Zech Kies GmbH is the biggest producer of gravel with more than one million tons per year in Vorarlberg. The company, which is located in Nüziders, focuses on exploiting and securing Schesa-Murbruchs, the biggest Murbruch in Europe, in order to limit the risk of further rock landslides. Since 1958, the company has taken care of providing the region Vorarlberg with construction raw materials like sand, gravel, and concrete. More than three kilometres of conveyor belts are necessary for underground transport. Dump trucks with articulated steering joints, like the Volvo Dumper A30 and A40, are crucial for surface transport.
The company uses Bridgestone for 77 per cent of its OTR tyres: VTS1, VLT2 and VLTS3. Moreover, the truck fleet is equipped with Bridgestone tyres too. “For our key machines, like the Volvo A30 and A40, we make use of Bridgestone VLTS tyres for material transport from Schesa-Murbruch to the processing plant as well as to the Tschalenga-Au quarry. That means carrying out about 1,800 operating hours per year”, explains Herbert Zech, Senior Director at Zech Kies GmbH.
According to Bridgestone, the V-Steel Traction S, or shortly VLTS, was especially developed for dump trucks with articulated steering joints. “The Bridgestone treads VLT and VLTS are well suited for loamy and muddy underground, offer excellent traction with outstanding handling, and high driving comfort”, says Christoph Frost, Director Commercial Products at Bridgestone Europe.
Due to rough terrain and long driving distances, the dump trucks and tyres face a lot of pressure and severe conditions of use. Moreover, the tyres have to deal with further challenges because of underground transport. “The construction heights at the collection points of the material are very low and demand a low construction height of the wheel loader to transport the material”, illustrates Herbert Zech. “The dimensions 650/65 R25 VTS and 750/65 R25 VLTS offer exactly the low-profile tyres needed for that location”. (jwe)
