Continental Launches Commercial ‘Revolution’

Continental Tire North America plans to “improve the product, service and training offerings to commercial vehicle tyre customers” though its new Continental Revolution program. The new project was launched this week at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky. Part of the program was the launch of five new medium truck radials (see separate story), and “new programs designed to reduce overall driving cost and a new state-of-the-art mobile classroom,” CTNA officials said.

Named the “Untamed Innovation Tour,” CTNA’s new 83-foot mobile tyre information centre featuring product samples, rolling resistance demonstrations, a movie theatre, driving games and touch-screen explanations of Continental tyre technologies, according to the company.

“Continental has an amazing opportunity to move to another level and to better serve our customers, moving beyond the public perception that we are the ‘best kept secret’ in the industry,” said Paul Williams, executive vice president of CTNA’s commercial vehicle tyre group. “We are ready to deliver the lowest overall driving cost to our fleet customers, and are taking our message of product performance, service and people to the market.”

CTNA also expanded its commercial tyre sales force by 50 per cent, he said. An expanded sales force in its commercial division, increased by 50 percent this year, will deliver expanded customer service, said Shaun Uys, director of replacement sales for CTNA North America.

To help demonstrate how Continental brand tyres help lower fuel cost, CTNA is holding “Beat the Best,” a fuel saving contest for commercial vehicles, according to Shaun Uys, director of replacement sales. Through May 15, “select fleets will register their comparative fuel consumption between a truck using Continental tyres and an identical truck using tyres from any other national brand on a dedicated Web site in order to win prize packages and media exposure for the lowest fuel consumption in gallons per 100 miles,” he said.

Additionally, CTNA is launching new software aids for fleets: ContiCostCalculator, in both desktop and Web-based formats, assesses a tyre’s purchase price, mileage and rolling resistance to give fleets a true comparison of total tyre cost; ContiTireManagement uses an online portal for Continental field sales teams and dealers to create individual tyre maintenance programs tailored to the fleet to help lower the overall driving costs.

Fleets will also benefit from the new ContiFleet program, providing access to nationwide emergency road service for owner-operators and small fleet owners. (Tire Review/Akron)