TIMBER FIRM SHEFFIELD & CO. LTD. SEES HUGE REDUCTION IN TYRE-RELATED DOWNTIME THANKS TO MICHELIN TECHNICAL TEAM
Stoke-on-Trent – November 2, 2012
Southwaite-based timber harvesting, marketing, and haulage company Sheffield & Co. Ltd. has reduced the frequency of annual tyre-related breakdowns from 35 to just two. Its tyres are also lasting longer after working for the last 18 months with Michelin Technical Manager Dan Lamb to adopt a bespoke tyre policy, with different pressures tailored for on-road and forestry work.
Michelin began consulting with the company in March 2011 as Sheffield & Co. began installing Tireboss Central Tyre Inflation (CTI) devices on its fleet of four 44-tonne combinations. These flexible systems are linked to the vehicle’s air system and allow truck and trailer tyre pressures to be altered by up to 85psi at the touch of a button.
Michelin recommended a switch from running 385/65 R 22.5 wide singles and 275/70 R 22.5 twinned-wheels on Sheffield & Co.’s tri-axle and drawbar trailers to Michelin’s 455/45 R 22.5 X One MaxiTrailer tyre, which gives a larger footprint and can be deflated to lower pressures on demanding forestry roads to increase damage resistance, longevity, and reduce wear and tear to the forest tracks.
On Sheffield & Co.’s single tractor unit and three six wheel rigids, Michelin recommended a change from 295/80 R 22.5 tyres to larger 315/80 R 22.5 fitments on steer and drive axles. In this new size the tractor and six-wheelers are running a combination of X MultiWay 3D XZE and X Works XZY fitments on the steer axles and XDY3 Remix and XDE2 Remix tyres on the drive axles. The tractor tag axle has also been upgraded to Michelin XF2 385/65 R 22.5 rubber.
Sheffield & Co. boss John Sheffield says: “If you have a breakdown in the forest, you’ve got to have a callout, and we were losing a lot of time before we began working with Michelin on CTI systems and new tyre sizes. The change to Michelin’s products has virtually eliminated tyre-related downtime for our fleet, despite the fact we spend so much time off-road.
“We’ve also noticed vast improvements in tyre life,” Sheffield says. “We’ve got some original X One MaxiTrailer tyres on one trailer after more than 100,000 miles, which is far better than the competitor tyres we were previously fitting. I always say a cheap tyre is only cheap when you purchase it. If you have a problem, then it becomes an expensive tyre.”
The new Michelin policy with Sheffield & Co. is serviced through Matthew Brewer Tyres in Carlisle, and Sheffield & Co. is looking forward to significant savings at the end of its financial year in March 2013, when all the company’s trucks will have been on Michelin tyres with the CTI systems installed, for a full year.
As part of the move to fitting Michelin tyres, Sheffield & Co. is trialling the company’s Four Lives policy. This will see its worn tyres re-grooved for a second life, comprehensively re-manufactured into Michelin Remix tyres for a third life, and then re-grooved again for a fourth life. The customer also worked with Michelin Technical, Tireboss and the vehicle manufacturer to optimise tyre fitments when specifying Michelin on the latest new vehicle in the fleet. Sheffield & Co. plans to specify Michelin equipment on all its new trucks and trailers in the future.
Founded in 1947 and based south of Carlisle, Sheffield & Co. is ideally located to serve a wide range of customers from Lancashire to the Scottish Borders and also into Northumberland. The company says that running its own fleet, combined with sub-contractors, some of whom also run Michelin tyres, enables it to respond to market requirements at short notice. Its fleet also undertakes contract haulage work to maximise vehicle efficiency.
ends
Michelin (www.michelin.co.uk)
Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tyres for every type of vehicle, including aircraft, bicycles, cars, earthmoving machines, farm equipment, trucks and motorcycles. Michelin employs 115,000 people, has sales organisations in more than 170 countries and operates 69 production sites in 18 countries throughout five continents. The Company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases and offers electronic mobility support services on ViaMichelin.com. Research and development is undertaken in technology centres in Asia, Europe and North America.
For further press information please contact:
Paul Cordle, Michelin Press Office
Tel: + 44 (0) 1782 402341 Email: paul-m.cordle@uk.michelin.com
James Keeler, Garnett Keeler PR, Inver House, 37-39 Pound Street,
Carshalton, Surrey, SM5 3PG
Tel: +44 (0)20 8647 4467 Fax: +44 (0)20 8544 4711 E-mail: james.keeler@garnettkeeler.com
MICHT/101/12
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