Michelin Tyres Impress As They Continue Their Long Haul At John Sutch Cranes

Adopting a Michelin tyre policy across its fleet of mobile cranes and heavy haulage equipment has paid off handsomely for John Sutch Cranes, with a significant boost in longevity and reliability. The mobile crane and contract hire specialist was convinced to make the move in 2020 after a trial set of 445/95 R25 MICHELIN X Crane + covered more than twice the distance normally seen from other tyre brands. Ian Seddon, Service & Engineering Manager at John Sutch Cranes, says: "With other mobile crane all-terrain products that we have used the tyre would start suffering from various irregular wear patterns early in the life of the crane, including tyre delamination, after travelling up to or more than 20,000 to 30,000km, with the sidewalls noticeably an area of weakness.

"The tyres would overheat, suffer blowouts and cause unwanted breakdowns. Tyre loss is enough to massively impact on the monetary return from a daily hire. Since fitting MICHELIN X Crane + tyres we have noticed a remarkably better tyre performance, and the vehicles, irrespective of wheel rim size or lifting equipment capacity, have covered 40,000 to 50,000km with reduced tyre incidents."

With 38 mobile cranes for hire - including Liebherr, Tadano, Grove and Spierings - operating from two different locations, John Sutch Cranes believes the extra longevity of the Michelin product - conservatively put at an average uplift of 20,000km per tyre compared with rival products - equates to an additional 760,000km of safe, relatively hassle-free travel throughout the fleet each year. "With a mobile crane there is always a possibility of an unseen fault with a tyre i.e. impact occurring from numerous site conditions especially to the tyre sidewall, along with the noticeable damage to tyres of cuts to cords from hitting kerbs. The tyre creates a heat signature during travel and when road speed is reduced to negotiate a corner or roundabout there is a consummate risk of a blowout as the cooling effect of travel is diminished.

"This concern has now been reduced due to the superior build quality of the Michelin product. The X Crane + tyre has delivered a far better all-round performance at all road speeds, keeping the cranes road worthy," says Seddon. This May Michelin launched a successor to the MICHELIN X Crane + called the X Crane 2.

The tyre features 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 - based on tests certified by Dekra at the Ladoux Test Center in November 2024 - thanks to lower rolling resistance.

John Sutch Cranes has been supported on its journey by Ian Fitzpatrick, Michelin Territory Business Manager; Mike Fell, Truck Technical Manager at Michelin Truck & Bus; and Clifford de Jager, Technical Manager for Earthmover and Material Handling Tyres at Michelin.