Baxters, premium producer of soups, chutneys, condiments and preserves, chooses Continental's SC 20 solid tyre on its fork lift truck fleet at its production & distribution facility in Fochabers. Returning three times the tyre life expectancy of the previously fitted brand, the SC 20 has improved safety, cut vehicle downtime and the whole life costs of tyres at the business.
Baxters' Fochabers production & distribution facility runs 25 Hyster trucks, a mixture of both gas and electric from 1.75 up to 3 tonnes.
The site manufactures, processes and packages around the clock. Trucks are maintained onsite on a 3 month service cycle by an engineer from Barloworld Handling Ltd.
John Pease, Stores & Warehouse Manager who is responsible for the forklifts at the Fochabers plant said; "We had been using the standard Original Equipment solid tyres that came fitted to the trucks but they were performing very poorly. Vehicle downtime was excessive which made the operation very costly.
"Our plant is very demanding, running round the clock but the tyres just weren't returning the performance that we expect. Tyres were wearing quickly and unevenly and were occasionally chunking leaving trucks unstable and creating a safety issue for both products and trucks."
Baxters tyre partner, Barloworld, analysed the company's problems and requirements and introduced the premium solid tyre, Continental SC 20, to the site. The results were seen immediately as Baxters witnessed a marked improvement in the overall performance of the fork lift truck tyres.
Over a 14 month period, Baxters recorded a return of up to 3 times the tyre life over the Original Equipment tyre. This was thanks to a combination of the SC 20's great tread volume, low heat build up and the tyre's sturdy central rib and small tread lug gaps which promote more even tyre wear.
The SC 20 has an optimised cross-section which provides improved driver comfort with greater stability and safety when carrying loads. Greater cornering stability is given by two circumferential longitudinal grooves. The tyre has lower rolling resistance resulting in low energy consumption which means longer intervals between battery recharge and lower fuel consumption.
John Pease continued; "The SC 20 has not only reduced vehicle downtime, it is also improved vehicle stability and safety. Overall, the SC 20 has helped us reduce the whole life cost of our tyre operation."
Baxters are now trialling the revolutionary CSEasy SC 20 tyre, which can be fitted without the need for a mounting press, therefore reducing vehicle downtime and costs.