated to sustainably improving the mobility of goods and people by manufacturing and marketing tyres for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles/motorcycles, earthmovers, farm equipment and trucks. It also offers electronic mobility support services on ViaMichelin.com and publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Michelin is present in more than 170 countries, has 111,200 employees and operates 67 production plants in 17 different countries. The Group has a Technology Centre in charge of research and development with operations in Europe, North America and Asia. (www.michelin.com)
For further press information please contact:
David Johnson, Michelin Press Office
Tel: + 44 (0) 1782 402341 Email: d.johnson@uk.michelin.com
James Keeler, Garnett Keeler PR, Inver House, 37-39 Pound Street,
Carshalton, Surrey, SM5 3PG
Tel: +44 (0)20 8647 4467 E-mail: james.keeler@garnettkeeler.com
MICHT/177/14
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