Premium OTR tyres from BKT (Balkrishna Industries Limited) are proving their worth on rigid dump trucks (RDTs) operating at a quarry in northwest Spain.
Cufica, a Spanish company founded in 1980 in Valdeorras, Galicia, which also has a notable presence in Bierzo, Castilla y León, specialises in the extraction and sale of slate, a water-resistant stone commonly used in the roofs of buildings.
An employer of around 100 people, Cufica sells much of its premium slate products to customers in France and the UK.
Juan Antonio Illescas Mateo, the Spanish company’s financial director, says Cufica relies on a large equipment fleet to extract, load and transport slate from the company’s quarry to its processing factory. To improve their efficiency, he decided to equip the site’s five RDTs with BKT Earthmax SR 45 M tyres sized 24.00 R 35.
“In such difficult operating conditions, the required main features of a tyre are robustness, grip and traction, and of course, resistance and a long tyre lifecycle,” says Fernando Buelta Gonzalez, foreman of Cufica’s mineral operations. “At our quarry, there are paths with a 10% slope. So, above all, in adverse climatic weather conditions such as rain and snow, excellent traction and grip are required. Cufica’s experience with BKT tyres is extraordinary since they fully correspond to our needs, and our operators can work safely.”
The Earthmax SR 45 M is an all-steel radial tyre available in three different compound types: normal, heat-resistant, and cut-resistant. Thanks to its distinctive feature, an E-4-deep tread, the tyre is able to withstand cuts and punctures. BKT says this means it is able to deal with operating sites like extraction quarries with very demanding usage conditions. It adds that excellent traction and great resistance for transport conditions on long hauls are guaranteed for all available versions.
Headquartered in Mumbai, India, BKT says that one of its priorities is catering for varied user needs by developing increasingly effective and specific products for different operating conditions. "This is exactly why BKT considers important the direct testimonials of those who actually use their tyres on a daily basis, like Cufica," a company spokesperson said.
Continental is another OTR tyre maker with a major global quarrying and construction sector presence. Speaking during the German company’s bauma Munich (24-30 October 2022) exhibition press conference, Wolfgang Thomale said Continental’s new LD-Master L5 Traction radial tyre offers durability and high traction in very big vehicle-carrying load environments such as quarries, which often encounter severe working conditions. “The LD-Master L5 Traction also gives high productivity and ensures vehicle uptime,” he noted.
Initially offered in size 35/65 R33, the LD-Master L5 Traction radial tyre expands the ContiEarth range and is fitted with integrated tyre sensors. “This enhanced intelligence allows us to monitor tyre air pressure and temperature in real time. With this, we can ensure the most efficient operation,” said Thomale, Continental’s head of speciality tyres. He continued: “Digitalisation of all our radial tyres is an essential element for their operation today and into our future. It also supports sustainability in our customer operations.
“If tyre pressure is optimised, it can save 15 minutes of [daily rigid haul truck fleet] vehicle inspection time which can add up to almost 200 hours a year. It also saves about 1% fuel in an [rigid haul truck fleet] operation and can add 15% to the life of a tyre compared to the same tyre underinflated by 10%. This adds up to a significant improvement in operation.”
Thomale said the sensors fitted to Continental’s off-the-road radial tyres feed information to the company’s ContiConnect tyre-management system. As showcased at bauma 2022, Version 2.0 of the system is said to put in place the necessary infrastructure for the all-encompassing digital tyre management of the future. “By using big data and digital solutions, we enable fleet managers to avoid vehicle downtime, ensure serviceability and maximise [tyre] productivity,” Thomale concluded.
