"It is no longer possible to imagine professional tyre mounting without machine support. Mounting machines have massively increased safety in workshops and made the work of fitters much easier," reports Dirk Lewandowsky. He is a lecturer for tyre mounting at Bohnenkamp, Europe's leading wholesaler for commercial vehicle tyres. Lewandowsky knows what he's talking about. In its own complete wheel assembly, Bohnenkamp AG relies on assembly machines from the Italian manufacturer Sice. With the help of the heavy equipment, the tyre specialist mounts around 500 large wheels a day in the central Osnabrück logistics centre.
In particular, dealers who want to convert vehicles for their customers with individual tyre-rim combinations benefit from the fitting service. In addition, machine and vehicle manufacturers also rely on Bohnenkamp and have specially configured complete wheels delivered directly to the assembly line.
Machines and material for tyre mounting
In the meantime, Bohnenkamp has translated its own assembly competence into a separate product division and, in addition to the necessary assembly accessories, also carries the various assembly machines from Italy in its product range. "We use the Sice machines ourselves in our assembly and are convinced by the quality of the manufacturer. We now offer them in Germany and, through our subsidiaries, in many other European countries," emphasises Sales Manager Thomas Pott. The mounting programme ranges from inflation aids to mounting levers, torque nipples, valve wrenches and pliers, bead holders, tyre mounting paste and special brushes to talcum, plus a large valve selection.
Mountingtraining for workshop fitters
In addition to machines and materials, the tyre specialist from the north also imparts the necessary mounting know-how. In joint courses with the BRV, the LandBauTechnik-Akademie and our own TrainingCenter, colleague Lewandowsky shows what constitutes proper and safe mounting, and what needs to be observed when handling the ever-larger tyres on the ever-larger mounting machines. The largest machine available on the market is the fully hydraulically controlled SICE S 60. It can handle tyre diameters of up to three metres and wheel widths of up to 1,800 mm. But SICE also offers comprehensive solutions for smaller dimensions, for example the S 560, on which wheels of up to 1,700 kg can be mounted.