Continental building premium agri tyre business to meet UK farming needs

The manufacturer is seeking growth at the top end of the agricultural tyre segment with high technology products and services

The demands on the agricultural industry around the world are evolving rapidly. Spiralling cost pressures mean an uphill battle for farmers transforming their operations to feed a growing global population more sustainably. While there is substantial variance in the global market, this context means there is substantial demand for innovative, high-technology solutions for agricultural tyre supply, which increasingly transcend the boundaries of the tyre itself. Since it re-entered agricultural tyre manufacturing in 2016, Continental has supported the development of its European agricultural tyre business with heavy investment in its production line at Lousado, Portugal; Tyres & Accessories profiled the factory in the November 2023 issue. For this year’s agricultural tyre feature, T&A spoke to Tom Godwin, sales manager – agricultural for Conti in UK and Ireland, about the development of the company’s agricultural tyre business in our home markets and its strategy for taking on well-established agricultural tyre premium brands, as well as seeing the Conti TractorMaster VF in action with Dave Oldershaw Groundworks and Contracting in rural Herefordshire.

Conti TractorMaster VF in the field

(Photo: Andrew Bogie/Tyres & Accessories)

Oldershaw acquired the Fendt 828 Vario running on 70-series Continental TractorMaster VF, one of five tractors his company currently runs. A reference contracting tractor in the UK sector, the Fendt is used largely for field work, Oldershaw tells T&A, but the machinery’s usage in bailing and ploughing applications represents only part of how the tyres matter to the contractor.

Clients are more likely than ever to ask about the health of the soil, which is directly affected by the tyres. For the operator themselves, a comfortable ride is a necessity, given long days in the field, while low rolling noise on the road also leads to an improved experience for the operator. Grip is also a big factor, increasing operational efficiency while preserving soil health in the field, but also offering increased security on the road. Safe and secure grip is also a practical necessity – Oldershaw tells T&A about the importance of knowing a tractor on an upward incline will continue to offer traction when towing a 10-tonne implement. For the agricultural contracting business, the ability to use the VF tyre’s features to optimise fuel economy and situational grip is also an important feature to protect the bottom line. Similarly, a rugged, damage-resistant tyre is desirable since the cost of agricultural tyres is considerable.

With this in mind, Oldershaw explains that he opts for premium agricultural tyre fitments on his tractors. He tells T&A that he usually fits a market leading competitor’s tyres to his tractors, but that the Continental tyres have held up well so far. High guarantees on mileage – Continental offers up to 10 year guarantees on its agricultural tyres – are naturally reassuring in this respect. But this is not the only reason he gives for fitting premium tyres. Contractors are “managing depreciation” on their machinery, and the perceived quality of the tyres can negatively impact the sell-on price of the tractor. Oldershaw explains that using a comparatively expensive Fendt versus a lower-priced proposition from New Holland makes fitting a highly-regarded tyre brand more important, since it will help to maintain a higher used price. High quality tyres also help maximise the VarioGrip on-board inflation system’s effectiveness.

Tom Godwin also reflects on the importance of compatibility of tyre and tractor. If a tractor is “not paired with the right tyres or has the incorrect set up then it doesn’t matter what tractor you have because effectively it’s [the tyre that is] putting the horsepower down, getting the grip, reducing soil compaction…” Further to machine performance, Godwin emphasises the importance of time too, especially given increasingly volatile weather: “we know from the weather at this moment in time, every minute is crucial; performance per hectare and per hour is absolutely essential and tyres play a massive part in that.”

Godwin: introducing products and services that can benefit UK farmers

Continental sales manager – agricultural (UK & ROI) (Photo: Continental)

Godwin has been with Continental for more than a year now, having spent five years as an agricultural field manager with premium rival Trelleborg Wheel Systems. He brings an in-depth perspective of farming from diploma-level qualifications in agriculture and spending his early career working within the sector in farm management. While he is convinced of the salience and timeliness of Continental’s high technology offer to the UK and Ireland agri sector, he also recognises that it is necessary for the company to offer premium solutions for the wide variety of needs represented by a market in flux. In his words, Conti UK wants to supply “a tyre to support what [the operator] is doing.”

The agri tyre market is “changing dramatically,” Godwin tells T&A, and finds farmers “looking more seriously at tyres”. This means finding ways to get more value from both the product they opt to fit and the services offered by the supplier. Having extended its range of 12 agricultural tyre products with several new technologies, Conti has products in three tiers, led by the VF TractorMaster, VF TractorMaster Hybrid, and VF CombineMaster, but extending through “conventional” versions of these products to the “allround” Tractor70 and Tractor85 models. “VF is still not for everybody,” Godwin explains.

Godwin also tackles the question of the value proposition offered by premium Conti agri tyres. In a competitive sector, with customers feeling the pinch of pricing pressures, a premium tyre manufacturer must continue to convince customers of the value of fitting its products at additional initial cost. This does not only come with offering a technically more able product, though Conti has the research & development and manufacturing capabilities to ensure its products compete with the best in the marketplace; it is achieved by backing up the product with customer support and with additional services offered via its technology solutions, such as the ContiPressureCheck tyre monitoring system.

Godwin describes Conti’s 10-year warranty as “one of the strongest in the marketplace,” and a feature that demonstrates value. “[Customers are] paying for a premium tyre, and premium tyres come at a cost, but if there was to be an incident and something was to go wrong, we would fully support that customer without quibble.” This support even extends to some coverage of stubble and accidental field damage, which further demonstrates the faith the company has in its products.

But this should not underestimate the flexibility the best VF tyres offer through their technical performance. “The technologies now within the tyres are brilliant,” Godwin continues, exemplifying products that can operate at pressures “as low as 6psi,” with all the benefits that offers in terms of grip and low soil compaction, allow farmers to take advantage of on-board inflation systems such as the previously discussed VarioGrip. However, to use these systems with the tyres successfully, the operator must also understand how additional load then affects the minimum pressure at which the tyres should operate, which is where the ContiPressureCheck system and support that understands the conditions in which farmers are operating comes in.

T&A asks Godwin how much the usage of the most recent technologies has penetrated the UK agri sector already. He acknowledges that knowledge within the market is highly variable. “There are a good number of farmers within the UK that understand the technology and what [advantages] they can get from it,” he says, while adding that there is a lot more of the market that can gain from adopting these technologies. Naturally, it falls to suppliers of these technologies to offer education and support to end-users.

“Everyone is looking to cut costs,” Godwin continues. In terms of UK food production, “prices aren’t fair, if we’re honest about it,” especially when you consider “the stresses” of difficult climate conditions. “So if there is something we can do to help a farmer or contractor save money and time…then we are absolutely all for that. But I think that as an industry we still need to educate a lot more. There are still so many people who don’t understand what VF even means and what they can get from that, and VF has been around for 20 years.”

He concludes that the need remains to ensure end-users are aware of what can be achieved by the newest machinery running the correct tyre fitments. “A lot of the time you see, [even on smaller tractors of 100-150 horsepower], that the tyre spec they’ve got on the machine isn’t really adequate for what they’re wanting to achieve: they’re too small, or the tyre doesn’t have enough load capacity and so on.” Ultimately this comes down to “understanding what the tyres can do.” Godwin adds that there are many opportunities for tyre conversions, since the stock factory options are often ill-suited to the tasks in which the UK farmer wants to employ them.

Conti’s Lousado, Portugal agricultural tyre manufacturing line (Photo: Continental)

Conti supporting UK agri growth via dealers, events

As we have seen, Conti is relatively freshly returned to the agricultural tyre market – Godwin says it amounts to around six years in the UK, building its product portfolio, dealer network, and in-market activities at specialised events. Godwin says the manufacturer is building a product range for the market gradually and deliberately to ensure the “correct applications” are covered by tyres of the right dimensions and specifications.

In terms of distribution, Godwin tells T&A Conti is “building a dealer partner network across the UK” and wants to extend this in 2024. The end goal is for between 30 and 40 points around the country, a target towards which it is around halfway there. These dealers are companies that “we want to work with and want to work with us,” he says. He says the object is for dealers to get exclusivity in their area, and to offer the kind of ongoing product and customer support Godwin has previously detailed. The dealer should fully “understand the product” and have “the ability to offer the whole package” – meaning the technical package.

An exemplifier of the approach is agricultural tyre and wheel assembly specialist supplier, D&S Factors in Lincolnshire. Conti is offering communication support via continued engagement in bespoke events with the dealer. Godwin says Conti is “there to talk about tyres, tyre technology, and what is best to suit their application.” In other words, supporting the dealer in its communication with customers on the part of the assembly in which Conti has expertise. Godwin believes these smaller scale specialist regional events are an effective way to communicate with the market and build its dealer partnerships. Of course, Conti is also supporting its communications online via social media and its own websites. In Europe, Conti has recently supported its agri programme with the internationally focused Agritechnica show in late 2023 – hosted by Conti’s hometown in Hannover, Germany (see textbox).

The other route via which Conti is further increasing its penetration is, typically of the premium tier, with original equipment manufacturers. Conti continues to build its relationship with OEMs, which are a driver of new product developments. Conti is currently entirely dedicated to developing the premium segment, meaning the Continental brand will be the focus in the agricultural tyre market.

The ContiPressureCheck system is also under constant evolution, with a second generation sensor and an interface system that integrates with smartphones or existing on-board monitoring systems from OEMs. Conti is moving away from the multi-screen approach of the past in order to declutter the cab, which can yield obvious operator comfort and safety benefits.

Continental VF TractorMaster Hybrid (Photo: Continental)