Alexander Göbel - Fleet Manager Rothermel Spedition, Germany

230.000 breakdown-free kilometers

Plenty of ways to deal with unpredictability these days. But a mega trailer doing more than 230.000 km on Goodyear KMAX T GEN-2 tyres without a single breakdown, that may be hard to beat.

"People expect the same performance, whatever the circumstances."

How are you doing these days?

‘Of course the pandemic hit us too. Some sectors we serve have shut down, some borders got closed. But we do serve several essential sectors too, so we did and we still are doing quite well, considering.’

 

And as a fleet manager, with more than 100 driving units under your wings?

‘Circumstances keep changing, on a daily basis, just like covid regulations. So we keep adapting. Driver security goes first, and we have a good way of working in place now that keeps our people safe and change-overs fast enough.’

‘It does require more flexibility from our teams, in terms of taking on different tours. And briefs through telephone, you know. I guess we will be dealing with unpredictability for quite a while, still. Yet 2021 looks good for us.’

Customers still expect the same performance, whatever the circumstances.

‘True. Especially in the rare case of a breakdown, you feel the impact. One time, a spare parts supplier was not able to deliver what we needed. And another time, we were not able to help out a driver stuck in France right away because we were not allowed to cross the border.’

 

How do you avoid breakdowns, then?

‘We prefer to do things ourselves, in our own way. Checking tyre conditions, pressure, and all. We do that in our workshops, ourselves, manually, visually.’

‘And then there is simple tyre selection. That is where we rely on our Goodyear consultant.’

 

"The Goodyear KMAX T GEN-2 stands out for us. 230.000 km without a breakdown"

 

Especially for your mega trailers, you rely on your Goodyear consultant

 

‘The Goodyear KMAX T GEN-2 stands out for us. 230.000 km without a breakdown. And the sides do not wear too fast, unlike other brands we have tested. The reinforced shoulders make a huge difference.’

‘With mega trailers, every centimeter counts. For high loads, our customers want 3 meters. But the maximum height for a truck is 4 meters. The Goodyear KMAX T GEN-2 in 445/45 R 19.5 delivers. It’s lower but as robust as any other size.’

 

How did you learn about the KMAX T GEN-2 tyres?

 

‘Our Goodyear contact got us into testing the GEN-2 low profile tyre when it was not for sale yet, a couple of years ago. The results were impressive. Now all of our trailers are carried by Goodyear.’

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