Furniture Village fleet updated with DAF and MAN
Furniture Village moves to auto 7.5-tonners in fleet renewal
Truck News - Colin Barnett
November 10, 2022
Almost all of TP Niven’s fleet of 116 tractor units and 8-wheelers have been fitted with Michelin Remix tyres on their drive axles.
Duncan McFegan, the Palnackie-based haulier’s fleet engineer, explained that the decision was made to fit the retread tyres after they were compared against a range of new fitments from other premium brands.
He said: “It’s hard to tell the difference between a Michelin Remix tyre and a brand-new Michelin fitment, aside from the word ‘Remix’ on the sidewall. They perform like a new Michelin tyre, and in our experience, outperform anything else on the market.
“We specify every truck and trailer we buy with new Michelin tyres all-round, and then we manage them through a multi-life process, with new tyres on the steer and trailer axles, and Remix on the drives. From a sustainability and cost efficiency perspective, it just makes sense.”
Michelin’s Remix tyres, which are manufactured at its Stoke-on-Trent retread plant, cost roughly 40% less than a new Michelin tyre. By reusing an existing casing, each tyre reduces the amount of waste which needs to be recycled by around 50kg per tyre.
McFegan said tyre-related downtime has been reduced since adopting a Michelin new and Remix policy.
He added: “We lift upwards of 1.5 million litres of milk per day, and when you’re dealing with part-loads, even with baffles in the tank, you get milk surge which causes the tyres to heat up and puts them at an increased risk of failure.
“This can be a real issue for operators in our sector, but with our Michelin new and Remix policy now established across the fleet, we just aren’t getting any problems. It’s a perfect example of how fine-tuning your tyre policy can make a real difference operationally.”
