TYRES
but as a long-term partner. “Kal Tire is a mining tyre service and supply partner for mines across five continents, across a wide range of commodities,” says Martin. “We have over 50 years of tyre service expertise and tyre performance insights to bring to our customers’ sites.” This experience underpins what he calls a strategic approach to tyre management. “Our approach to tyre management is a strategic one to ensure our work supports each mine’s operational goals and at every stage of tyre life.” Importantly, performance is measured in operational impact rather than simply tyre hours. “Tyre work, for us, isn’t just about hours of tyre life, it’s about keeping trucks hauling as safely and productively as possible.” At the centre of this strategy is KalPRO TOMS. “Focusing specifically on strategy and optimising tyre performance, TOMS is central to our work,” Martin explains. “TOMS is a proactive maintenance planning platform that identifies, schedules, and aggregates required tyre work to provide planning teams with timely information to minimise unplanned equipment downtime.” The impact is tangible. “Together, this ensures we’re extending tyre life and improving safety while enhancing fleet use.” Artificial intelligence plays a growing role. “AI is a core feature of TOMS, supporting site teams to ensure all required tyre work can be planned effectively and spare inventory levels managed.” Given the scale of modern mining fleets, this is no small task. “With typical mine service teams managing over 400 tyres (and larger sites up to 2 000 tyres), TOMS helps avoid unnecessary downtime and can reduce tyre-related downtime events by 20% or more.” On the ground, access to accurate data is critical. “The TOMS app ensures our team members have access to the most up-to-date information for making informed decisions and the efficient capture of required inspection and shop work information.” Performance transparency further strengthens decision-making. “Service delivery performance visibility is key to effective decision making and strategy,” Martin adds. “Kal Tire uses PowerBI dashboards to provide a suite of almost live reporting solutions to Kal Tire service and customer teams. These provide standardised reporting across all Kal Tire service sites and enable performance trending and benchmarking.”
ESG commitments. Martin points out that “today’s mines are placing greater focus on sustainability, as well as the requirements of the ESG charter, so our tyre supply and tyre life solutions allow us to help customers improve productivity, contribute to their sustainability goals, and reduce their carbon footprint and tyre longevity.” The company’s approach encompasses the full tyre lifecycle. “Kal Tire’s wide range of services includes the management of tyres from the point of manufacture, through to the end of the tyre’s useful life,” he explains. “Through several initiatives and unique innovations, we can extend the life of mining tyres, generating much-needed returns for our customers, on the significant amount of capital invested in the tyres.”
When tyres truly reach the end of their operational life, Kal Tire is also addressing the disposal challenge. “Once the tyre casings have genuinely reached their end of life, our KalPRO Thermal Conversion OTR tyre recycling technology, in use in Chile, gives mines the most sustainable, ethical and circular way to dispose of their tyres.” This lifecycle thinking – from sourcing and fitment to repair, retreading and responsible disposal – reflects a broader shift in how mines evaluate tyre performance: not simply as a consumable, but as a strategic asset. Tyre management as strategy Across global operations, Kal Tire describes itself not merely as a supplier,
Through several initiatives and unique innovations, we can extend the life of mining tyres, generating much-needed returns for our customers, on the significant amount of capital invested in the tyres.
CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS MARCH 2026 10
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