FJM Logistics chooses Michelin Agilis CrossClimate tyres

FJM Logistics is set to more than halve the number of tyres it fits across its fleet over the next 12 months following a move to Michelin Agilis CrossClimate tyres.

Michelin said FJM Logistics, which delivers up to 5,000 parcels per day, had grown ‘frustrated’ with a predominantly budget tyre policy which was seeing tread wear of up to 2mm per week recorded on its front axle tyres – leading managing director Fraser Orr to seek advice from Michelin.

Local Michelin truck sales account manager Primoz Lakota arranged for the fleet to trial two sets of 225/65 R16 Michelin Agilis CrossClimate all-season tyres on a pair of 3.5-tonne Mercedes-Benz Sprinters, organised through James Thompson, manager of local dealer Charles Hurst Fast Fit.

The tyres went on to average 9,705 miles on the front axle, with no punctures or damage recorded.

Orr said: “We’d reached the point where we were sending at least one of our vehicles to the tyre dealer every single day for new tyres. The admin task alone was huge, and we were conscious of the financial and environmental impact.

“Our vans work intensively on multi-drop deliveries seven days a week. Incidents of kerbing can be high, given the nature of our work, but we knew there had to be a better tyre solution available.”

Orr said within two weeks of the trial, tyre wear dropped and wear it saw was evenly spread across the surface of the tyre, and not concentrated on the shoulders.

He added: “The kerbing protectors also do a fantastic job of guarding against sidewall damage – we’ve not had any issues at all.

“We are paying more per tyre with Michelin, but we’re fitting far fewer tyres. We’ve done the calculations and it has reduced our tyre spend, and that’s before we factor in the improvements in uptime. Plus, there’s the environmental savings too, as fitting fewer tyres is reducing both our carbon footprint and consumption of raw materials.

“Any successes we get, we share with the others; that’s how it works. We are confident we’ve found the sweet spot for van tyre performance, and in an application which is traditionally very heavy on tyres. We expect there’ll be a lot of interest.

“With the Agilis CrossClimate tyres being an all-season fitment, we are confident they will help us to keep our deliveries on track when we get snow and ice. Being able to deliver, whatever the weather, will be hugely advantageous – particularly as our workload intensifies in winter.”