Tyre chains can help improve service life and overcome tyre shortage problems

Supply chain solution

Tyre shortages have been a serious issue for quarry operators for some time and with no quick fix on the horizon, fitting of tyre protection chains could provide the answer

Bridgestone's fire at its Togichi tyre factory in Japan, combined with a global construction boom, has resulted in a shortage of tyres for large construction equipment. In recent years reports of expensive tyres, big machines standing idle, lost production and reduced revenues - all for want of a tyre have become common.
While some operators are fitting the next best size, others are running treads down to minus 5% or paying up to €1500 to repair damaged tyres. But tyre protection chains (TPCs) - originally developed to enable pneumatic tyres to be used in quarries - could provide a more cost effective solution.
TPCs are a close chain mesh which is fitted over the face and the sidewalls of the tyre to form a barrier against damaging materials. In addition to providing protection, these chains can also improve traction, especially at a quarry face where the working surface is covered in sharp-edged loose rock. In these conditions the performance of a wheeled loader can be considerably enhanced by the use of chains.
While the financial benefits of TPCs will vary from site to site, field trials by Germany-based Rud-Erlau suggest that they could cut tyre costs by up to 72%. During the tests, a Caterpillar 988B wheeled loader operating in a German limestone quarry was fitted by TPCs to look at the cost and performance benefits.
Before the trial, the wheeled loader was running on 36/65-33 DT's, which had an average service life of 1200 hours, with a cost of €27,500 per set or €27.91 every hour. The quarry operator invested €41,000 in fitting a set of Rud-Erlau Fels Royals X16 TPCs on the machine, extending tyre service life to 12000 hours and reducing tyre costs to €2.79 per hour.
According to Rud-Erlau, if the TPCs have a minimum service life of 10,000 hours (€4.10 per hour), the total hourly tyre costs for the wheeled loade..