Specialist Fleet Services, a leading contract hire and fleet management supplier to local authorities across the UK, is seeing its relationship with Teignbridge District Council move into an 18th year, owed in part to its tyre supply and management contract with Bandvulc.
Bandvulc, a subsidiary of Continental, supplies Teignbridge’s refuse vehicles with Bandvulc Wastemaster MK II retread tyres. In addition, the council’s DAF 12-tonne kerbside recycling trucks are fitted with Bandvulc Draymaster retread tyres on the drive axles and Uniroyal tyres the on the steer axles.
“We engage with Bandvulc right at the start of contract considerations because, alongside vehicle quality and maintenance, tyres are a major factor in both customer satisfaction and our own cost base,” said SFS Managing Director, Bob Sweetland. “Bandvulc’s high service standards, alongside the ability to supply both new and retread tyres as required, make them an outstanding partner.”
SFS currently supplies 74 vehicles to Teignbridge on a Contract Hire basis so that, alongside the vehicles themselves, Teignbridge also enjoys all maintenance, Road Fund Licencing and tyre management in the single package price. The tyres are clearly an important part of the equation for both SFS and its customer.
Sweetland continues, “I have been with SFS since the business started some 27 years ago, and the relationship with Bandvulc goes way back to the beginning.. We have a ‘Gold’ package with them on Teignbridge and other major customers, which means we don’t have to worry about any of our fleets running with Bandvulc. They take care of general fleet checks and the monitoring, replacement and disposal of tyres on all vehicles, all costed into our customer package and including dealing with punctures and any damage.”
Much of this activity is handled by the local dealer, Buyrite Tyres in Newton Abbot. Simon Rees from their Commercial Tyres department said, “The big bonus for Teignbridge is that, even with the heavy use that its tyres experience, Bandvulc retread and Uniroyal new tyres can be married together to deliver really good results in terms of wear, grip and overall suitability. For instance, on the Teignbridge refuse collectors, we fit Bandvulc Wastemaster MK II tyres on both the steer and the outside rims of drive axles, enabling maximum protection afforded by their integrated kerbing bands. We then put Bandvulc Big D tyres on the inside rims of the rear axle to give the vehicle maximum grip, which is especially useful when these vehicles are on unmade ground in some collection and unloading areas.
“Similarly, although we fit Uniroyal tyres on steer axles for the kerbside recyclers, we put Bandvulc Draymaster tyres on the outside rims of the drive axles. Bandvulc developed the Draymaster especially for this sort of work, so we get the integrated kerbing band protection here as well. We then fit the Bandvulc BVD on the inside rims for the added grip they give.”
The Bandvulc kerbing band has grown rapidly to become an industry standard. In the days before this technology, standard tyres suffered more from the buffeting that this type of work delivers to sidewalls. Refuse operators could find themselves having to remove tyres that still had plenty of tread left, but with sidewalls that were simply no longer fit for purpose – even after turning tyres and letting the other sidewall take its share of the wear and tear.
“What makes all this work for Teignbridge and SFS,” concludes Bob Sweetland, “is a mix of effective and efficient products, backed by a desire to do a good job. In this regard I have to say Bandvulc is almost unique: a business that always delivers on what it promises.”
