In any highly competitive market place the one thing that speaks volumes about the performance of a company and its products is the customer. Gone are the days when business partnerships were merely longstanding gentleman's agreements and handshakes guaranteed the preferential use of one particular supplier.

Naturally modern businesses still value personal service but their expectations for suppliers to provide performance products that will deliver tangible business benefits and improve profit margins are high.

Long-term partnerships are therefore the best advertisement that a supplier is not just meeting but exceeding the expectations of its customers. As Continental enters into its tenth successive year as tyre supplier to aggregates haulier Ennstone Breedon Limited, it is time to take a look at just why it has proven to be such a fruitful partnership.

Some time ago, whilst operating its fleet of eight wheel tipper trucks, Derby-based Ennstone Breedon realised the financial impact that adverse tyre wear could have on its bottom line. The equation was a simple one fourteen years ago and little has changed - less miles per tyre, equals more tyres and therefore greater cost.

However, Ennstone Breedon made no hasty decisions it could later regret, based upon the product claims of would be suitors. Instead it conducted its own in-house experiment, one that took six years to complete.

Over six successive years the company conducted simultaneous trials with four tyres from four different manufacturers. Each brand was fitted in rotation to four different trucks and therefore all used by four different drivers. This practice ensured that all of the tyres could be judged fairly, without variables such as driving style and journey type impacting on the performance of any one brand.

This systematic approach demonstrated the importance that Ennstone Breedon placed upon the experiment, and the results were staggering. The best performing tyre for both reliability and longevity was Continental's HSC (Heavy Services Construction Tyre) which returned an average of 105,000 and 120,000 miles on the front and rear axles respectively. These figures alone are impressive but when the closest competitor brand returned just 90,000 miles the cost implications are brought once more into sharp contrast.

"I would certainly recommend Continental's products," said Frank Dimmock, Fleet Engineer at Ennstone Breedon. "They have never let me down and that is why we have stuck with them. I often hear the argument about using remoulds to keep costs down but for me reliability is key and if a remould blows out and you then incur costs for damaged mudguards or bodywork it's a false economy."

Today Ennstone Breedon operates a fleet of 30 trucks - all of which are fitted with Continental's latest HSC tyres, so the mutually beneficial relationship between supplier and customer is clear. The haulier also has operations in Poland and the United States, while its unique 'gold amber gravel' product has been granted the royal warrant and is used at all National Trust properties, as well as Buckingham Palace and Althorp House.

Over the past twenty years Ennstone Breedon itself has forged a long-term partnership with tyre management company Steer Tyres in Coalville. Steer Tyres provides periodic reports to Ennstone Breedon on the condition of its fleet's tyres and it too has been impressed with Continental's products, as Managing Director Chris Cole explains:

"Ennstone Breedon's vehicles often encounter tough terrain such as quarries during the course of their work in addition to normal on-road use. It's therefore important that the tyres reject, rather than trap, stones so that casing damage is minimal and full tyre life is obtained. In our opinion the Continental products Ennstone Breedon use offer noticeably better performance and reliability."

Demonstrating just how impressed Steer Tyres were with Continental, the company became a member of the ContiNetwork - a network of independent partners providing commercial tyre services to local, regional and national fleets - when it was first conceived three years ago.

Describing just why celebrating the tenth anniversary of a supplier contract is so important, Continental's Arthur Gregg, Business Director, Commercial Tyres said: "Customers are ambassadors for both a company and its products. Supplying Ennstone Breedon General Services for a decade pays testament to the hard work of both the account manager and our tyre development teams, who continue to deliver when it matters.

"Customers have the potential to champion your products to other potential customers and serve as a constant reminder that in any business sector and especially in the tyre industry the customer is and should remain king of the road."