Imerys Trial Michelin XZM Tyres
St Austell-based Imerys Minerals Ltd has entered into a preferred supplier agreement with Michelin and ATS Euromaster, for the supply and fitment of Michelin XZM radial tyres across its fleet of 50 forklift trucks.
Imerys has been a long term Michelin customer for over 25 years, but the start of a new contract hire agreement in 2006 saw a number of new forklifts delivered with a mixture of solid and pneumatic tyres fitted from a range of manufacturers, providing the customer with an opportunity to undertake its own extensive tyre tests.
“The trial allowed us to benchmark the Michelin XZM tyres against a number of other brands which were fitted as original equipment to trucks supplied by Barloworld Hire,” explains Steve Truscott, Engineering Manager – Mobile Plant, at Imerys Minerals.
“We have always leaned towards the Michelin XZM tyres in the past due to their proven resistance to cuts and damage, combined with strong wear characteristics. We’ve run other trials in the past to ensure the Michelin tyres provided good cost-per-hour benefits, but this recent delivery gave us the chance to conduct a much broader test involving four different makes of tyre,” he adds.