All runs to perfection at the Michelin plant

It's a city within a village. There's no other way to describe the Michelin manufacturing plant found just outside the small village of Ronchi in Italy.

Spread over 1 km2 and producing approx. 40,000 tyres each day, Ronchi is one of the largest and most technologically-advanced plants in Europe, specialised in the production of components and tyres for cars. The plant manufactures 28 product ranges including traditional tyres, Alpin winter tyres, the versatile CrossClimate range, the efficient Energy Saver + tyres, the ZP run-flat range and the Energy E-V designed specifically for electric cars. Then there's the Acoustic tyre range, the ideal choice if you want a quieter drive, and the incredibly rare PAX range for armoured vehicles. It's actually from here that the 15 to 21-inch tyres that are fitted as standard by some of the world's leading car manufacturers hail, including BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Audi, Ford, Renault and Porsche, to name a few.

A record-breaking plant needs an exceptional supplier and this is why Michelin chose to put its trust in STILL. 114 STILL forklifts trucks are in operation at Ronchi, made up of RX 20-18, RX 20-20, RX 60-20, RX 60-30 and RX 60-35 product lines. 8 spare forklift trucks complete the fleet, which are used as replacements during servicing and in case of any unforeseen downtime. The trucks are used in all phases of the manufacturing cycle: in handling the raw materials used for the components, in the semi-finished area, in the production department of the tyres in their raw state, right up until use in the vulcanisation zone, where the manufacturing process ends. "The forklift trucks have a fundamental role to play in our production process," explains the lead technician on site at Michelin in Ronchi, "which is why we have decided to put our trust in a brand like STILL, who offer an absolute guarantee of quality and efficiency".

To better meet Michelin's needs, STILL has set up office space within the Ronchi plant, where three servicing technicians from the Piedmont branch of STILL are based permanently. "Until some years ago," the lead technician on site recalls, "we owned our own forklift trucks and their servicing was the responsibility of five Michelin technicians". Now we have moved over to full-service rental, fleet servicing is entrusted to the STILL professionals, allowing our staff to concentrate on other tasks. It's a solution that increases efficiency and service quality". To always guarantee maximum efficiency and to keep downtimes to a minimum, STILL has also hired a small warehouse next to their office space. An evaluation of the Michelin fleet identified the components and spare parts used most often, and therefore the need to keep them in stock.