Silver agri medal for Continental self-sealing tyre tech

The German Agricultural Society (DLG) has awarded Continental a silver medal in its Agritechnica innovation awards 2022. It bestowed this honour upon the tyre maker for its Agro ContiSeal technology, a patented polymer applied to the inside of an agricultural tyre that can prevent punctures by immediately sealing any foreign object penetration.

Agro ContiSeal is still in development and not yet commercially available for agricultural tyres. Benjamin Hübner, product line manager for agricultural tyres within the Continental Commercial Specialty Tires business, confirms that Continental is “currently working on bringing this technology into production soon.”

Commenting on Agro ContiSeal and receiving the DLG award, Hübner notes that although a puncture “can be very costly when it does occur,” Agro ContiSeal allows a vehicle to continue working even after a tyre is punctured by an object up to 12mm in diameter. “This will save those who choose Continental tyres with ContiSeal time and money, whilst also offering peace of mind throughout the year. We are very happy that the DLG awarded our technology.”

Simple solution to a common problem

Vehicles fitted with ContiSeal-lined tyres don’t need to slow down following a puncture and operators don’t need to change the tyre straight away. The sticky polymer covers the puncture and prevents a loss of pressure. “It seems like such a simple solution to a common problem, but Agro ContiSeal will help many agricultural operators to keep moving until they have time to change the tyre,” Hübner adds.

Zero or minimum tillage farming is growing in popularity as farmers seek to reduce the impact of heavy machinery on the land. But residual stubble may remain in fields for more than a year and harden during this time, thus presenting a much higher risk to tyres. “Agro ContiSeal will offer a way to operate more reliably in stubble fields and will offer confidence to those looking to improve soil health by practicing minimum tillage methods,” Hübner concludes.

With ContiSeal for Agricultural tyres, Continental transfers its expertise from the automotive industry to the agricultural sector. The company states an intention to grow its agricultural tyre segment and expand agricultural tyre business activities as part of its Vision 2030 strategy.