Davide Codega – DumperMaster

DumperMaster 35/65 R33 in the Carrara mines

• Continental DumperMaster impresses dealer and operators in the quarries of Carrara with its high performance
• "Costruzioni" magazine calls the application the "Mother of all Tests"

Tire specialist Davide Codega is the third-generation owner of the company bearing his name, Davide Codega Pneumatici. His main focus is on the specialty tire business, but he also handles tires for motorbikes and cars daily as part of his business. Continental has been working with him in Carrara, Italy since 2016. His company is located at the base of the Carrara quarries, where marble is extracted. In order to reach the quarries and offer the appropriate tire service in the marble quarry pits and basins, Davide Codega has three four-wheel drive trucks with integrated cranes. With these, Davide maintains tires for 60% of the excavation companies working in the quarries, where the load of the tires is several tons. This means that he performs maintenance for about 100 wheel loaders with the tire size 35/65 R33, because at least 150 of the 200 loaders in the quarries operate in this size. Continental carried out one of the heaviest possible tests for earthmoving tires in the marble basins of Carrara with the DumperMaster 35/65 R33 – and the DumperMaster has convinced both Davide and the operator.

As a specialist in this tire size and with his experience in the quarries, Davide knows, “If a tire for wheel loaders and also for trucks is good in Carrara, it can be good all over the world, because the operating conditions here are much tougher than elsewhere. Here the machines are pushed to their limits and overloading is a daily occurrence.”

DumperMaster 35/65 R33 on the frontaxle of Komatsu WA600

The DumperMaster 35/65 R33 was tested on a KOMATSU WA600 wheel loader during its work in the marble quarry of Carrara, which is managed by the Cooperativa Cavatori Canalgrande. The DumperMaster is versatile and can be used not only on dumpers, as the name suggests, but also on loaders. The daily challenge for loaders in the Carrara quarries is to move 60 ton marble blocks with the help of either their shovels or forks on the most difficult terrain, which can strain the tire carcass and tread. The machines and tires reach their limits. But the DumperMaster impresses here with its longevity, and guarantees safety and stability in the marble quarry despite the difficult conditions. This is due to the tire’s good grip which is required while operating on ramps, the flexibility of the carcass which helps to lift the blocks, and the tire’s durability as it does not show any signs of tiring in the shoulder or bead area.

Nicola Rossi, Earthmoving Sales Specialist and Fabrizio Parati ("Costruzioni" magazine) performing tirecheck

Nicola Rossi, Earthmoving Sales Specialist for the Italian market of Continental, is also confident in the tires’ performance for Davide Codega and the excavation companies’ reliance on Continental tires, “Research and development, as well as production, are European and therefore the products are of the highest quality. We also focus on hourly costs, which is why all our radial earthmoving tires are equipped with an intelligent sensor that monitors pressure and temperature. And pressure is crucial in this type of application and plays a key role in determining the life of the tire.” Tires that are driven with the correct pressure can extend their life considerably. ContiPressureCheck™ for single vehicles and ContiConnect™ for fleets are digital solutions which allow the condition of the tires to be checked at any time without the need for time-consuming manual checks. In this way, cost reductions can be achieved, and operational safety can be guaranteed. The DumperMaster not only convinces with its robustness and reliability but also by its integrated intelligence and operational comfort.