Berlin Recycling GmbH relies on Bridgestone tyres for its fleet of 180 trucks and 35 other vehicles for moving through Berlin’s busy streets every day, highlighting reliability and durability.
Cleaning the Streets of Berlin with Bridgestone Tyres
Berlin Recycling GmbH operates one of the German capital’s largest waste disposal networks. Employing around 500 people, the company has over 200,000 containers placed around Berlin and drives approximately 3 million kilometres annually, setting standards in logistics and environmental terms. To ensure the daily stop-and-go nature of urban traffic runs smoothly in the long term, Berlin Recycling GmbH relies on Bridgestone Duravis R002 for its truck fleet.
“The tyres must meet the demands of modern mobility and cope with the many starting and braking manoeuvres in urban use,” says Manuel Butze, Head of Fleet Management at Berlin Recycling, describing the daily stress.
Robustness and flexibility are particularly important here, because in addition to stop-and-go traffic, curbs, narrow alleys, and foreign objects in the roadscape also play a role. The company opted for the Bridgestone Duravis series. Coming in various sizes, including 385/55, 315/70, 385/65, and 295/80, the tyres are adapted to the respective vehicle type, whether low-entry garbage collection vehicles, skip loaders, or container service trucks. “You can rely on these tyres. We do the same – every newly ordered truck comes with Bridgestone tyres,” summarises Manuel Butze.
Technological Advancements
The Bridgestone Duravis R002 series. consisting of the R-Steer 002, the R-Drive 002, and the R-Trailer 002, was specifically designed for the demands of regional and urban traffic. With a newly developed tread pattern, the series ensures effective water drainage and thus reliable grip even in wet conditions – an essential safety factor in hectic and often changeable city traffic.
The specially used NanoPro-Tech tread compound reduces energy loss inside the tyre, lowers rolling resistance, and thus helps optimise fuel consumption. This is supported by the high-silica compound, which not only enhances wet grip but also lowers operating temperatures – for a longer service life in daily use. An additional special mixing process ensures particularly even wear, which in turn improves economy and tyre utilisation over the entire life cycle.
“The Duravis R002 series was developed to deliver measurable benefits in daily operations for fleets like those of Berlin Recycling GmbH. It combines robustness, high mileage, excellent wet traction, and low rolling resistance – characteristics that are particularly sought after in urban traffic with frequent starts, stops, and tight turns,” explains Christoph Frost, Director of Commercial Products at Bridgestone Central Europe. “The R002 series fully demonstrates its strengths where efficiency and safety must be combined in a confined space.”
Environment and Economy
An important criterion for Berlin Recycling GmbH is sustainability, and thus also the possibility of retreading. As a company with a strong environmental focus, extending the life cycle is a central component of tyre management.
“Durability and reliability are important factors for us. Retreadability must also be guaranteed, which includes a robust casing that is subjected to heavy wear in urban use,” says Manuel Butze. “We see retreaded tyres as advantageous because they are cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and conserve resources. These properties make retreaded tyres an economically and ecologically sensible choice – a perfect fit for us as a recycling company.”
By offering retreading with Bandag, Bridgestone is optimally meeting the requirements of Berlin Recycling GmbH. This further extends the service life of the robust casings and reduces the need for new products, thus saving both natural resources and CO2 emissions. On average, up to 57 litres of crude oil and 14 kilograms of steel can be saved per retreaded tyre.
Digitalisation and Partnership
In addition to product quality, Bridgestone also impresses with its customer service. Since September 2023, Berlin Recycling has relied on the PayGo model, which offers maximum transparency for tyre and fleet management.
This service offering is part of the integrated fleet and tyre management solution Bridgestone Fleet Care. The manufacturer combines its products with Webfleet telematics solutions. The result is an innovative system specifically tailored to the requirements of modern truck fleets. Bridgestone Fleet Care utilises technology to address the individual needs of each fleet. By implementing modern systems, vehicle operation and maintenance can be precisely monitored and optimised to reduce overall costs and save valuable time in daily operations. At the same time, Bridgestone solutions ensure maximum safety and more efficient use of resources.
“We’re just beginning to visualise total costs down to the smallest detail, allowing us to plan better and more sustainably for the future and thus reduce costs,” explains Manuel Butze. “With Bridgestone Fleet Care, we gain deep insights and analytics that enable us to make better decisions and keep our fleet and costs under control.”
