ANGLESEY: Huws Gray has changed its forklift fleet from solid to pneumatic tyres.
Michelin's XZM tyre has been given the thumbs up by Welsh building supplies company, Huws Gray after it held a year long trial at one of its branches.
David Jones, transport manager at Huws Gray, said: "I had some initial concerns about the risk of punctures with moving from solid to pneumatic tyres but have been really impressed by the performance of the XZM product."
"The Michelin has shown little deterioration and an ability to resist damage. A solid tyre working over the same period of time and surfaces would have shown a great deal of wear and tear," he said.
Huws Gray tested the tyres on its 60 strong fleet of forklifts with results showing reduced downtime and maintenance costs. In a carefully controlled experiment the tyres were put on a Daewoo 30S forklift which was tyre inspected every six weeks for wear and damage. The test forklift was deployed over an average of six hours daily and worked over a range of surfaces ranging from concrete to asphalt and grit.
