Castlebridge goes direct to Bridgestone

Bridgestone has signed its largest 100% replacement deal for earthmoving tyres in the UK. The two-year £1.5m contract - signed with Castlebridge Plant, a wholly owned subsidiary of Scottish Coal - covers the company's seven opencast mining operations in Scotland. Castlebridge runs one of Europe's largest fleets of heavy earthmoving equipment, including more than 130 rigid dump trucks from 100t up to 150t, 22 face shovels and 60 ADTs. Bridgestone, which claims to have 40% of the UK earthmoving market and 70% of the UK mining market, said the deal covers Castlebridge Plant's entire fleet. Its 3.43m-diameter, 37 R57 tyre is the largest used by any of its plant. Castlebridge plant director Roy Mottershaw said it is Bridgestone's largest single customer and the deal will see it buying tyres directly from the manufacturer, bypassing any dealer. "We feel that we can cope on our own," said Mottershaw. "We already did at least 80% of the work as we have our own tyre house, and the deal suits us perfectly."