Goodyear highlights vital OTR customer support at Bauma
Top quality and speedy support, even in the most remote locations, is what Goodyear provides thanks to its latest programmes
Munich, 16 April 2013 – ‘Top support is vital to maximize tyre investment and that is just what we offer,’ is the message that Goodyear is giving to all Off The Road (OTR) tyre users at the Bauma construction industry exhibition . While the quality and the performance of tyres are essential to maximize the productivity of machinery, incorrect fitments and maintenance will lead to short tyre life, poor performance and therefore high cost per hour.
Goodyear’s latest support programs ensure that their customers, irrespective of where they operate, receive the backup and advice essential for the maximum return on investment from their tyres.
“OTR tyres are a significant investment but without correct maintenance they will not give the expected performance and will not last long either,” said Octavian Velcan, Managing Director of Goodyear OTR Tyres in EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa). “OTR vehicles and equipment by their nature frequently operate not only in hostile conditions but also a long way from tyre service workshops. For this reason we offer our two programmes: ‘Goodyear at your Service’ and FleetOnlineSolutions Mobile. Something as basic as tyre pressures can make a huge difference to operating costs and we are able to show a customer just what those costs variations are and in the local currency.”
‘Goodyear at your Service’ and FleetOnlineSolutions Mobile provide essential support and tyre management information to enable OTR tyre users in Europe, Middle East and Africa to optimize the performance of their tyres.
Goodyear at your Service
‘Goodyear at your Service’ is an internet-based programme that ensures all customers get the best possible expert support when purchasing and operating Goodyear OTR tyres. It is available to all off-road equipment operators in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
The correct choice of product and information relating to tyre operation is essential for customers to ensure that they get the best performance and the lowest cost per hour. ‘Goodyear at your Service’, enables an operator to easily communicate with the local OTR specialist and to get the help or information required as quickly as possible. Registration is done via the Internet at https://otr.goodyear.eu/registration, where operators can either simply ask a question or request information, or by inputting further information can get more in-depth advice from the Goodyear team. Once the registration process has been completed, the information is sent to the respective region where the local OTR specialist will respond to any enquiry. Every OTR tyre leaving the Goodyear tyre plant in Luxemburg carries a sticker describing the programme and how to register for it, and there is a QR code on each label to ease registration for users using smart phones.
“The nature of the industry we serve means that often our customers are in remote places, such as in mines or quarries. For this reason, it is not always possible for a tyre technician to make regular visits to advise some customers”, said Octavian Velcan, Managing Director of Goodyear OTR Tyres. “Our programmes mean that a customer can get essential advice on the fitment, care and maintenance of tyres quickly and accurately – even in the remotest location.”
FleetOnlineSolutions Mobile
FleetOnlineSolutions Mobile Technical Evaluation (FOS Mte) for OTR customers is an Internet-based tyre management programme, which allows fleet inspection reports to be filed on-line when they are carried out. This quickly gives the customer important information on the performance of each tyre in the fleet. It also provides relevant information in actual cost terms for greater transparency. FOS Mte is a significant step forward in the OTR business for operators of earthmovers and other heavy equipment. It enables each OTR representative to deliver a fleet inspection report direct from a customer’s site via the internet. These reports, which are done by tyre position, give full details to the customer including projection of performance, measured pressures versus recommendation, cost per hour, achieved hours per millimetre of rubber and value at risk.
Value at risk is the deviation of pressure versus the recommendation for each tyre. It is converted into the local currency, showing how much a wrongly inflated tyre will cost in case the pressure remains wrongly maintained from the day of the visit until the projected end-life of the tyre concerned. According to customers, this is the most impressive of the features offered. It is believed to be unique in the industry and helps customers to understand the financial risk of running with incorrect tyre pressures.
“Customers talk in Euros or their local currency; they do not talk in bars or PSI. This is why we convert the variance in tyre pressures from the recommendation into a reliable ‘value at risk’ cost covering the remaining life of the tyre,” said Stephan Renson, After Sales and Marketing Manager Off-The-Road Tyres Goodyear EMEA.
Currently, the FOS Mte programme is operating in the majority of European countries, with South Africa and the Middle East becoming involved later in 2013. As the programme expands, more data is becoming available to the Goodyear OTR EMEA team, enabling them to provide a better service. More tools are under development, like a weekly mail to help the Goodyear team to maximize its time and territory management.
Goodyear produces one of the most comprehensive ranges of top quality OTR tyres on the market. Applications include rigid and articulated dump trucks, wheel loaders, motor graders, port and industrial, mining and underground mining, mobile cranes, as well as ground support equipment,
