Meimerstorf’s supervisor walked up to the machine, took a look at the tires and asked him what he thought. “They might last a month,” Meimerstorf replied.

One year later, the Michelin® tires were still going strong, and Meimerstorf had a new outlook on forklift tires. Based on the performance of those tires, he switched his entire fleet to Michelin tires. Even with the X Mine D2 tires, Meimerstorf had some concerns. His tires were lasting longer before having to be replaced, but they were still plagued with flats almost daily due to tire punctures.

With a fleet of four smaller and nine larger lift trucks, downtime due to flats was significantly impacting productivity at Bibler Bros. Working with two local tire dealers – Purcell Tire in Little Rock and Fleet Tire in Russellville – Meimerstorf found that the problem wasn’t with the tire, but with the tube inside the tire.

Traditional forklift tires include an inner tube. When something penetrates the tire and punctures the tube, the tube is usually destroyed and has to be replaced. Uneven wear and punctured tubes can reduce tire life significantly. To solve the issue, Meimerstorf switched to the Michelin® XZM™ tires with a Tubeless Bead Seal™ (TBS™) system.

The Michelin TBS system replaces the tube and flap and is placed inside the tire between the beads to ensure the existing wheel and tubeless tire are airtight. This allows air to fill the entire casing of the tire, creating a smooth ride and more even wear. Most importantly for Meimerstorf, when something does penetrate the outer casing and steel belts of the XZM radial tire, it usually does not destroy a critical part of the tire.

“Before we switched to the Michelin XZM tires and TBS System, our tire dealer had to visit us almost daily to replace tubes inside tires,” Meimerstorf recalled. “Now, we rarely have flats – usually only when we run one of our larger machines into a heavy piece of protruding steel.”

Meimerstorf’s crew has to run the equipment hard to keep up productivity – averaging 16 hours a day, five days a week and more than 600,000 feet of lumber a day. The larger, 36,000 lb. lifts operate on dirt with almost constant full loads of green lumber, bringing it into the plant where it is cut into many different sizes – from 1X4s to 4X6s – and treated before shipping. Fewer flats and long-lasting tires mean that the machines run more efficiently and productivity increases.

In addition, Meimerstorf has found the Michelin radials are easy to recap. “Now that we don’t have to deal with sidewall cuts, we’re running tires until the tread almost disappears,” he explained. “Rather than replacing, we are often recapping these tires to extend life.” That saves money, increases productivity and increases the life of the tire. Finally, since his crew is no longer spending hours each day waiting for the dealer to come out and repair a tire, downtime is less of a concern than ever before.

According to Meimerstorf, the Michelin XZM tires are averaging two years worth of service before they need to be replaced. This is a dramatic improvement compared to the situation only 10 years ago. “The tires cost more during the initial purchase, but you have to take every factor into account,” he said. “When you realize how long these tires will last, and that you’re going to reduce downtime due to flats, then it becomes obvious that they are the best deal for the costs.”

Tire technology has come a long way since Meimerstorf first commented on the X Mine D2 tires to his supervisor. In that time, Bibler Bros. Lumber has taken advantage of that technology to improve business and get the most from a Michelin tire. Working with his dealer and with Michelin, Meimerstorf plans to continue taking advantage of tire technology advances for years to come.