Surefreight saves with Continental Tyres30 August 2013

When, in a bid to reduce its operating costs and improve its tyre management, Surefreight turned to Continental Tyres, it couldn't have expected the results it got.

The Northern Ireland-based firm, which operates between Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe, experienced a reduction in tyre costs of £59,000 in 2012, when compared with 2011.

This saving has been put down to the correct tyre choice, good advice from Continental, and following the ContiLifeCycle process. This five-stage tyre management process ensures that Surefreight gets maximum mileage out of the 3,500 plus tyres that are in use across their fleet of 200 tractor units and over 500 trailers.

On steer axles their choice is the Continental HSR2, which is designed to provide maximum grip in all conditions, with intermediate blocks for extra traction.

Trailers are fitted with the Continental HTR2, which improves fuel economy due to its low weight, while delivers high mileage because it uses a balanced compound and tyre geometry.

Surefreight director, Brian McManus, says: "It clearly pays to take care of tyres as we have seen with the significant savings we are now making. Choosing Continental as our tyre partner has been central to this. We get excellent service from the local dealer and good technical support from Continental in helping us to choose the correct tyres from the outset."

Both the HSR2 and the HTR2 are designed for re-grooving when the tread depth reaches 5mm. Surefreight workshop staff have been trained by Continental in the techniques of re-grooving, which they carry out on their premises to give each tyre a considerably extended second life.

"By re-grooving and retreading we get high mileage out of our Continentals," adds McManus. "And there's good back-up too from their breakdown service, which ensures that should a problem occur our trucks are back on the road quickly and disruption to our customers is minimised."

Author
John Challen

Related Companies
Continental Tyre Group Ltd

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