MINING TYRES
our dealer network. It’ s a very transparent conversation.”
Seibert says the dealers work with customers and the engineering team to be able to benchmark tyre performance – especially in relation to MasterCore – checking if there are any deviations from expected results.“ But also we are looking at what’ s going on in the quarry- and what can we do to improve haul road hazards and can we work with customers to improve that. So it’ s not just about the tyre product – the site specific improvement aspect and a continuous improvement mentality are what maximise the value of a tyre like this.”
The procurement aspect has also changed that in the past, a lot of tyre sourcing in quarrying was short term – there has been a lot of consolidation with a top group of very large companies like Vulcan, Martin Marietta, Holcim, CRH, Cemex and Heidelberg who have the same approach to operations management as the top tier mining groups. They want to standardise on best practice and products across multiple sites, plus benchmark between those sites to achieve the lowest cost per tonne using KPIs and tracking tools.
Seibert:“ That’ s something Bridgestone has always offered and done, but now we’ re able to do that not just at a site level but also across an entire company’ s footprint on things like wear out rate, you know, where are we seeing operations that are leaving a lot of tread un-utilised? Is there then an opportunity to review product specs with that operation? Is there a value opportunity to put engineers in there to do site studies and operational reviews and really help them drive performance?”
With scaling comes a greater buying power and the ability to work with larger tyre allocations, just as happens in big mining. In addition, just as in the Australian market, contracting is becoming more significant in the mid-sized mining and quarrying market in the Americas – with groups like Turner Mining Group, Kiewit, NACG and others often opting to use larger class machines such as 100 ton trucks to achieve maximum productivity.
Is there also more of a demand for things like TPMS in quarries as well? In Bridgestone’ s case that is iTrack – which captures accurate, real-time tyre temperature and pressure data as well as live vehicle location tracking information, plus provides customisable geofencing, speed alerts and much more to help mining customers optimise their operations for increased productivity and profitability.
Seibert:“ I believe we are ultimately on that path, but I think iTrack’ s main focus today is still the mining ultraclass as we are not just looking at air pressure and temperature but also using accelerometers
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IM Editorial Director Paul Moore at CONEXPO- CONAGG with Rob Seibert, President, Off The Road- North America at Bridgestone Americas
and G forces. I think we want to bring some of the same benefits again to quarrying but not to make it technology overkill where the customer could just get the benefits they need from pressure monitoring only – especially quarry operations that are not running 24 / 7, which applies to many of them. It is common for them to run five days a week and eight hours a day; with larger operations often running two eight hour shifts a day – but 24 / 7 is still not the norm. We are still running site studies, and that includes hooking up GPS and getting heat data to understand the TKPH they are getting and seeing if there is a performance opportunity or a specification that we could change. It’ s still using technology, but in a more on-site consultative way versus remote health monitoring, whereas with iTrack, we are typically looking at the tyre peformance from our HQ in Nashville and providing consultation to mining customers from there.”
MAXAM’ s mining strength continues in North America
MAXAM recently announced the release of a new size for its MS453 PRO line in North America, the company’ s premium solution for rigid dump trucks in the most demanding mining and aggregate operations.
The MS453 PRO 24.00R35 is engineered for improved TMPH / TKPH capability and higher load capacity, delivering maximum productivity and tire life for applications in extreme conditions. The MS453 PRO 24.00R35 encompasses a 3-star casing design to specifically tackle rigid haul trucks that require higher load-carrying capacity in mining and quarry conditions.
Using an innovative, unique tread with an enhanced self-cleaning, two-stage void
design for increased contact and grip, this tyre MAXAM says boasts absolute stability.“ With multiple tread compound options to suit specific site requirements, the MS453 PRO is purpose-built to handle the toughest haul road environments.”
In addition to its 3-star casing design, the MS453 PRO 24.00R35’ s key features and benefits include enhanced self-cleaning; a two-stage void design for increased contact patch; a unique shoulder tie bar design with reduced lug deflection; stabilising tread shoulder; reduced void length on tread to maximise footprint and wear; plus a reinforced sidewall, robust bead construction and enhanced steel belts to strengthen the casing, enabling maximum puncture resistance.
“ At MAXAM, we know that mining & quarry operations demand more than just a tire, they demand a solution that yields higher load capacity, along with reliability that drives productivity,” said Jimmy McDonnell, VP of Sales & Marketing at MAXAM Tire.“ The new 3-star 24.00R35 MS453 PRO reflects our commitment to providing customers the confidence to take on tougher demands while lowering their total operating costs.”
IM also had the chance to catch up in March 2026 at CONEXPO-CONAGG with MAXAM Tire North America’ s Fred Sanders, its Southwest / Mexico Mining Tire Sales Manager, to talk more generally about its value offer in mining.
First off why is MAXAM as a company and brand performing so well in the North American mining market?“ Obviously the quality of our tyres and the service we provide is number one – we provide a very consistent mining tyre quality. But we have also navigated the business headwinds very well to be able to provide consistent supply as well. We managed this through COVID and the supply chain issues in terms of logistics; and now we are handling the tariffs landscape as well – everything that is coming into the US mining market today from 51 in to 63 in tyres, and most of the mining tyres we are sending to Canada, are today coming from our parent group Sailun’ s factory in Tay Ninh Province, Vietnam, which is already one of the largest specialty OTR plants in the world and able to source all of its natural rubber in country. The supply chain network of our parent company allowed us to do that.”
Sanders added:“ I would also say our strength in the mining market is our willingness to benchmark our tyres with the competition – we actively encourage customers to track our tyres against those of competitors. That open and practical approach opens a lot of doors. We’ ve increased our market share significantly with Tier 1 copper miners like Grupo Mexico as
International Mining | JULY 2026