Micheldever Fleet Solutions (MFS) has ridden to the rescue of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) by getting to grips with a pattern problem specific to pick-up trucks.

MFS picked up the issue and ran with the solution for the MCA, after research conducted by MFS identified an issue for road orientated tyres fitted as OEM equipment on pick-up trucks.

MFS’s expert team found that many of the OEM tyres on pick-up trucks were not best suited for multiple terrain use. This is due to the majority of pick-up trucks being supplied on road orientated tyres as original equipment, often to comply with current WLTP legislation requirements.

With a boom in the supply of pick-up trucks into the fleet and utility sector, it has become an increasing issue for operators looking for all-terrain tyres that best suit their business needs.

Those operators and drivers requiring alternative patterns to handle the varied requirements of their vehicles, have been able to tap into MTS’s expertise in the 4×4 sector to provide a solution for their businesses.

It was exactly the case for the Coastguard, as MFS brought their knowledge and expertise to the fore to provide a robust and achievable solution to be rolled out across the MCA’s pick-up truck fleet.

Dave Dineen, MFS UK Sales and Technical Manager, said: “Reliability and the right pattern choice is essential for an operation such as the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Their vehicles need to give their drivers the confidence to tackle any terrain in any weather condition, all year round”.

“The tyres were expertly chosen to handle the conditions of service which these MCA vehicles encounter. The General Grabber AT3 are the tyres of choice for the Mitsubishi L200 pick up range, coupled with the Falken Euroall AS210 all-season tyres which have been added to the MCA’s Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross vehicles.”

The MCA is the first line of defence for protecting lives at sea and are responsible for implementing British and International maritime law and safety policy. It is also accountable for land-based search and rescue helicopter operations from 2015.

The General Grabber AT3 are one of the market-leading all-terrain tyres available in the UK and performs superbly well on-road and equally well, off road. The Falken Euroall AS210 all-season tyre was also chosen for its road performance in both the summer and wintry conditions.

“Our specialist team at Micheldever can help any fleet or utility company choose the correct tyre for the application and supply a solution for the original tyre coming off.

“We have been doing this on an increasing scale with a wide variety of utility businesses and expect more in the future as this is becoming a major issue within the sector.”

Dave Dineen, MFS UK Sales and Technical Manager

“If we have issues with the tyres on our vehicles, MFS are always there to resolve them. MFS’s high-level of support takes the headache away from us.”

That glowing accolade on the fleet support service provided by Micheldever Fleet Solutions (MFS), comes from Shaun Atton, Auto Windscreens’ Head of Fleet and Facilities. Shaun, who manages Auto Windscreens’ 354-strong fleet of vehicles across 64 UK sites, has worked with MFS for over two years and in that time has been consistently impressed by their approach.

Shaun said: “We have worked with other providers previously, where we have had to navigate our way through escalation processes and other internal systems that have resulted in significant delays.

“With MFS, you don’t have those hoops to jump through. They are always available at the end of the phone and their response is quick and efficient. They look to resolve your issue in hours rather than days and that’s crucial to a business such as ours.”

Over 300 technicians are employed as part of Auto Windscreens’ operation, so keeping vehicles on the road and ready to respond to customer calls is essential to the smooth running of the business.

Shaun said: “Every vehicle we have off the road has an impact on our business. With MFS, we are able to mitigate this through their excellent local coverage, a ready stock of tyre patterns suited to our vehicles and same day availability when required.

“As an example, we had a recent situation where one of our senior management team suffered a double puncture to his BMW 5 series while en route to a business meeting in Swansea. Thanks to MFS’s network of local tyre providers, they were able to attend with a mobile tyre fitting van and get our senior manager back on the road within hours. It’s that level of service that marks out MFS from other providers.”

MFS’s service provision has been extended to include overseeing all of Auto Windscreens’ fleet MOT requirements including e-mail reminders, booking process and booking confirmation.

Shaun adds: “The support, expertise and knowledge available from MFS is crucial to our operations. With MFS, we know we have a fleet tyre partner we can rely on and one that can always provide a solution whatever the challenge presented to them.”

For honest, unbiased advice on a range of tyre solutions for fleets, please contact Peter Gittens at peter.gittens@micheldever.co.uk or 07920 556641.

“For us, peace of mind is hugely important in how we run the business and MFS provides us with that. MFS’s knowledge, expertise and support ensures that our fleet tyre requirements are met to the standard we expect.”

Shaun Atton, Auto Windscreens’s Head of Fleet and Facilities

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