trailer world issue Two 2008

Reportage 14 Issue Two 2008 run-ﬂat tyres (RFT), which also remain sta- ble following complete loss of pressure and are not thrown oﬀ the wheel. This is made possible by special strengthening of the side wall, a reinforced bead core and extremely heat-resistant rubber compounds.” These and other compounds lie heavy on the air as one enters the enormous warehouse and handling hall. A good 30,000 of the total of80,000m2 arehereatthedisposalofBridge- stone. The “corlettes” are stacked with tyres of diﬀerent diameters, thicknesses and proﬁles for private cars, four-wheel drive vehicles, light transporters, heavy trucks and coach- es. Five “corlettes” at a time ﬁt one above the other, towering up to a total height of around eight metres. “Only our high-reach forklifts can get to the very top”, explains Brümmer, “for larger sizes such as agricultural tyres, we operate grab forklifts, which can hold the tyres ﬁrmly in their claws.” But next to the earthmover tyres, which are stored in a special area of the hall, even a tractor tyre looks relatively small. These black monsters for the huge earthmoving machines are up to three metres high, and can weigh up to 300 kg. These heavyweights are handled by special forklifts, equipped with lances, which are inserted into the cen- tre of the tyre. Mega-trailers also have to be used for the onward transport of the very largest types. “The complete tyre range for earthmovers alone covers around 50 diﬀer- ent proﬁles, including both radial and diago- nal tyres”, says Brümmer. In order to be able to keep track of such an enormous range, every article is cata- logued down to the last groove of the tread. And like the “corlettes”, the modern IT solu- tion has also been developed by Fiege itself. All procedures from goods receipt to deliv- ery out to the customer are controlled by the warehouse and transport management sys- tem. Over data interfaces come the orders from the Bridgestone systems in Brussels, Tyres in over 6,000 variants Catalogued down to the last detail From car tyres to the “Earthmover”: All tyre types and sizes are stocked by the Fiege Mega-Center. Photos:Fiege-Gruppe

trailer world issue Two 2008

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