Big singles available as remoulds from ATS
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RECENT large increases in operating costs is one of the factors that has prompted a Durham tyre remould company to extend its service to include the remoulding of big singles; making it the first company in Britain to offer this facility to operators.
By using remoulded big singles fleet owners could save about 57 per cent on each tyre, and with new big singles priced at around £160 this could represent a big saving for the operator over a period of time. The remoulded big singles cost £67.96 each and, it is claimed, have the same life — in some cases longer — than the original tyre.
Out of every 100 tyres sent in for remoulding — the firm already remoulds car tyres and certain types of commercial vehicle tyres — only 35 per cent are actually returned as remoulds. About 50 per cent are rejected in the initial inspection. The main causes are separation on the shoulder or above the bead or actual damage to the tyre which makes it unfit for remoulding. A closer inspection after the tyres have been buffed to remove the old tread brings further rejects, and even after some tyres have been remoulded they are still rejected although the firm states that in most cases the defects responsible for the rejection were usually present in the tyres as originally manufactured.
Another factor for the improved reliability and longevity of the remoulds is the use of high-quality carbon black. Tests carried out by the firm have revealed that in some cases the remoulded big singles will give longer use than the original tyres. Tests have also been carried out to separate the bond between the remoulded tread and the carcass of the original tyre and, it is claimed, it has not been possible to make a separation on the actual bond.
Operators' tyres which do prove suitable for remoulding can be collected and returned within 8-10 days. On arriving at the Durham factory they are cleaned, buffed to the carcass, re covered with the special rubber stripping and then remoulded.
Although the company, Langley Moor Remoulds Ltd, a subsidiary of Associated Tyre Specialists Ltd, is not at present on full production, it expects to be turning out 60 remoulded big singles a week within the next month or two.
Mr K. J. Kennedy, factory manager of Langley Moor Remoulds, told CM that many large fleet owners, particularly oil companies and other tank operators, had now started to use big single tyres. He said it was a trend that was likely to continue and that with the increase in cost in general and tyres in particular, there would come a growing demand for reliable remoulded tyres. His company, he said, had tried to anticipate this demand by increasing its operations to remoulding big singles.