In ever-changing social and economic environments, Bridgestone precisely recognises the dynamism of social and customer values and continues to provide tailored solutions to support mining operations. We find out more from Rob Cole, Key Account Manager – Off Road Tyres, UK and Ireland.
SOLUTIONS FOR THE JOURNEY
Bridgestone is a world leader in tyres for the mining sector, offering a comprehensive range of sizes, patterns, and compounds to suit all applications.
Across an expansive range of ever-changing social and economic environments, the role of Bridgestone today is to improve productivity and optimise costs for each mining customer in accordance with changes in this vast industry.
“We produce high-quality, premium tyres that provide reliability, durability, and longevity, and are a trusted brand in the mining sector,” introduces Rob Cole, Key Account Manager – Off Road Tyres, UK and Ireland.
“Our mining solutions are all built on a foundation and global heritage of off-the-road tyre performance and innovation.”
By maximising its usage of a wide range of products, services, and digital tools, Bridgestone collaborates with customers as a partner and provides customised, innovative solutions.
“Working directly with end users and service agents, we’re able to tailor tyre solutions to each individual mine site,” he adds.
DURABILITY AND LONGEVITY
Today, tyres are one of the top three costs involved in running mining equipment.
As such, product reliability, durability, and longevity are vitally important factors for Bridgestone to reduce the amount of machine downtime caused by tyres.
“We’re constantly developing new technologies in the giant sizes of our tyres, such as our MasterCore product,” states Cole.
This product includes a new casing design that enables the tyre to host a greater load at a higher speed, which are both key factors in making a mine site more efficient.
“Elsewhere, for underground mining operations, we have developed new casings that also carry higher loads but at the same pressures as before, in order to cope with the extra weight of the batteries in electric mining equipment,” he expands.
“We also offer a range of systems such as iTrack that monitor tyre pressures and vehicle tracking. This is to ensure tyres aren’t lost due to heat build-up.”
“We produce high-quality, premium tyres that provide reliability, durability, and longevity, and are a trusted brand in the mining sector”
Rob Cole, Key Account Manager – Off Road Tyres, UK and Ireland, Bridgestone
GLOBAL HERITAGE
Undoubtedly, site visits are the most important part of Bridgestone’s efforts to collaborate effectively with its partners and clients.
“Every mine site is different in some respect, so to see and understand the challenges of an individual site enables a more tailored solution to be presented,” Cole explains.
Similarly, the company also has very strong relationships with the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of premium mining equipment.
“In terms of what makes Bridgestone a trusted supplier of solutions for the mining sector, our reputation for producing reliable products and solutions through direct engagement with mine sites and service agents is growing,” he acclaims.
Looking ahead, Bridgestone recognises that competition is increasing in the mining sector, with more Tier 2 brands entering the market.
“We continue to develop products, such as our MasterCore technology, that keep pushing innovation for the benefit of our long-standing client base.”
OFF-ROAD TESTING
Bridgestone’s tyre manufacturing and testing facilities are located in both Japan and the US, with R&D operations also being carried out in the former at its dedicated technical centre.
The comprehensive testing of new products is done in real world environments with customers in the field, whereby dedicated engineers monitor and report findings.
Bridgestone’s Off the Road Tire Test Centre (ORTC), located in the city of Hōfu in Yamaguchi Prefecture, was first established in 1982 with the goal of performing multifaceted tests and analysis of off-the-road radial tyres, and has continued to grow and develop to meet the market’s needs ever since.
ORTC plays an essential role in the development of off-the-road tyres by performing laboratory tests to ensure the quality and performance of Bridgestone’s portfolio of products before the tyres are sent for final validation at customer operating sites.
Furthermore, at ORTC, multifaceted tests and analyses are performed, such as the static test, dynamic test, and cut analysis. These can monitor a wide variety of off-the-road tyres, including ultra-large products with diameters of more than four metres.
ORTC also supports Bridgestone’s development platform for off-the-road radial tyres, with various tests based on customer usage conditions and performance requirements, to deliver safe and reliable products to mining sites across the world.
“Bridgestone, together with ORTC, remains committed to continuing to support off-the-road sites around the world, including mines, by supplying customers with high-quality tyres long into the future,” Cole concludes proudly.
