Hannover-based Continental AG is a leading automotive supplier and – according to the company – is “the choice of leading car manufacturers, offering award-winning tyres that deliver responsive braking in all weather conditions.”
Peugeot UK has announced its own winter tyre scheme, following in the footsteps of other manufacturers, such as BMW, Suzuki and Volvo. The company’s new “swap and store” service being provided by dealers enables customers to equip their cars with four cold weather tyres and have their Summer ones placed in storage.
Continental Tyre Group Ltd has appointed Mark Griffiths as communications assistant to work alongside communications manager, Laura Hardy within this newly created role, covering all aspects of the brand’s public profile.
Griffiths 24 recently returned from a year living in Paris teaching English. Before this, he studied for his BA Journalism degree in 2008 graduating with 1st class honours, going on to complete his MA in Automotive Journalism in 2010 with Merit.
Following the initial announcement last week, Micheldever Tyre Services Ltd has confirmed the appointment of Angus Smith to its board in the position of commercial director, effective from January 2012. Smith joins Michelever with years of experience at Continental Tyre Group culminating with work in the role of sales director.
Quoting figures from a survey conducted by online research firm One Poll, Manheim Auctions notes than less than five per cent of British motorists plan on purchasing winter tyres this year. Out of the 3,000 respondents to the August 2011 survey, 95.5 per cent said they are not planning to buy winter tyres despite last year’s hard winter.
After 10 years as sales director of Continental Tyres, Angus Smith has chosen to leave the organisation to pursue a new career and fresh challenges with Micheldever Tyre Services.Until a suitable successor is in place, managing director David Smith will take on the sales director responsibilities for the company’s car, van and 4×4 tyre sales in the UK and Ireland.
Earlier this year, Continental announced it would hire around 1,500 university graduates and young professionals for its global operations. The German tyre and automotive technology maker ended up hiring more than three times this amount – Continental reports that some 5,500 graduates and young professionals joined its ranks during the course of the year. This intake represents a substantial increase over last year, and Conti says hiring a larger number of graduates is part of its “ongoing efforts to invest in fresh knowledge and new ideas” which will, in turn, increase its innovative prowess.
Continental is pleased to announce that Lodge Tyres has joined the tyre manufacturer’s pan-European Conti360° Network. Operating a dozen sites across the central area, Lodge Tyres is ideally located to offer commercial vehicle operators the support they require.
Simon Christmas, director at Lodge Tyres said: “Being part of the Conti360° Network means that we offer the same high standard service to our customers as all the other partners throughout Europe. Lodge Tyres was founded in 1935 as a family-run business and it’s still the same today. We offer a wide range of commercial vehicle, van and car tyres, as well as commercial retreads. To complement this, our fleet of over sixty fully-equipped breakdown vans maintain a 24hr breakdown service throughout the region”.
Continental AG plans to focus its near-term investments on the Asian markets, according to board member Heinz-Gerhard Wente. In a Bloomberg report, Wente noted that sales in Asia will likely represent a third of the corporation’s total revenues.
“While Europe will remain the biggest market for Continental, next year might ‘bring some problems’ because of a possible economic slowdown triggered by the sovereign-debt crisis,” the Bloomberg story said. It would not be “a dramatic downturn,” though.
Following the news that has announced plans to build a US$500 million passenger car tyre plant in the South Carolina between now and 2021, financial analysts have added their view on what the manufacturing plans means for the automotive supplier’s profitability.
Tomorrow one of the world’s largest tyre and automotive component manufacturer will celebrate 140 years in the business. On October 8, 1871 nine bankers and industrialists from the German city of Hannover founded Continental-Caoutchouc & Gutta-Percha Compagnie as a joint stock company. The firm began life with joint stock valued at some 300,000 thalers, an amount equating to a present-day purchasing power of approximately 6.3 million euros, and at its first plant in Hannover a workforce of around 200 produced a range of rubber products including hot water bottles, toy dolls and solid tyres for carriages and bicycles.
On October 1, the German sales company operated by Mitas, ‘CGS Reifen Deutschland GmbH’, altered its company name to 'Mitas GmbH'. This renaming took place as part of the Czech Republic-based agricultural tyre manufacturer’s plan, announced in July, to bring the names of all 13 of its sales subsidiaries in line with that of the company’s core tyre brand over a three-month period.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe has appointed Sylvain Borré as European subsidiary director, effective immediately. Borré will report to sales and marketing director Nigel Hampson and be responsible for all commercial activity in France, Germany and Switzerland.
Following last week’s news that Graham Matcham left Cooper Tire Europe’s Avon two-wheel tyre operation, it has now been announced that he has joined leading two-wheel tyre wholesaler,Cambrian Tyres in the new position of Continental brand manager, motorcycle.
The Conti360° Fleet Services network in Europe is growing; in addition to the service package’s introduction into Hungary next month, Ireland now boasts a Conti360° presence. Continental Tyres has announced the establishment of a fully integrated partner network there, with 23 dealers and 37 sites across the country signing up.
As of October, Continental’s service package for fleet operators will be available in a further European market. The Conti360° Fleet Services package for truck tyres, first established in the core markets of Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Poland and the Czech Republic in 2010, and extended into Austria and Ireland this year, is scheduled to be launched in Hungary next month.
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