It’s only new and Semperits at Reids Transport

The move to Continental Tyres’ Semperit brand as their exclusive replacement tyre fitment has had a major impact on tyre management at the Ayshire bulk haulier Reid’s Transport (Minishant) Limited.

Operations Director Andrew Fraser says: “Since we adopted a policy at the beginning of this year of fitting all new Semperits we’ve seen a massive reduction in roadside tyre-related breakdowns. We’re not getting as many punctures with the Semperits because they don’t seem to pick up stones the same as other makes. This has given us massive savings on roadside call-outs and emergency tyre purchases, where costs can be very high.

“We also enjoy good support from our local Semperit dealer, R & J Strang Tyre Services of Hamilton. Robert Strang understands our needs, knows the types we use, supplies them at very competitive prices, and offers on-demand delivery. This means that we don’t have to tie up money and space in carrying a large stock of tyres ourselves.”

R & J Strang are a Semperit Key Dealer. As well as supplying tyres to Reid’s Transport, they provide them with the nationwide breakdown service across the UK and give advice and support on a wide range of service related matters.

Reid’s decision to install a tyre fitting machine is also contributing to more efficient tyre management. Across its fleet of 26 artics, 28 tipper and 11 tanker trailers and a pair of four-axle tippers the company has up to 500 tyres to manage. This makes tyre monitoring and changing a constant process and the ability to change tyres in their own workshop helps get vehicles and trailers quickly back on the road and earning.

The choice of which Semperit tyres to fit and where on their tractors and trailers was based on discussions with Strangs about the merits of each type. On the 26 artics in the fleet – a mix of Scanias, Mercedes-Benz and DAFs – they fit M223s on the front axle, M350s on the middle lifting axle and M470s on the drive axle. The tri-axle Dennison, Crane and Weightlifter tanker and bulk tipper trailers use M223s on the front two axles and M277s on the rear axle.

Each type has attributes that meet the different demands on tyres. The M223s are particularly suited to high mileage applications and offer even wear resulting from optimising the ground pressure across the whole tread. As a result they’re ideal for trailers and for front axles where good road holding is essential.

The M470 Trans-Steel is a low noise tyre designed for drive axles. It has a solid tread block pattern which ensures good traction even in the wettest conditions and it works particularly well with high-powered trucks that deliver a lot of torque.

For rear axles on trailers that are often working on construction sites and quarries, the Semperit M277 is particularly well suited because of its resistance to stone damage and punctures. And the M350, which Reids use on the mid-lift axle of their tractors, is a good all-rounder with a wide tread pattern that helps eject stones, provides safe grip when braking in the wet, and delivers a good performance for high mileage trucks.

With the company’s trucks averaging 130,000 kilometres a year and running off-road regularly, the Semperit range offers a good balance between low rolling resistance on the road, which helps fuel consumption, and damage resistance when off-road. They represent good value for money and have excellent casing acceptance so when they’ve reached the end of their first life the casings can be put in for credit against new.