New tyres for quarry-based equipment models offer longevity and value for money

The importance of high quality new and proven tyres for quarry based vehicles and equipment should never be overlooked by a quarrying business. Guy Woodford writes

When choosing tyres for their fleet models, quarry operators usually look for robust solutions that offer great value for money through their productivity and longevity. 7482 BKT’s new Earthmax SR 31, which has just rolled off the production line, is said to be one such tyre that offers both key cost-effective elements.

Ideal for loaders, dozers and articulated dumpers, the Earthmax SR 31 was due to be on display in size 23.5 R 25 at bauma 2016 in Munich, Germany from 11 to 16 April. The all-steel radial tyre with multi-ply steel belts is said by BKT to provide extraordinary strength and stability under the toughest operating conditions. The tyre is also said to feature excellent traction and manoeuvrability in addition to unbeatable riding comfort.

The particularly cut-and-heat resistant tread compound of the Earthmax SR 31 tyre ensures a long product life cycle. The multi-layer steel belts along with the non-directional rigid block pattern are said to guarantee excellent traction and manoeuvrability, even on muddy ground. Furthermore, the tyre’s radial casing structure provides reduced rolling resistance, ensuring better fuel economy and lower operating costs - a great advantage for operators in demanding applications.
Other Earthmax tyres on show at bauma include the SR 41 (size 29.5 R 25), an all-steel radial tyre for articulated dumpers; the highly cut-resistant Earthmax SR 47 (size 24.00 R 35), specially designed for rigid dumpers operating under harshest conditions; and the Earthmax SR 53 (size 23.5 R 25), a strong and durable tyre, ideal for loaders and dozers in quarries and mining applications.

Meanwhile, 6686 Mitas, another leading off-highway vehicle tyre manufacturer, was due to introduce at bauma 2016 its first ever tyre for rigid dump trucks – the ERD-45 18.00R33.

Due to go on the market in May 2016, the tyre’s tread pattern is designed for hard surface conditions and is said to have excellent traction. ERD-45 has a sidewall protection and it is also highly resistant to cuts. Three further ERD-45 tyres – the 21.00R33, 21.00R35 and 24.00R35 – will be unveiled by Mitas during 2017-18.

The new ERD-45 tread pattern in Mitas’ Earthmover tyres portfolio will take its place alongside the ERD-20, ERD-30 and ERD-40.

“Mitas is significantly extending its product range in the segment of Earthmover tyres and ERD-45 is one of the highlights,” said Andrew Mabin, Mitas’ sales and marketing director. “During 2016 we will introduce four new tread patterns and eight new tyre sizes dedicated for the Earthmover segment. These product launches are made possible thanks to the massive investment we did in our production plants in last years.”
A leading tyre retreading name globally, Italian company 6214 Marangoni is also an important supplier of Marangoni Marix earthmover retreads in Europe.

Luca Mai, sales executive manager for Marangoni Commercial and Earthmover Tyres, said: “By adopting a high-quality and particularly customer-oriented retreading process, Marangoni Marix tyres can ensure excellent performance levels that are equivalent to those of premium-brand new tyres, guaranteeing considerable reductions in hourly costs and representing the best possible response to the market needs for efficiency and cost savings.”

Mai said the company’s strong focus on environmental issues means it produces products that protect the environment by requiring less raw materials, thus producing lower waste. Its tyres also, said Mai, provide a competitive per-hour cost while offering a second or even third life “As well as being an excellent solution to give premium brand tyres a second life, Marix Marangoni retreaded tyres are also extremely competitive against low-cost new Asianmade tyres, as well as having a much lower hourly cost than the latter,” Mai continued. Mai said that Marangoni’s trust in retreading and in the company’s growth had led to a reinforcement of its sales teams, in order to be closer to the firm’s dealers and distributors.

Underlining this point, the recent acquisition of German company Recamax Reifen has allowed Marangoni to strengthen its position in the country and further improve its service levels to German customers, specifically regarding logistics, service, and technical product consulting.
The significant investments that Marangoni made in 2015 in modernising its plant in Rovereto, north-east Italy included the installation of the latest generation of Banbury mixer to improve the quality of earthmoving tread compounds, making them more capable for heavy-duty applications.

These investments also saw the introduction of new rubber compounds for specific applications and a shearography machine. The shearographic technology identifies all possible defects, both during initial inspection of the casing and final testing of the retread, further improving the already high quality standard of Marix Marangoni retreaded earthmover tyres.

To allow its dealers to keep customers better informed about the retread tyres on their machine fleets, Marangoni has introduced a new software program ‘Marangoni Tyre Control System and Tyre Management’. The Tyre Control System helps the company’s dealer network monitor tyres on customer fleets, and customers to maintain them. These specific programs have been launched with the support of its marketing department, coordinated by Giovanni De Bei, marketing manager Industrial & Retread. At this year’s CeMAT from May 31 to June 3 in Hanover, Germany, 6893 Continental was due to showcase a number of its smart tyre application solutions.

ContiPressureCheck continuously measures the air pressure and temperature of tyres via sensors attached to the inside of the tyre by means of a rubber container, thereby guaranteeing high-precision data. The values are transmitted wirelessly to a central control unit and transferred to a display in the driver’s cab, giving the driver a constant overview of every tyre – even when driving. If the values change due to a gradual loss of pressure or a tyre defect, the driver is warned by an audible alarm. This early warning conserves the material, prevents tyre damage, and thus minimises downtimes. Furthermore, the rolling resistance is reduced as a result of having the correct tyre pressure, saving fuel, reducing CO2 emissions, and improving the running performance of the tyres. A handheld measuring tool, ContiPressureCheck (CPC) allows fleet managers to check tyre pressure and temperature of the entire fleet in a very short time.

CPC can be complemented in future by the ContiFlexbox telematics solution, which will be available from 2017. It will facilitate the collection, displaying, and transmission of tyre-related data to a central server. The transmission of all values via WLAN or GSM to the server for analysis and processing will be possible. The development plan also includes the opportunity to forward the data to mobile end devices, as well as to the display in the driver’s cab. Visitors were due to be able to experience the ContiFlexbox technology live at CeMAT thanks to a test setup.
Magna Tyres MA02, MA04 and MA07 tyres fitted on 395 Caterpillar and 436 Komatsu equipment are said to have proven a big success at a dolomite stone crusher plant in Al Alamein, Alexandria, Egypt. The tyres are said to have delivered for the plant operator a low cost per working hour, excellent traction and superb cut resistance in what is a harsh working environment.

After 6,000 working hours, the Magna MA02 tyres are still said to be in excellent shape. After 1,500 working hours, the Magna MA07 tyres are said to appear brand new. A new set of Magna MA04 18.00R33 tyres has been mounted on one piece of equipment after the previous set ran impressively for more than 6,000 hours.

Magna Tyres said that its Egyptian dolomite stone crusher plant customer was very satisfied with the overall performance of the tyres, and has renewed a distribution agreement with the Dutch tyre manufacturer for another two years.

The city of Incheon, the third most populous in South Korea, is now home to a new 7944 Magna Tyres service and sales centre. The site will provide fitting and exchanging of Magna Tyres to all customers in the Incheon area.