Off-road tyre manufacturer BKT makes a point of gathering and listening to its users’ feedback, saying that this kind of dialogue is the essential basis for the perfection and development of new products.
To this end, BKT has visited Cufica, a Spanish company founded in 1980. Cufica operates in the extraction and transformation of slate, a water-resistant stone of common usage, especially in roof building. The quarry operator has chosen BKT's Earthmax SR 45 M tyres to equip its rigid dumpers.
Cufica company is a leading company in Spain in the area of Valdeorras and, partially, of Bierzo that employs about one hundred people. Its main and reference market is France followed by the United Kingdom.
Juan Antonio Illescas Mateo, the Spanish company’s financial director, says: “Cufica has made its contribution to develop the area by sharing its value. Generally speaking, I think the company is a very important source for the area.
“People are the company’s most important asset. Since our operations rely on manpower, it is essential being able to count on qualified workers, who are aware and prepared for this type of activities.”
The people working for Cufica deal with the extraction of slate from queries, i.e. extracting, loading and finally transporting the mineral to the factory. For all these activities, a large fleet of manifold equipment is required including loaders, drills, dumpers, and boring machines.
To better deal with transport operations, Illescas Mateo has decided to equip his five rigid dumpers with BKT Earthmax SR 45 M tyres sized 24.00 R 35.
“In such difficult operating conditions, the required main features of a tyre are robustness, grip and traction, and of course, resistance and a long tyre life-cycle,” says Fernando Buelta Gonzalez, foreman of mineral operations at Cufica.
“At our quarry, there are paths with a 10% slope. So, above all in adverse climatic weather conditions such as rain and snow, excellent traction and grip are required. Cufica’s experience with BKT tyres is extraordinary since they fully correspond to our needs and our operators can work in full safety.”
Earthmax SR 45 M is an all-steel radial tyre that is available in three different compound types: normal, heat resistant, and cut resistant. Thanks to its distinctive feature, a E-4-deep tread, the tyre is able to withstand cuts and punctures. BKT says this means it is able to deal with operating sites like extraction quarries with very demanding usage conditions. It adds that excellent traction and great resistance also for transport conditions on long hauls are guaranteed for all available versions.
BKT says that one of its priorities is catering for the manifold user needs by developing increasingly effective and specific products that are particularly designed for different operating conditions. "This is exactly why BKT considers important the direct testimonials of those, who actually use their tyres on a daily basis like Cufica," it adds.
The multinational company from India says it aims for a close contact with its users also by means of its website where the BKT Stories – namely user testimonials – gain broad visibility. It adds that users can find the right product based on their specific needs.
