Interview 1

Francis Blaser, APROLIS technical manager of the Mitsubishi Caterpillar fleet at the brewery in Champigneules.

Continental Mr Blaser, could you give us an idea of the size of your forklift fleet at this site, as well as the reason for your decision to take part in the CSEasy test?

F.B. The fleet is composed of approxmately forty 4.5-tonne internal combustion forklifts in service with an average of 2500 hours a year. For the test we took the tyres that suffer most on this type of vehicle, the 7.00 X 12 on the rear axle. Average service life for a complete set is 1200 hours, or less in six months.

Continental Let`s start with the mounting of the tyre, what do you think of it?

F.B. Excellent! Saves time, superb fit, very fast, can be done right here on site, without a press.

Continental After the first six months of testing, how do you assess the quality of the tyre?

F.B. The CSEasy tyre wears well. A SC 15-type tyre would have to have been replaced already, whereas the CSEasy still has roughly 40% of its tread left. So what comes to mind first are the cost reductions I get on a full service contract. Whether measured in terms of labour or product service life, the results look quite impressive.

Continental What about comfort?

F.B. No complaint of fatigue from driver. The new tyre seems to offer the same comfort as the SC 15.

Regis Monnot: In charge of service and maintenance of the Fenwick-Linde forklift fleet at Peugeot PSA in Vesoul.

Continental Mr Monnot, could you give us an idea of the size of your forklift fleet at this site, as well as your decision for testing the CSEasy?

R.M. I look after a fleet of more than 100 electric and internal combustion forklifts ranging from 1.6 to 7-tonne. We choose E30 in size 18 x 7-8, the rear wheels, because it's used on the forklifts working hardest. Service life of a set of these tyres is roughly 2500 hours, or just short of a year.

Continental Let`s start with the mounting of the tyre, what do you think of it?

R.M. In four words: simple, fast, reliable, efficient.

Continental After the first six months of testing, how do you assess the quality of the tyre?

R.M. The tyre doesn`t move around on the rim. It wears well. As far as service life is concerned, it`s still being tested but it seems better than the SC 15.

Continental What about comfort?

R.M. No complaint of fatigue from drivers, handles well on the vehicle. My personal impression is that it offers a soft ride.

Interview 3

Mr. Beyler: In charge of the forklift fleet for KUHN agricultural machines in Saverne.

Continental Mr Beyler, could you give us an idea of the size of your forklift fleet at this site, as well as your decision for testing the CSEasy?

Mr B. I am responsible for a fleet of roughly fifty gas-powered internal combustion forklifts of the model H25 and I agreed to take part in the CSEasy tyre testing, simply because here we have high volume of tyre usage due to the loading dock in the central warehouse. Service life of 800 hours or roughly three months of use.

Continental Let`s start with the mounting of the tyre, what do you think of it?

Mr B. Very easy and without the requirement of a press.

Continental After the first three months of testing, how do you assess the quality of the tyre?

Mr B. It can withstand a lot! In my opinion its performance is identical to the SC 15, or even a bit better, but I`ll wait until the test is concluded before saying anything about how many more hours it achieved.

Continental What about comfort?

Mr B. Currently drivers have not noticed any difference in terms of driving comfort in comparison to the SC 15, but the tyre performance is closely monitored and

evaluated.

Here you can download the interviews in four languages: