Continental Launches Premium Pneumatic Industrial Radial Tyre Range

Continental AG’s industrial tyre division has launched a new range of pneumatic industrial radial tyre products. The company, which is positioned as number one in the European industrial tyre market, second in the UK and is a key player globally, has also rationalised its complete product offering in order to focus on a smaller selection of products that the company believes are more versatile than their predecessors. Explaining the strategy behind the launch, Continental UK executives and representatives from the industrial tyre division’s research and development team met journalists for a launch conference on 30 June near Egham in Surrey.

ContiRT20 makes its UK debut

At the centre of the event was the launch of the new ContiRT20 Performance pneumatic radial tyre, which replaces the IC80 and ConRad HT products made for forklifts, side loaders and other industrial trucks. Thanks to its high-traction tread pattern, the new tyre can move heavy loads at speeds of up to 31 mph.

According to the company, the new tyre has managed to achieve up to 30 per cent greater life expectancy than its predecessor and the ContiRT20’s traction characteristics are a clear intention of the tread design. All this is coupled together to offer long life, strong traction and increased comfort, safety and stability. True the tyres are not the cheapest on the market (and in fact fill a price point comfortably in the premium part of the market), but Continental has even addressed this by offering a value guarantee in the form of the ContiChallenge price promise.

So how’s it all been done? Developers and testing engineers report that they took the heavy stresses such a product is subjected to in the wood, steel or cement industry, in shipyards, logistics centres, or at air and seaports into account when it came to producing the ContiRT20. And product engineers report that they spent time with end users to make sure that the new product met their demands. The new tyres were then devised using design and simulation software on Conti’s banks of at least seven “very strong super-computers.”

As result the tread depth, for example, was increased to the maximum for the longest service life possible. And the tread pattern design, featuring wide grooves, has been constructed to “guarantee reliable traction at all times on both surfaced and unsurfaced ground.” Rolling resistance was substantially reduced to ensure low energy consumption, apparently without adversely affecting driving comfort. The tyre is also designed to deliver more even wear without compromising on stationary stability or protection against stone trapping. The new tread compound is said to give higher wear and damage resistance, meaning 20 per cent longer tyre life.

Prototype tyres were then manufactured using the same plant and machinery that the serial production tyres are now being made on at the company’s newly upgraded Korbach manufacturing plant. The result the prototypes were truly representative and that, thanks to the freshly automated Korbach production line, the company is operating at better levels of consistency than ever.

Before Continental gave the final green light for volume production, the firm evaluated tests of over 1300 tyres in the field, which resulted in some pretty impressive testimonials. Europe’s largest sawmilling company, Stora Enso Timber AG had the tyre on test. Their fleet manager, Ernst Tober said: “The reliable ContiRT20 Performance is the right tyre for us, because we cannot afford downtime. Its long lifetime means the cost-benefit analysis works out really well for us.”

Concrete Manufacturer, Haba-Beton, based in Teising, Germany also trialled the new tyres. Plant manager, Billy Obereisenbuchner, commented: “The long lifetime and the durability of the ContiRT20 Performance is great. Breakdown-related downtimes can therefore be pretty much be ruled out.”

ContiRV20

The launch of the new Conti RT20 follows the earlier launch of the ContiRV20 just over a year ago. Again this tyre is capable of speeds of up to 31 mph on certain vehicles. The tread compound and design of the ContiRV20 also minimises rolling resistance, by up to 30 per cent when tested against a comparable crossply tyre. Lower rolling resistance means lower energy consumption, so users save on fuel costs with every mile driven and reduce CO2 emissions. At the same time, the tyre still maintains full grip on all surfaces in airport environments. The ContiRV20 is also compatible with the Continental Tubeless Sealing Ring which prevents sudden air loss in the event of a puncture, offers simplified and quicker mounting and means turning on the rim is no longer critical.

Related News:

• ContiRV20 Combines Strength, Speed and Comfort

• Continental Industrial Tyres: Continued Innovation in Korbach for Over 100 Years