Alliance 344 Forestar ELIT in its natural habitat: a report from France

June 8, 2023

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When it comes to tires for forest equipment, Laurent Charrière, chairman of the French forestry company “Centre Bois”, has come to develop a clear strategy: Alliance 344 Forestar ELIT tires for his machines.

Centre Bois, located in Allègre, Auvergne, is specialized in forestry, timber trading and the provision of mechanized felling and skidding services mainly in the departments Lozère, Gard and Aveyron. Much of the company’s work is performed for the French Office National des Forêts. With exploited volumes of up to 40,000 or 50,000 cubic metres per year, and in light of frequent work on slopes and hillsides, the tires must deliver in terms of traction, overall performance and service life in order to find Laurent’s approval – and to be chosen again.

Following quite unsatisfactory experiences and a major setback with a previous tire supplier who did not see fit to provide after-sales service, Laurent Charrière came to choose Alliance tires some years ago: “So, all our equipment is fitted with Alliance 344 Forestar tires, and some equipment is fitted with the 344 ELIT low-pressure model”, says Laurent and adds: “A choice that we have no regrets about, particularly with regard to the low-pressure tires.”

Soil protection and “unrivalled driver comfort”
The unique 344 Forestar ELIT that was first mounted on one of the company’s high-capacity forwarders features an improved construction and flexible strong sidewalls. This enables the tire to carry the same load as a standard forestry tire with half the inflation pressure, thus offering a large footprint which leads to low soil compaction. The tire equally provides high traction, reduces fuel costs and increases overall productivity. Laurent particularly highlights that the low-pressure tires “provide real comfort for the driver and, above all, driveability that is, in my opinion, unrivalled to this day.”

For him, this is due to the fact that the tire deflects on heavy impact, “so the operator is not constantly shaken around in the cab. Secondly, and this has been noted, there is a gain in traction compared with any other tire that remains unmatched, which means that in quite a few situations we can afford not to fit the tracks on the machines because the tires more than compensate for the lack of grip that could be encountered with other types of tires.”

Perfectly capable of a long service life
And there is even more that the chairman of Centre Bois likes about the Alliance 344 Forestar and the Alliance Forestar 344 ELIT: Even though fortune telling is none of his business, after about 7,000 working hours on the forwarder the 344 ELIT tires are “still perfectly capable of working for at least 3,000 hours”, says Laurent and makes up an easy equation: “If you consider the extra cost of the 344 ELIT compared to a normal tire, there s no need to hesitate. The extra cost of a low-pressure tire is quickly absorbed by its capacity and resistance to wear.”

Anyone asking for proof will receive a convincing reply: “Our new equipment is all fitted with low pressure tires! It’s clear that Alliance tires have come a long way in recent years, and the equipment we currently have on order will also be fitted with them”, concludes Laurent Charrière.

Check out the video here!