Bandvulc Ivybridge plant becomes Continental LifeCycle facility

Bandvulc has long been at home in the town of Ivybridge, not far from Plymouth. The retreader and its Ivybridge plant entered the Continental fold in 2016, and Ivybridge has now officially become a Continental LifeCycle manufacturing facility. While continuing to design, engineer and manufacture Bandvulc-branded retread tyres, the site will become more closely aligned to Continental’s existing LifeCycle mould cure retread plant in Stöcken, Germany. It gained new Continental signage in February.

Some 280 people work for Bandvulc in and around Devon, and the company stresses that the plant’s new LifeCycle status will not impact upon job security. Announcing the change, Bandvulc confirms that there are “no redundancies taking place as a result of the Continental rebranding.”

The Ivybridge plant focuses on mould cure (or hot) retreading for the UK market, with Bandvulc tyres designed and manufactured in Ivybridge. The site also produces ContiRe branded tyres in partnership with the Stöcken plant.

The Ivybridge plant retreads Bandvulc & ContiRe branded tyres (Photo: Bandvulc)

New name, same values

“Although the name has changed, the values on which Bandvulc was built will continue at our Ivybridge site,” says Tony Mailling, head of Hot Retread Production EMEA and plant manager of ContiLifeCycle Ivybridge and Stöcken. “The facility is undoubtedly one of the most technically advanced retreading plants in Europe and our people are a testament to this achievement. In becoming a LifeCycle site, Ivybridge’s position is strengthened as part of the wider Continental manufacturing network.

“With the Bandvulc tyre range set to grow further during the next 12 months, staff and customers can rest assured that the brand will continue to be a major player in the Continental tyre range.”

Tony Mailling, head of Hot Retread Production EMEA and plant manager of ContiLifeCycle Ivybridge & Stöcken (Photo: Bandvulc)

Diverse array of applications

ContiLifeCycle is Continental’s cradle-to-grave approach to maximising tyre longevity and sustainability. Continental designs new truck and bus tyres with retreadability in mind and manufactures them upon casings engineered for multiple service lives. The LifeCycle plants in Stöcken and Ivybridge sit at the core of Continental’s retread operations.

Bandvulc’s retreaded tyre range services a diverse array of road haulage applications, including long-haul, regional distribution, construction and urban waste.

Established in 1971 as tyre recycling business Kingsbridge Tyre & Rubber Co., Bandvulc has grown to become the UK’s leading tyre retreader. The Ivybridge plant offers a range of more than 100 retreaded products and, using bespoke rubber compounds developed in-house, is capable of producing a tyre every three minutes.