Commercial Tire Dealer™
Forklift operators are asking for tires that help keep their workplaces clean By Ann Neal
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trend toward cleaner working environments is boosting demand for certain types of forklift tires. Operators of warehouses and factories want their floors to be scuff-free and their forklifts to be battery-powered. Modern Tire Dealer asked forklift tire manufacturers how these preferences are playing out at commercial tire dealerships. Responders were Seth Walters, vice president, strategic sales initiatives, Alliance Tire Americas Inc.; Gary Pompo, manager of field technical services, BKT USA Inc.; Darren Stratton, product/project manager-material handling, Camso Inc.; Julian Alexander, product line manager material handling tires, Continental Tire the Americas LLC; Henno Plaggenborg, segment director for industrial vehicles and light transportation at Kenda USA’s Starco Europe subsidiary; Maria Cristina Ambrosi, operations marketing manager -OHT logistics tire segment, Michelin North America Inc.; Chris Strabley, senior project engineer, OTR Wheel Engineering Inc.; and Brad Feeney, director of commercial tire programs at TBC Brands LLC. MTD’s first question regarded demand for non-marking forklift tires: Are manufacturers seeing more demand and, if yes, why? Alliance Tire Americas: We are definitely seeing more interest in non-marking tires, particularly in clean warehouse environments like fulfillment houses and warehouses for retailers like Amazon. They are also widely used in food facilities. The rise in popularity of online retail is probably helping drive the demand. BKT: We are not seeing the trend moving that fast toward non-marking tires. As companies like Amazon grow, their environments are cleaner and require electric forklifts, which make the use of non-marking tires necessary. You see nonmarking tires more in indoor warehouse operations; the machines that work both inside and outside don’t use them. Camso: There’s a significant increase throughout North America, Europe and Japan for non-marking solutions where there is demand for cleanliness. Continental Tire the Americas: There has been a significant increase in demand for non-marking tires in North America and AG Tire Talk: Europe. Cleanliness and How to reduce road lope on sprayers . . . 51 hygiene are becoming increasingly important Managing the risks of road service: as facilities are updated Techs must recognize hazards and according to the latest take steps to prevent accidents . . . 53 trends, including digiBig Jim’s acts small and sells big: talization and environ‘Do something for one customer and mental requirements they tell their neighbors’ . . . 56 fueled by legislation.
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Alliance says press-on bands provide long service life on concrete floors and has added several sizes of YM SDS press-on bands to the Galaxy SDS Severe Duty Solid line. The company launched press-on bands in smooth and traction patterns at the end of 2017.
BKT’s latest forklift tire is the LiftMax LM 81, an all-steel radial tire with multilayer steel belts. BKT says it offers low rolling resistance, lower vibration, greater stability and increased puncture resistance. The compound provides exceptional cut and chip resistance.
Companies do not want to see tire marks or black rubber dust left by forklifts on the ground or on their goods. That is where non-marking tires come into play. Kenda’s Starco subsidiary: Yes, there is a trend. We estimate non-marking forklift tires have gone from 25% to 30% in the worldwide market. More logistic houses have smooth floors and operators prefer the non-marking tires to avoid stripes on the floor black tires make. A growing number of countries have environmental regulations to use non-marking tires. Michelin North America: Non-marking forklift tires are typically used in warehouse environments dealing with food and hygiene-specific products. They may also be used in warehouses/distribution centers, high-end company buildings or homes or in other facilities that want to avoid any floor markings. OTR Wheel Engineering: Non-marking is used in newer warehouses with clean polished floors where they do not want black tire marks; they want to keep their facility looking beautiful. TBC Brands: Only certain grocery or food processing plants are required to use non-marking tires for hygiene purposes. So the trend toward non-marking forklift tires comes down to a business decision. With the growth of online fulfillment centers, it is important to keep outside contaminants to a minimum. By using solid non-marking tires, you eliminate the carbon dust contamination. It is also a trend created by the original equipment tire fitments on a growing electric forklift market.
Applications and tread patterns MTD asked if there’s a need for non-marking tires in certain applications, and if tread patterns contribute to non-marking solutions.
MTD February 2018
