Galaxy Portstar Plus proves its worth in tough port operations
New construction principle brings added safety and more ride comfort when transporting heaviest loads / Longer service life makes tire highly economical
Amsterdam, January 12th 2017
The new PortStar Plus at a glance
The new Galaxy Portstar Plus is an advanced tire for port applications, engineered with an extra deep tread which is the highest in the segment. The deep tread ensures longer service life which results in superior performance. The robust nylon casing and a large actual number of plies ensures high lateral stability and also high load carrying capacity. The large ground contact area ensures that pressure on the ground is much lower than the maximum permissible pressure, thus resulting in extended life, and lower, uniform wear. The strong bead bundle of the tire results in minimized bead failure. The specially formulated tread compound and higher insulation between the plies aid in reduced heat build-up, thus further extending the service life of the tire and providing excellent operation characteristics on hard surfaces such as concrete.
Customer speak
The Spanish JSV Logistics Group is one of the leading full service logistics providers in Spain. Whilst transportation and logistics solutions for connecting the Canary Isles with the mainland were at the centre of the business initially, JSV has become a global logistics provider today.
Until today, one core area is the optimized integration of sea and land transport, in particular from and to the Spanish mainland. In addition to own deep-sea container vessels, a fleet of company-owned heavy goods vehicles – with 50 lorries at the port location Alicante alone – is part of the logistics system.
Furthermore, the company offers numerous special services such as chains for cross-docking-logistics.
The commercial harbor of Alicante is an important gateway for these business activities.
In order to ensure a quick and economically viable container handling, JSB counts on high performance Kalmar reach stackers, including the latest Gloria generation with a lifting power of up to 45 tonnes.
Between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., and on seven days a week, this machine is in operation in the port area. Loaded with a 40-foot container and including the tare weight of the Kalmar itself, it is not uncommon that a total weight of 100 tonnes is moved – and that is exactly where our Galaxy Portstar Plus proves its value.
Developed by Galaxy, this new special tire for forklift trucks in ports is distinguished by a specific material mix. This composition provides outstanding wear resistance – also on highly abrasive surfaces. In addition, this tire features a high load carrying capacity and, due to the low rate of wear, enormous durability.
That is also appreciated by JSV logistics: “From our point of view, optimizing running costs in material handling of course is a key objective. Besides low efforts and rapid handling, reducing running costs for the operation of our machines is what matters.” That is where the Galaxy Portstar Plus stands the test extremely well, not least by providing a service life that almost is a 100 per cent longer.
However, also the optimized driving characteristics of the Portstar Plus convince the experts of JSV, and this is particularly true when operated under load: The tire offers markedly more safety, for example during tight turns, and provides excellent shock absorption on both asphalt and concrete surfaces. “Since changing to the Galaxy Portstar Plus, we did not encounter any downtime due to punctures or blowouts. And this of course is an important argument for us in order to keep operating costs as low as possible.”
The changeover to the new Portstar Plus takes place in tight cooperation with Grupo Soledad, the Spanish distribution partner of Galaxy.
“We quickly realised that our new Portstar Plus is the ideal tire concept for the Kalmar reach stacker. In particular under the operating conditions in the port of Alicante, with hard concrete surfaces and high summer temperatures, the Portstar Plus proves its value in an almost perfect way”, explains Pedro Blanco, ATG Country Manager Iberia.