Ainscough Crane Hire, the UK鈥檚 largest mobile crane hire business, has formalised and extended its a relationship with Michelin, the tyre company.
The contract covers Ainscough vehicles working from 30 locations nationwide, including more than 350 Liebherr cranes 鈥� many of them 16-wheelers 鈥� and 199 vans. There are also 135 trucks and trailers, including 40 Scania HGVs operating within the heavy haulage regime.
聽鈥淢ichelin has become our latest highly valued strategic supplier relationship,鈥� said Ainscough鈥檚 head of operations support, Chris Britton. 鈥淏eing the number one operator in our field, we only go with trusted and number one brands as our suppliers.鈥�
Under the expanded deal, CXS is now managing all of Ainscough鈥檚 tyre requirements via a national network of service providers supplying approximately 1,000 tyres a year.
Michelin began handling Ainscough Crane Hire鈥檚 truck tyre requirements in 2023 and benchmarking since then has shown that Michelin X Multi fitments have delivered three times the longevity of a competing premium supplier. Today, most of Ainscough鈥檚 trucks run on 385/65 R22.5 Michelin X Multi HL Z steers and 315/80 R22.5 Michelin X Multi HD D drives.聽
The manufacturer is now introducing its Michelin X Crane 2 tyre in 445/95 R25 across Ainscough鈥檚 heavy crane fleet as older rubber comes to the end of its life.
According to Chris Britton: 鈥淭he fuel savings of 拢130 per 10,000km will save us hundreds of thousands of pounds across the lifetime of the machines, and reduce their environmental impact. Likewise, the increased load factor of the fitments and the 20% improvement in braking distances really impressed us.鈥�
The X Crane 2 tyres has a new tread pattern inspired by Michelin truck tyres to improve braking and grip. A new load and speed index allows 800kg more weight per tyre at 80km/h. The X Crane 2 is also 13.3% more fuel efficient than its main premium competitor, says Michelin 鈥� citing tests certified by Dekra 鈥� thanks to lower rolling resistance.
Ainscough鈥檚 Nooteboom ballast trailers wear Michelin XZY 3 fitments. Tyres are regrooved once the tread depth reaches 3-4mm, helping to extend each casing鈥檚 life in its most fuel-efficient state. Once the regrooved tyres have worn, they are retreaded at the Michelin Remix plant in Stoke. The Remix tyres can then be regrooved.
The Mercedes-Benz service van fleet rides on Michelin Agilis CrossClimate tyres.
Britton concludes: 鈥淎s a business we aren鈥檛 looking for the cheapest deal, but the best value. We are receiving a world class service from Michelin. It has streamlined procurement and helped us forecast tyre costs better; it has delivered the right products in the right place ensuring maximum uptime for our cranes; we have a 鈥榖est way of working鈥� when it comes to protocols and tyres being fitted at our sites; and we have full traceability of each tyre and an insight into its environmental impact.鈥�