Trelleborg gives Tough Jobs a Soft Ride
Demonstrating Trelleborg’s commitment to protecting people and assets, this re-engineered version of the Brawler solid tire offers radically improved operator comfort and equipment-life through reduced vibration, while retaining the signature Brawler life performance in the harshest of applications.
Ditri Zweistra, Segment Manager Specialty-Mining, Waste & Recycling at Trelleborg, says: “We challenged ourselves to create a solid tire that matches the benchmark for comfort achieved by foam-filled pneumatic tires but which still performed against all other requirements for tires in this specialist segment. I am pleased to say that we met - and exceeded - our own expectations.”
The Soft Ride tire features a new cushion rubber compound that significantly increases deflection and shock absorption. Combined with the Brawler ultra-cut-resistant tread compound this makes for a solid tire that is very tough, yet much less stiff. At the bottom line, this means all the benefits of a premium quality solid tire, plus a much more comfortable ride for operators, no loss of load-index, and increased efficiency even at higher operating speeds.
Zweistra, continues: “Over the winter we undertook an extensive testing programme at an independent facility in Treviglio, Italy, measuring performance against three key ISO-standards for comfort and stability. We were delighted when the results confirmed what we believed to be possible: a 35% improvement in comfort compared to the standard solid tires used in this segment. Results that mean the Brawler Soft Ride effectively matches the comfort benchmark level of a foam-filled pneumatic tire. For customers in waste management we believe firmly that we have the perfect solution with the best per hour cost of ownership – a tire that is as comfortable as a filled pneumatic tire but with the life performance of a solid tire.
“In addition to these tests, we also rigorously field-tested the Brawler HPS Soft Ride for over two years at waste and recycling facilities around the world. While their geographical locations were very different – Oceania, America, Europe - the reactions of both operators and site managers were the same: “We don’t want to switch back”. Our investment in this process and time spent with customers to understand and solve their key issues is what we at Trelleborg call applications expertise and is just one of the things that make us industry leaders.”
For more information on the new Brawler HPS Soft Ride, visit booth R602 at recycling aktiv Karlsruhe, Germany or booth 4325 at WasteExpo in New Orleans, USA.